The Evolution of Alice

by David A. Robertson, Shelagh Rogers (Foreword by)

Overview

Alice is a single mother raising her three young daughters on the rez where she grew up. Life has never been easy, but she's managed to get by with the support of her best friend, Gideon, and her family. When an unthinkable loss occurs, Alice is forced to confront truths that will challenge her belief in herself and the world she thought she knew.

Peopled with unforgettable characters and told from multiple points of view, this is a novel where spirits are alive, forgiveness is possible, and love is the only thing that matters.

Reissued with a new story by David A. Robertson and foreword by Shelagh Rogers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781553799184
Publisher:	Portage & Main Press
Publication date:	07/30/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	771 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David A. Robertson (he/him/his) is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, has won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, as well as the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. He was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba for outstanding contributions in the arts and distinguished achievements in 2023. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.

Shelagh Rogers is a veteran broadcast-journalist, currently host and co-producer of CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter, devoted to writing in Canada. She is an honorary witness to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2016, she was awarded the inaugural Margaret Trudeau Award for Mental Health Advocacy. She holds honorary doctorates from eight Canadian universities and is Chancellor of the University of Victoria.

Shelagh is of Métis and Scottish ancestry. Her great-grandmother Edith Rogers was the first Michif woman, and the first woman, elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Edith was from Norway House, where David A. Robertson’s family has deep roots.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

1 1

Nightlight 3

2 10

The evolution of alice 11

3 31

Anchorage 33

4 51

Remember saturn 52

5 66

Starfish 68

6 78

Sweet tooth 79

7 94

Simple momentum 96

8 108

Staring at the sun 109

9 116

Hilroy 118

10 132

Running on fences 134

11 145

Future days 147

12 169

Jumper 171

13 181

Stony mountain serenade 183

14 191

Sketches 193

15 202

Walking stick 203

Epilogue 221

Acknowledgments 225

About the Author 227

What People are Saying About This

Katherena Vermette

Robertson weaves seemingly separate points of view into a chorus of voices that sings our lost ones home. The Evolution of Alice is a story that uplifts, a tragedy not unusual but freshly told, and a read that will echo long after you’ve put it down. 

Dora Dueck

I felt I was holding my breath as I read, because of the great sorrow, mysteries, wisdom, and love in this book. Beautifully written, and such memorable characters!

CTV Winnipeg Matthew TenBruggencate

So many Manitobans have, like a character in an early chapter, only sped by reserves on the highway. Inviting us into a rich community of characters, which stretches deeper than the headlines most of us associate with reserve life, Robertson is doing a service to everyone who calls Manitoba home. And crafting an engaging story of one family’s recovery from loss—at a time when Indigenous peoples are increasingly flexing political, economic and cultural muscle in this country—is a gift for everyone hoping for a better future for our divided country…

Neil Besner

Pulsing at the heart of this novel are the warmly rendered inflections of storytelling voices like Gideon’s, at once reflective, vivid, and vernacular. And at the novel’s core, the broken but ultimately healing rhythms of Alice’s 'evolution'—her cycles of loving and suffering, of her family’s living, dying, and ultimately hoping to live anew — bring contemporary experience on the reservation and in the big city achingly, joyfully, and always pungently alive.

Editorial Reviews

So many Manitobans have, like a character in an early chapter, only sped by reserves on the highway. Inviting us into a rich community of characters, which stretches deeper than the headlines most of us associate with reserve life, Robertson is doing a service to everyone who calls Manitoba home. And crafting an engaging story of one family’s recovery from loss—at a time when Indigenous peoples are increasingly flexing political, economic and cultural muscle in this country—is a gift for everyone hoping for a better future for our divided country…

CTV Winnipeg Matthew TenBruggencate

Pulsing at the heart of this novel are the warmly rendered inflections of storytelling voices like Gideon’s, at once reflective, vivid, and vernacular. And at the novel’s core, the broken but ultimately healing rhythms of Alice’s 'evolution'—her cycles of loving and suffering, of her family’s living, dying, and ultimately hoping to live anew — bring contemporary experience on the reservation and in the big city achingly, joyfully, and always pungently alive.

Neil Besner

Robertson weaves seemingly separate points of view into a chorus of voices that sings our lost ones home. The Evolution of Alice is a story that uplifts, a tragedy not unusual but freshly told, and a read that will echo long after you’ve put it down. 

Katherena Vermette

I felt I was holding my breath as I read, because of the great sorrow, mysteries, wisdom, and love in this book. Beautifully written, and such memorable characters!

Dora Dueck

Robertson writes feelingly of casual cruelties and everyday kindnesses. The novel follows… overlapping, sometimes unexpected connections of family and community, but it is held together by Robertson’s own voice, which is immediate, unflinching, and emotionally generous.

Winnipeg Free Press - Alison Gillmor

"So many Manitobans have, like a character in an early chapter, only sped by reserves on the highway. Inviting us into a rich community of characters, which stretches deeper than the headlines most of us associate with reserve life, Robertson is doing a service to everyone who calls Manitoba home. And crafting an engaging story of one family’s recovery from loss — at a time when indigenous peoples are increasingly flexing political, economic and cultural muscle in this country — is a gift for everyone hoping for a better future for our divided country…" - Matthew TenBruggencate, CTV Winnipeg

"Pulsing at the heart of this novel are the warmly rendered inflections of storytelling voices like Gideon’s, at once reflective, vivid, and vernacular. And at the novel’s core, the broken but ultimately healing rhythms of Alice’s 'evolution' – her cycles of loving and suffering, of her family’s living, dying, and ultimately hoping to live anew — bring contemporary experience on the reservation and in the big city achingly, joyfully, and always pungently alive." - Neil Besner, Professor of English, Provost and Vice-President, Academic, The University of Winnipeg

From the Publisher