Audio Fiction Spotlight | Indigenous Voices

Memoirist and poet Michelle Porter offers a groundbreaking debut novel that's an unforgettable, enchanting listen, while an anthology of Indigenous horror stories offers something for every listener, from quietly unsettling tales to gruesome body horror.

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology. Books on Tape. Sept. 2023. ed. by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. 13:24 hrs. ISBN 9780593789995. $95. HORROR

Editors Hawk (Anoka: A Collection of Indigenous Horror) and Van Alst (Sacred Smokes), both fiction writers in their own right, offer an anthology of spine-tingling tales of hauntings, curses, and other horrors, written by prominent Indigenous authors (including Tommy Orange, Cherie Dimaline, and Brandon Hobson) and presented in audio by a talented ensemble of nine Indigenous narrators. Stephen Graham Jones’s prologue, narrated by Sheldon Elter, sets the stage, providing a window into the craft of Indigenous horror. Some of the stories that follow, such as D.H. Trujillo’s “Snakes Are Born in the Dark,” detail supernatural terror; others, such as Kelli Jo Ford’s “Heart-Shaped Clock,” highlight real-life horrors, including intergenerational trauma and abuse. Through the anthology’s body horror, hauntings, and supernatural creatures, listeners will also encounter the terrible legacy wrought by colonialism and forced assimilation. The large cast of narrators differentiates the stories, signaling changes in mood, tone, and approach and allowing listeners to hear the varied voices and personalities detailed within. VERDICT A collection of Indigenous horror stories that offers something for every listener, from quietly unsettling tales to gruesome body horror. Don’t miss it.—Elyssa Everling

Porter, Michelle. A Grandmother Begins the Story. Hachette Audio. Nov. 2023. 8:51 hrs. ISBN 9781668632673. $24.99. F

Memoirist and poet Porter (Scratching River) offers a groundbreaking debut novel that traces the love and dysfunction running throughout five generations of Métis women. A large cast of narrators, primarily made up of Indigenous people, brings this story to life. Mamé (voiced by Tantoo Cardinal) and her daughter Geneviève, a tough old bird narrated by Jani Lauzon, come to terms with moving on to the afterlife. Lucie (portrayed by Monique Mojica) adamantly insists on dying with the help of a granddaughter she has never met, while Lucie’s daughter Allie meekly tries to reconnect to this child whom she placed for adoption. The women cling to their culture and also reject it as they try to repair relationships that may be beyond fixing and search for reasons to go on with life. The women’s narratives are joined by the stories of many others, including bison, the grasslands, an old Volvo, and two dogs. A delightful soundtrack, resplendent with fiddle reels and subtle drums, completes an already superb audiobook. VERDICT This is a storyteller’s story that speaks landscapes, people, animals, and objects into being through its magic. An unforgettable, enchanting listen.—Laura Trombley

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