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The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
WINNER OF THE 2023 BARNES & NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE 2024 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION
***
One family’s deepest pain. Another family’s darkest secret.
On a hot day in 1960s Maine, six-year-old Joe watches his little sister Ruthie, sitting on her favourite rock at the edge of the blueberry fields, while their family, Mi’kmaq people from Nova Scotia, pick fruit. That afternoon, Ruthie vanishes without a trace. As the last person to see her, Joe will be forever haunted by grief, guilt, and the agony of imagining how his life could have been.
In an affluent suburb nearby, Norma is growing up as the only child of unhappy parents. She is smart, precocious, and bursting with questions she isn’t allowed to ask – questions about her missing baby photos; questions about her dark skin; questions about the strange, vivid dreams of campfires and warm embraces that return night after night. Norma senses there are things her parents aren’t telling her, but it will take decades to unravel the secrets they have kept buried since she was a little girl.
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Review
For fans of Celeste Ng and Ann Patchett, this quietly beautiful book will break, then mend, your heart -- Sarah Gelman ― Amazon, The Best Books of 2023
The ghosts of lost children haunt generations in this lucid and assured début ― The New Yorker, Best Books of 2023
A poignant debut from a writer to watch ― Kirkus, Starred Review
Marvellous ... I can’t believe Amanda Peters is just getting started ... She’s going to be the next big thing ... The Berry Pickers is a triumph ― Katherena Vermette, author of The Strangers
Enthralling ... Powerfully rendered ... A cogent and heartfelt look at the ineffable pull of family ties ― Publishers Weekly
Wonderful ... Indigenous stories like this matter, and while little is easy for Peters’ characters, in the end, for all of them – even those who stole a small child – there is hope ― Emily Dziuban, Booklist
Poignant ... Reads like a modern literary classic ... Moving, heartbreaking, and hopeful, The Berry Pickers is a powerful tale of haunting regret, bonds that will never be broken, and unrelenting love ― Nick Medina, author of Sisters of the Lost Nation
[Peters] excels in writing characters for whom we can’t help rooting ― New York Times
The Berry Pickers is just like a handful of berries ... filled with so much sweet, so much sour, so much juice. Reading this book, I was only ever hungry when it ended ― Morgan Talty, author of Night of the Living Rez
Peters brilliantly crafts a multi-layered tale of how one irrational act creates irrevocable harm that ripples through multiple lives ... A fluid and emotional read that is both plainly and beautifully rendered ... An amazing read from an amazing new voice ― Michelle Good, author of Five Little Indians
A beautiful novel about family and about the way it makes and breaks and remakes us again ... It contains a cast of characters you will never forget. With this book, Amanda Peters establishes herself as an essential new voice ― Alexander MacLeod, author of Animal Person
Peters weaves a persistent thread of hope and resilience through her remarkable debut novel ― Allison Zhao, Acta Victoriana
Lyrical ... You cannot help but love these characters from the first chapter, they stay with you long after the last page ― Cherie Dimaline, author of The Marrow Thieves
Hauntingly beautiful ... A page-turner that will stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading it ― The Suburban
Heartbreaking and genuine, this saga of a family dealing with the disappearance of a beloved child will resonate with readers of historical fiction, Indigenous fiction and anyone who enjoys a solidly written story ― Winnipeg Free Press
This emotional debut is a beautifully told story of identity, loss, and the power of love ― Chatelaine
Offers a deep exploration into the human spirit and the meaning of connection ― Sydney Walsh, Atlantic Books
Written in crystalline clear prose and brilliantly descriptive of a time and place, The Berry Pickers tells a moving story especially relevant to our times, when so much of Canada’s dark past increasingly comes to light' ― 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Jury
An unputdownable novel of identity, forgiveness, and insistent hope ― The Monitor
A profound study of the love, grief and betrayals of two families ― inews, The best new books to read in November 2023
