''Three Day Road'' is the first

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

from

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer

Joseph Boyden Joseph Boyden (born October 31, 1966) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. He is best known for writing about First Nations culture. '' Three Day Road'', a novel about two Cree soldiers serving in the Canadian military during World War ...

. Joseph's maternal grandfather, as well as an uncle on his father's side, served as soldiers during the First World War, and Boyden draws upon a wealth of family narratives. This novel follows the journey of two young

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

men, Xavier and Elijah, who volunteer for that war and become

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

s during the conflict. The book was generally critically well received.

Plot

Set in 1919, following the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the novel takes place in the wilderness of

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

and on the battlefields of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Niska, an

Oji-Cree The Anisininew or Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree pe ...

medicine woman, is the remnant of her native relatives who refused to assimilate in the 19th century. She rejected European beliefs and culture and continues to thrive in the bush in a manner befitting her and her traditions. Niska's voice is one of two narratives that complete the novel. After getting word that her closest thing to living family, Elijah, is coming back from the war, she paddles the three-day journey to meet him in town. She finds, however, that it is not Elijah but her nephew Xavier who has returned from battle. In an attempt to heal her only relative, who has clearly been sucked dry of his soul and has hardened with nightmares from the war and turned hollow by morphine, she begins to recount the stories of her past. She believes that perhaps this will revive Xavier and the Three Day Road will not be one to his demise. Similarly, Xavier attempts to stumble over his story for his aunt and unearths ghosts of his bullet-riddled past. The novel was inspired in part by real-life Indigenous World War I heroes Francis Pegahmagabow and John Shiwak. In addition it seems relevant that Boyden's father Raymond Wilfrid Boyden was a medical officer renowned for his bravery, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and was the most highly decorated medical officer of World War II.

The significance of the title

As Xavier, one of the protagonists reflects in the novel, the number three is especially relevant not only to Indigenous cultures but Europeans alike. It would appear to Xavier that the number three can be found everywhere. There is the front line, the support line, and the reserve line, for example. There is the infantry, the cavalry, and the artillery. In moments off battle, there is food, then rest, then women. In church, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There is even superstition about lighting three cigarettes with one match. Xavier remembers specifically though, about what his aunt Niska told him about those ready for death having to walk the Three Day Road. In the novel, we accompany Xavier on what would seem to be his Three Day Road; his journey back to his home with Niska and her stories trying to heal him.

Themes

Among other ideas the book explores the cultural gulf between European settlers in Canada and the Indigenous peoples.

Awards and recognition

* Nominee for the 2005 Governor General's Awards. * Winner of the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award. * Winner of the

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...

for 2005. * Selected for inclusion in '' Canada Reads 2006'', where it was championed by

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

Nelofer Pazira Nilofar Pazira () is an Afghan-Canadian director, actress, journalist and author. Biography Nelofer Pazira was born in 1973 in Hyderabad, India, where her Afghan father was then working with the World Health Organization. She grew up in Kabul ...

. * Winner, 2006 Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award

References

{{reflist *http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=4321 *http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670063628,00.html *http://www.goodreports.net/reviews/threedayroad.htm

External links

Minnesota Public Radio: Joseph Boyden reading from ''Three Day Road''
(RealAudio stream)

* ttp://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/browse.php?txtCatID=367 McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year 2005 Canadian novels Novels by Joseph Boyden Fiction set in 1919 Novels set in Northern Ontario Novels set during World War I