I wrote about 20 pages and the Trickster’s voice didn’t work. “I thought originally that it’s a Trickster story so I should write it from the Trickster’s point of view.

I didn’t know what I could bring to them and then Jared came.”įunny how characters can take over a story. Originally I didn’t want to write a Trickster story because everyone does write them. “Stories come to you when you are ready for them. B ecause of these constraints she is working with Trickster stories that are in the public domain. Also, in the hierarchies of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, some people can hold a potlatch ceremony and some can’t. Some are in the possession of a chief and to have access to those, Robinson says, you have to either give the chief a gift or throw a potlatch. There are even rules around using Trickster stories. We have lots of rules, there are lots of things that were forbidden and the Trickster listened to none of them. “We have a society of very strict hierarchies. “Union regulations state that if you are an Indigenous writer you have to write one Trickster story,” Robinson said with a chuckle. The Trickster is a mythological figure in Indigenous cultures across North America.

The novel is the first in what will be a trilogy, Robinson says, as Jared makes his way through the chaos created by the Trickster known as Wee’git. Even though the hero of the book, a teenager named Jared, is beset by life’s trials and tribulations, he still manages to survive with surprising optimism, forbearance and hope of better things to come. She seems to be a genuinely happy person and that sunny outlook shines through the hard times in her latest book Son of a Trickster. It’s infectious, joyous and always ready to break out. The first thing that strikes you about Eden Robinson is her laugh.

Trickster eden robinson