Book Review: Bones of a Giant by Brian Thomas Isaac

When Canadian author Brian Thomas Isaac released his first novel All the Quiet Places a few years ago, it was met with critical acclaim and healthy sales. His latest release Bones of a Giant is the sequel to that debut work. It was released a few months ago so I’m not sure if it has sold as well as the first, but I do hope people who enjoyed that debut will check this one out too, as it seamlessly picks up where the last left off, with the Toma family and their struggles as its continued focus.

Plot Summary

Lewis Toma is excited for his summer vacation to begin; he has two glorious months away from school with the ability to immerse himself in what he loves most – the nature around him. It’s 1968 and he’s sixteen years old, living with his mother Grace and his aunt Isabel on a reserve in the interior of British Columbia, amongst cold lakes and tall mountains. The house they live in sets him apart from his peers in many ways; he has grown up without indoor plumbing and refuses to let his friends see his home, insisting they drop him off on the road after school, and never inviting them over. The local Indian Agent tells Grace that she is required to pay more money than originally asked for to complete the renovations to install indoor plumbing, so her and Isabel leave for the summer to make money picking fruit to pay off the additional costs. Lewis is left with his cousins who live close by in a brand new house, savoring the luxuries that most kids of his generation have taken for granted. He enjoys his time with a new girlfriend Loretta, but after a disturbing encounter with an older woman, Lewis finds himself struggling to make sense of this new stage in his life, and the strange ways this has connected him to his estranged father, Jimmy. Meanwhile, Grace learns of Jimmy’s plans to use the land that Grace and Isabel currently live on, and although she is fearful of him due to past abuses, she refuses to back down to his intimidations. Back in that time (and sadly, this has only recently changed) the Indian Act historically favoured males, operating within a highly patriarchal and unfair infrastructure that often disadvantaged women.

My Thoughts

I noticed in my review of Isaac’s earlier book I used the term ‘meanders’, and this definitely applies to his sophomore effort as well. Although the book can generally be classified as a coming of age novel, it did feel aimless at times, just like its protagonist Lewis. About three quarters of the way through, the plot is pushed forward by a major change in the Toma family, which helped the plot pick up speed and move it swiftly towards an ending. I also felt confused when minor characters were given pages and pages of backstory, which I thought signaled their return or continuation in the story, but then their storylines simply dropped off right after their in-depth introduction. The pacing of this book could have used some more work.

Despite that complaint there was much to admire about Isaac’s writing too. His depictions of Lewis’s life were a mixture of the joy he found in nature, and the embarrassment he felt at his family’s poverty. Most of the story was written from Lewis’s point of view, but there were a few short chapters written through Grace’s eyes, which helped illuminate both characters’ struggles in a very balanced way, drawing the reader in. Family is a major theme in this book; the extended family plays a critical role in each family member’s survival, and although Lewis’s situation would seem dire at times, the male role models he had helped guide him back to a positive path, even when they had contradictory advice to offer him.

My favourite parts of the book were the moments between Grace and Isabel, and I’m hopeful that if Isaac does write a third book about this family it will center more on these female characters as they both have an inspiring grit and emotional depth not yet developed in the younger male characters:

“‘Aw, Grace, we’re all in the same boat. That’s what living on the reserve does. All you want is a home where your kids are safe and you got enough food to eat and the police watch out for you when some mean guy with a grudge comes along and takes it out on you. But that’s just a dream for us. Hell, when I was thirteen, my mom nailed my window shut to keep the men from getting at me. Can you imagine that?'” (p. 158 of Bones of Giant by Brian Thomas Issac, ARC edition).

It’s a simple life they yearn for, and a simple life they lead, but it’s also this simplicity that appeals to me. These books aren’t for everyone, but Canadians who are familiar with this part of BC and want to learn more about the struggles that Indigenous families faced at that time will appreciate the continued saga of the Toma family.