BOOK REVIEWS
The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel
by Drew Hayden Taylor
Publisher: Annick Press
Page count: 224 pp.
Size: 5 x 7-1/2
Although this is his first novel for young readers, Drew Hayden Taylor is no storytelling novice. A member of Ontario’s Curve Lake First Nation (Anishinabe/Ojibwa), he’s a respected playwright with solid credentials as an author, journalist, filmmaker, and lecturer. His work is known for its wit, insight, and native perspective. His scripts and short stories consistently feature realistic characters and clever, entertaining dialogue. Happily, this treatment of The Night Wanderer, originally a 1992 play, is typical Taylor fare.Page count: 224 pp.
Size: 5 x 7-1/2
The novel lives up to its subtitle, delivering shivers and chills in an Anishinabe setting. The protagonists are Tiffany Hunter, a 16-year-old resident of the fictional Otter Lake Reserve in current-day Ontario, and Pierre L’Errant, a mysterious man of Anishinabe ancestry who arrives from Europe. Tiffany’s got problems with her dad, her schoolwork, and her non-native boyfriend. Pierre’s waging an elemental good vs. evil battle as he seeks an honourable end to his existence as a vampire. They are drawn into each other’s lives when Pierre becomes a boarder at Tiffany’s home.
Taylor advances plot, develops character, changes atmosphere, and builds suspense largely by keeping Tiffany and Pierre apart and alternating their storylines. When he does bring them together, the tension spikes dramatically.
The Night Wanderer offers food for thought as well as frights. Taylor sensitively works several important themes (redemption, coming of age, ties that bind) into his treatment of discussion-worthy issues (prejudice, bullying, suicide). His representation of life on a small reserve is authoritative, his Anishinabe vocabulary is authentic, and his refreshingly smart humour runs liberally through the book.
Hats off to Annick Press for approaching a writer of Taylor’s stature to write a novel for young teens. The Night Wanderer is a quality offering.
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