Kukum

by Michel Jean Narrated by Erin Tripp

Overview

A Quebec bestseller based on the life of Michel Jean's great-grandmother that delivers an empathetic portrait of drastic change in an Innu community.

Kukum recounts the story of Almanda Siméon, an orphan raised by her aunt and uncle, who falls in love with a young Innu man despite their cultural differences and goes on to share her life with the Pekuakami Innu community. They accept her as one of their own: Almanda learns their language, how to live a nomadic existence, and begins to break down the barriers imposed on Indigenous women. Unfolding over the course of a century, the novel details the end of traditional ways of life for the Innu, as Almanda and her family face the loss of their land and confinement to reserves, and the enduring violence of residential schools. 

Kukum intimately expresses the importance of Innu ancestral values and the need for freedom nomadic peoples feel to this day.

Editorial Reviews

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Erin Tripp, a Lingít actor and performer, narrates this historical novel based on the author's Innu ancestry. The Lingít are Indigenous people who live in Southeast Alaska. The Innu are Indigenous people who live in Labrador and Quebec. In this story Almanda Siméon, the daughter of Irish immigrants, falls in love with Thomas, an Innu man, and goes to live with him in the Pekuakami Innu community. Almanda's new community accepts her with open arms and begins teaching her their language and way of life. Tripp captures Almanda's horror and fury as she experiences the loss of her community's Indigenous lands to the lumber industry and the removal of her children and grandchildren to residential schools. The way Tripp's skillful narration evokes the frozen north and Almanda's rhythmic storytelling creates an immersive listening experience. K.D.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Winnipeg Free Press

There is no escaping the history of this country, but that does not make this story a tragedy. It is first and foremost a celebration of a life well-lived.

Montreal Review of Books

An admirable book. Jean makes us feel the loss experienced by Quebec’s Innu community through a highly personal story … Kukum serves as a reminder to listen to your elders, heed the lessons of the past, and question what is done in the name of progress.

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Erin Tripp, a Lingít actor and performer, narrates this historical novel based on the author's Innu ancestry. The Lingít are Indigenous people who live in Southeast Alaska. The Innu are Indigenous people who live in Labrador and Quebec. In this story Almanda Siméon, the daughter of Irish immigrants, falls in love with Thomas, an Innu man, and goes to live with him in the Pekuakami Innu community. Almanda's new community accepts her with open arms and begins teaching her their language and way of life. Tripp captures Almanda's horror and fury as she experiences the loss of her community's Indigenous lands to the lumber industry and the removal of her children and grandchildren to residential schools. The way Tripp's skillful narration evokes the frozen north and Almanda's rhythmic storytelling creates an immersive listening experience. K.D.W. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178046586
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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