Winter 2009

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Miriam Toews’ new novel begins in Paris, where Hattie, a moody artist, is dumped by her boyfriend. She is unable to wallow in self-pity because her sister Min has been committed to a psychiatric ward. With 11-year-old Thebes and 15-year-old Logan now in her care, Hattie returns to Winnipeg.

Hattie is unable to cope with parental responsibilities and so she takes the children on a road trip to the States, ostensibly to reunite them with their estranged father. Their odyssey results in a fully realized exploration of the adage, am I my sister’s keeper? 

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She grunts, growls, sings, pants and breathes, but one of the most interesting things about Tanya Tagaq Gillis’s ability to take Inuk throat singing into the mainstream is the nontraditional way she went about it.
Historically, this style of singing was performed by two women, but as a solo artist Tagaq found a different way to get other performers into the mix. She’s worked with powerhouse acts like Björk and the Kronos Quartet, and she’s brought that collaborative approach to her latest release, Auk,which is the IInuktitut word for blood.