Mm.

So we think of, like, castles and kings and medieval political structures.

Um, but I really think indigenous readers have spent generations entering fantasy worlds that were built from somebody else's mythology.

So to have Eden Robinson build this world and have language and traditional clans from her nations and even right down to, like, food and the medicines that are mentioned, everything is interwoven in a way that is so natural and full of love.

Um, and I think that here the indigenous worldview isn't just foundational, it's just absolutely needed, and it just breathes such life into the book.

But is there something different about how she approaches this in terms of setting the stage for a larger narrative?

For sure.

I think right from the first chapter, this book feels much bigger than Yuala's individual story.