Ravensong, Lee Maracle's 1993 novel, is as powerful and meaningful today as it was when it was first published some twenty years ago. It is a beautifully written, at times challenging, story that weaves the past with the present into a moving portrait of a family, a community and a land that has faced and still faces many challenges from within and from outside. Situated in the Northwest of Vancouver Island, Maracle evokes a land where the Raven sings and communicates with Cedar, where the cedar responds with gently swinging its branches and sometimes weeps. It was a fertile land between the ocean and the river, providing for the people with all they needed. Yet, memories of disturbing past events cast long shadows over the people and the natural environment. Myths and stories from ancient times come alive again and again, such as that of the double-headed sea serpent that caused havoc with the minds of the people or the foreigners who arrived with ships... A young girl, deeply lost in thought sitting under the cedar, carries vivid images of those tragic events that contributed to more catastrophes later, traumas that the community has not yet recovered from.
Set in the mid nineteen fifties, the novel is built around an extended multi-generational Coast-Salish family and their community. Their village may seem self-contained and even remote from the bustling urban life, yet "white town" is just across the river and a bridge connects the two communities. Stacey, the young girl's older sister, is the only one among her siblings and cousins who attends school in the town. At seventeen she has dreams of continuing her studies at university to become a teacher in her village. She is exposed to a world that doesn't make much sense to her. For example, during an outbreak of the Hong Kong flu, her village cannot get access to vital medicines and no doctor comes to visit them. The barriers, both physical and mental are huge. Suspicion reigns on both sides of the river. The bridge is mostly a one-way street. Nonetheless Stacey has the potential to become something of a "go-between". What will it take to change?
Lee Maracle's way of telling her story absorbed me totally. Her writing changes from the wonderfully poetic evocation of the natural world to a language that is precise, direct and at times provocative when depicting the daily life of the people and their community. Ravensong is filled with well-developed characters, they come alive in their interactions whether in sorrow or in laughter, in love or in pain. Clearly drawing on her own experiences, Maracle does not hide her sense of humour. In fact, the author herself kept her fondness for her protagonists over the decades and continued their stories in her most recent novel, Celia's Song. I read the two novels back to back, and while the combined reading enhanced and deepened my understanding, the two novels stand on their own very well. [Friederike Knabe]
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Top reviews from other countries
Friederike Knabe
"From the depths of the sound Raven sang a deep wind song, melancholy green"
Reviewed in Canada on February 12, 2015
Diane Brisebois
Excellent piece of literature!
Reviewed in Canada on April 30, 2019