Tookie, an Ojibwe woman who survived an unusual incarceration, works at a small independent bookstore in Minneapolis. The narrative follows her through the year 2020 as she is haunted by Flora, a deceased customer who refused to stop visiting the shop even after death. The ghost's presence coincides with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd. Tookie must solve the mystery of a specific, lethal sentence found in a book Flora held at her time of death while navigating her marriage to Pollux, the former tribal police officer who originally arrested her.
Readers of contemporary literary fiction and ghost stories will find a grounded depiction of how history and ancestral trauma manifest in modern urban life. The book appeals to those interested in Indigenous perspectives on justice and the specific atmosphere of a city under lockdown and protest. A reader walks away with a detailed account of the psychological toll of 2020 and a list of book recommendations integrated into the dialogue. It provides a technical look at the labor of bookselling and the ways people use literature to survive isolation.
- Published
- 2021
- Language
- EN
