Bookworm's Reviews > Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water

It sounded very interesting. An immigrant to the United States who has never quite felt at home despite living in various places around the world and ends up writing about the Pimicikamak community and their battles with the Canadian government. Ali speaks to activists, regular people, Pimicikamak Elders and more to learn about them and about himself.

Honestly, I had no idea what this book wanted to be. A memoir? A discussion about the struggles and work of the Pimicikamak people? A social treatise? A book about immigration? I really don't know.

In retrospect, it's a little uncomfortable--although certainly there are shared interests, struggles, etc. ultimately is a visitor who came and told their stories and then left. And it's also not really clear exactly what story and whose story he's trying to tell. His? Theirs? The land's? Some combination?

It could be very well that this wasn't a book for me, that I wasn't the audience, that I really needed more knowledge about the issues facing the Pimicikamak community, etc. But overall I thought this book was skippable.

Borrowed from the library and that was best for me. Probably of interest to those who have closer ties or better knowledge.