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  • Five Little Indians

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Michelle Good
  • Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
  • Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (906 ratings)

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Five Little Indians cover art

Five Little Indians

Written by: Michelle Good
Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
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Publisher's Summary

WINNER: Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction

WINNER: Amazon First Novel Awards

Finalist: Scotiabank Giller Prize

Finalist: Atwood Gibson Writers Trust Prize

Finalist: BC & Yukon Book Prize

Shortlist: Indigenous Voices Awards

Finalist: Kobo Emerging Author Prize

National Best Seller; A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of the Year; A CBC Best Book of the Year; An Apple Best Book of the Year; A Kobo Best Book of the Year; An Indigo Best Book of the Year

Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention.

Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission.

Fuelled by rage and furious with God, Clara finds her way into the dangerous, highly charged world of the American Indian Movement. Maisie internalizes her pain and continually places herself in dangerous situations. Famous for his daring escapes from the school, Kenny can’t stop running and moves restlessly from job to job—through fishing grounds, orchards and logging camps—trying to outrun his memories and his addiction. Lucy finds peace in motherhood and nurtures a secret compulsive disorder as she waits for Kenny to return to the life they once hoped to share together. After almost beating one of his tormentors to death, Howie serves time in prison, then tries once again to re-enter society and begin life anew.

With compassion and insight, Five Little Indians chronicles the desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward. 

©2020 Michelle Good (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

Featured Article: Finding the Canadian Voice That Speaks To You

The Canadian voice is a powerful, distinct and rich one. From the First Nations and those that have lived in Canada for generations to new immigrants, the tapestry that makes up Canada from Nova Scotia, to Toronto, Winnipeg to Vancouver and every city in between is a colourful combination of people, voices and stories. Whether you’re searching for a relatable experience or seeking to hear a new perspective of this country we love, we’ve compiled a list of 10 amazing audiobooks by Canadian authors to help you find the voice that speaks to you.

What listeners say about Five Little Indians

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Poor narration,mediocre plot

I have never listened to an audio book with such an annoying narrator.every sentence sounds sing-song and my partner thought it was a computer reading the book. The narration was the worst experience.
It wasn’t until the end when some very moving material appeared,otherwise a very mediocre book terribly read.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • J
  • 2022-02-18

Great story with unfortunate narration

I’m probably not adding anything that has not been said. The story is very good and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning a little about the lives affected by residential schools. It provides insight in that way that historically minded fiction can do very well.
That brings me to the narration. Another reviewer said it very well. That the voices of characters are often very well done but the non spoken internal monologue is done in a very rhythmic mechanical manner with repeated emphasis on the final syllable. It is very distracting to LIS-TEN-TO. And made the overall experience FRUS-TRA-TING.

If I had not committed to reading it quickly I would have given up and maybe tried reading with my eyes. As it is, I found 1.4x speed somehow made it much better and is the only way I finished the book.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great book, needs better narration

I love this book so much I've listened twice. But the second time around I noticed that the narrative voice is very "white" and Indigenous people have very distinct accents. Would have had much better listening experience if it had been narrated by an Indigenous person.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Important story, but poor narration

Such an important story, so listened through... but very difficult with this narration. I had read similar responses in other reviews. Found the narrator did voices well (for the most part) but all the narration in between dialogue had the same mechanical upward inclinations throughout. Feel it detracted greatly from the story itself. But definitely worth it to help build a better understanding of what Canada's Indigenous population may have experienced through the Residential School system and how that trauma has impacted their lives over the years that followed, and in turn, the generations that followed them.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Every Canadian needs to read this

This book was such a lovely moving story of strength, and survival, as well as heartache and sorrow. While the subject matter is difficult and hard to listen too at times, I believe it's our responsibility as Canadians to learn as much as we can so we can do better.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful Canadian story, unfortunate narration

This story, based on so many horrible Canadian stories of residential school, is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Beautifully written by MIchelle Good with unforgettable characters and compelling stories of family, intergenerational suffering, love, and resilience. Narration on the audio version was not good. Why choose an American/hispanic actress who reads way too fast to play the role of Indigenous characters in this story? It was really difficult to listen to her. Wish now that I had read the print version. That said, I would listen to this audio book again again if they chose to re-record it with a culturally appropriate Indigenous Canadian actress/narrator.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • T
  • 2021-03-11

heartwarming & heartwrenching

So sad that we out people through such an experience. And I have no words for the resilience shown by these characters!

Already recommending!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, poor narration.

I wish I had read the reviews before purchasing. This is an important read, but oh so monotone and slow. I agree it should have been an Indigenous person reading the story.
Definitely better sped up, but I wish I had purchased a paper copy instead.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Book was amazing. listen at 1.2 speed

I loved this book. I echo what some others have said the narration was a little flat on anything other than characters speaking.
But I changed the listen speed to 1.2 and It was perfect.
Just enough to change the pitch made all the difference in the world!
I would highly recommend this this read.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Where was the aboriginal voice in the reading?

While this was a sympathetic reading of Michelle Good's exceptional book the fact that a Canadian aboriginal reader was not used was a barrier to my engagement with the story.

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1 person found this helpful