Trickster Drift

Trickster Drift / Eden Robinson
Toronto: Knopf, c2018.
384 p.

Now for another fantastic seasonal read! I just finished this book, volume two of the Trickster trilogy, over the weekend.

It follows Jared, the main character from book one, as he gets sober and leaves his hometown of Kitimat to attend college in Vancouver. Due to many circumstances, he finds himself living with his Aunt Mave, a woman his mother hasn't spoken to in years. But to keep him safe, she connects up with her sister, a writer and Indigenous activist who welcomes him whole-heartedly but is blind to the particular dangers Jared faces - most of which are supernatural.

Things get really weird for Jared. He's being stalked by his mother's ex, David, who always seems to know where he is. He's struggling with his physics homework, at least until he finds an unexpected tutor hanging around the house. And he's finding a lot of new relatives who he didn't know previously. Oh, and his bedroom seems to be an interdimensional vortex.

This book is dark, violent in parts, and full of swearing -- and also replete with familial love and caring relationships, hilarity, and some of the best ghosts I've seen in fiction in a long time. Creatures based in Indigenous culture mix with pop culture to create spookiness at a Stephen King level, that is, if Stephen King could also be as hilarious as Eden Robinson.

Jared is a solid character, trying to do his best for everyone. In his sanguine approach to life and his otherwordly talents, combined with his mad cooking skills, he reminds me slightly of Odd Thomas from the Dean Koontz series. But of course Jared is not so solitary - he has a huge extended family of warm, caring and sometimes nosy cousins and aunties. And he has help with his supernatural adventures, at least if he wants it -- since his mother is a witch and his father is Trickster. And is Jared also a trickster? It's only when his troubles with David hit crisis point that he finds out. 

I loved reading this; the characters are all wonderful and individual, there is heartbreak alongside humour, and the creativity of her plot is mind-blowing. I can not wait until part three comes out; what is going to happen with Jared?? I want to know! 

Interested in book one? Check out my thoughts here