The ghosts of lost children haunt generations in this lucid and assured début ― The New Yorker, Best Books of 2023
A poignant debut from a writer to watch ― Kirkus, Starred Review
Marvellous ... I can’t believe Amanda Peters is just getting started ... She’s going to be the next big thing ... The Berry Pickers is a triumph ― Katherena Vermette, author of The Strangers
Enthralling ... Powerfully rendered ... A cogent and heartfelt look at the ineffable pull of family ties ― Publishers Weekly
Wonderful ... Indigenous stories like this matter, and while little is easy for Peters’ characters, in the end, for all of them – even those who stole a small child – there is hope ― Emily Dziuban, Booklist
Poignant ... Reads like a modern literary classic ... Moving, heartbreaking, and hopeful, The Berry Pickers is a powerful tale of haunting regret, bonds that will never be broken, and unrelenting love ― Nick Medina, author of Sisters of the Lost Nation
[Peters] excels in writing characters for whom we can’t help rooting ― New York Times
The Berry Pickers is just like a handful of berries ... filled with so much sweet, so much sour, so much juice. Reading this book, I was only ever hungry when it ended ― Morgan Talty, author of Night of the Living Rez
Peters brilliantly crafts a multi-layered tale of how one irrational act creates irrevocable harm that ripples through multiple lives ... A fluid and emotional read that is both plainly and beautifully rendered ... An amazing read from an amazing new voice ― Michelle Good, author of Five Little Indians
A beautiful novel about family and about the way it makes and breaks and remakes us again ... It contains a cast of characters you will never forget. With this book, Amanda Peters establishes herself as an essential new voice ― Alexander MacLeod, author of Animal Person
Peters weaves a persistent thread of hope and resilience through her remarkable debut novel ― Allison Zhao, Acta Victoriana
Lyrical ... You cannot help but love these characters from the first chapter, they stay with you long after the last page ― Cherie Dimaline, author of The Marrow Thieves
Hauntingly beautiful ... A page-turner that will stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading it ― The Suburban
Heartbreaking and genuine, this saga of a family dealing with the disappearance of a beloved child will resonate with readers of historical fiction, Indigenous fiction and anyone who enjoys a solidly written story ― Winnipeg Free Press
This emotional debut is a beautifully told story of identity, loss, and the power of love ― Chatelaine
Offers a deep exploration into the human spirit and the meaning of connection ― Sydney Walsh, Atlantic Books
Written in crystalline clear prose and brilliantly descriptive of a time and place, The Berry Pickers tells a moving story especially relevant to our times, when so much of Canada’s dark past increasingly comes to light' ― 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Jury
An unputdownable novel of identity, forgiveness, and insistent hope ― The Monitor
A profound study of the love, grief and betrayals of two families ― inews, The best new books to read in November 2023
Product details
- Publisher : Fig Tree (2 November 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 024169244X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0241692448
- Item Weight : 390 g
- Dimensions : 15.3 x 2.3 x 23.4 cm
M398
3 Items
Specific References
WINNER OF THE 2023 BARNES & NOBLE DISCOVER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE 2024 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION
***
One family’s deepest pain. Another family’s darkest secret.
On a hot day in 1960s Maine, six-year-old Joe watches his little sister Ruthie, sitting on her favourite rock at the edge of the blueberry fields, while their family, Mi’kmaq people from Nova Scotia, pick fruit. That afternoon, Ruthie vanishes without a trace. As the last person to see her, Joe will be forever haunted by grief, guilt, and the agony of imagining how his life could have been.
In an affluent suburb nearby, Norma is growing up as the only child of unhappy parents. She is smart, precocious, and bursting with questions she isn’t allowed to ask – questions about her missing baby photos; questions about her dark skin; questions about the strange, vivid dreams of campfires and warm embraces that return night after night. Norma senses there are things her parents aren’t telling her, but it will take decades to unravel the secrets they have kept buried since she was a little girl.
