Looking forward to Waubgeshig Rice

You may not know the name, but you’ll definitely recognize the face.

Before returning to his home province of Ontario in May of 2010, Rice was a well-known reporter for CBC Winnipeg.

He is both broadcast journalist and author, and he will return to Winnipeg in two months to promote his debut work of fiction, Midnight Sweatlodge.

Midnight Sweatlodge tells the tale of a group of people who have come together to experience a sweatlodge. Some are there for the first time, others are veterans, but everyone has a story to tell.

If you don’t know a lot about what a sweatlodge is, or what the ritual entails, don’t worry. Rice explains it clearly in the first few pages, which helps the reader envision what is taking place.

As the novel progresses, we learn about four individuals and their stories. The first story tells the tale of a happy family living with 300 others on a small island in the middle of one of the Great Lakes. Unfortunately, the family is disrupted by a tragic accident.

The second story, Solace, follows a troubled teenage boy who lives on a reservation and come from an even more troubled family. Both his parents’ drink heavily, and in a moment of decision the boy must make a choice that will doom himself but save his two younger siblings.

In Bloodlines, an Aboriginal man and a Caucasian woman in a long-term relationship attempt to overcome the barriers placed on their multicultural relationship. And in the last story, a young husband and father battles between his drinking problem and his desire to have faith.

At 85 pages, Midnight Sweatlodge is a quick read. Its length, however, has nothing to do with its impact, and the reader remains engaged from first page to last. The overall message is one of struggle and survival, but with a sound reminder that having faith is the first step to mending a damaged soul.

If you want to check out Rice’s personal blog, click here. You can also follow him on both Facebook and Twitter…

Be sure to get connected, because he’ll be in Winnipeg in a few months for THIN AIR 2011!