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The Circle cover art

The Circle

Written by: katherena vermette
Narrated by: Michaela Washburn
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Publisher's Summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

The Circle is a polyphonic masterpiece.”—Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse

From the award-winning and #1 bestselling author of The Break and The Strangers comes a poignant and unwavering epic told from a constellation of Métis voices that consider the fallout when the person who connects them all goes missing

The concept was simple. You sit a bunch of people in a circle—everyone who hurt, everyone who got hurt, all affected—and let them share. Some people, it helped them heal, for sure. Others went in angry and left a different kind of angry. Learned how the blame belonged on the system, the history, the colonizer, the big things that were harder to change than one bad person.

The day that Cedar Sage Stranger has been both dreading and longing for has finally come: her sister Phoenix is getting out of prison.

The effect of Phoenix’s release cascades through the community. M, the young girl whom she assaulted, is triggered by the news. Her mother, Paulina, is worried and her cousin is angry—all feel the threat of Phoenix’s release. When Phoenix is seen lingering outside the school to catch a glimpse of her son, Sparrow, the police get a call to file a report—but the next thing they know, she has disappeared.

Amid accusations and plots for revenge, past grievances become a poor guide in a moment of danger, and the clumsy armature of law enforcement is no match for the community. Cedar and her and Phoenix’s mother, Elsie, continue down different paths of healing, while everyone in their lives form a circle around the chaos, the calm within the storm, and the beauty in the darkness.

Fierce, heartbreaking, and profound, Vermette’s The Circle is the third and final companion novel to her bestsellers The Break and The Strangers. Told from various perspectives, with an unforgettable voice for each chapter, the novel is masterfully structured as a Restorative Justice Circle where all gather—both the victimized and the accused—to take account of a crime that has altered the course of their lives. It considers what it means to be abandoned by the very systems that claim to offer support, how it feels to gain a sense of belonging, and the unanticipated cost of protecting those you love most.

©2023 Katherena Vermette (P)2023 Hamish Hamilton

What the critics say

One of CBC's "40 Canadian books to read this season"

One of CBC Books "Best Fiction of 2023"

“Like Orange's There There, The Circle is a polyphonic masterpiece. Brutal at turns, and tender at others, it's about the tremendous impact one person can have on an entire community.”—Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse

“Like its sisters in this trilogy, every page of The Circle is a steady and rhythmic observation of our humanity as Indigenous people. It asks what restitution and justice could possibly feel like when we, as Indigenous people, are all subjects of this unjust empire called Canada. This book is truth in all her fluid forms. It is an altar of love, hope, and grief amidst the relentless torment of settler colonialism. Katherena Vermette, in her distinctly elegant style, offers a glimpse into the devastating beauty of our people and our capacity to keep moving forward, one foot at a time, guided by the love and strength of our ancestors. It reminds us that, in the end, all that’s left is the stories we carry with the people we loved.”—Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, filmmaker and actor

“A perfect companion to The Break and The Strangers, Katherena Vermette’s The Circle draws us back into the lives of characters who we’ve come to know so intimately that their heartache is our heartache. With each new perspective as distinct and vivid as the last, The Circle acts as an unsettling reminder that the systems designed to help the most vulnerable too often end up betraying them. This is a stellar finale with an ending that will leave you both heartbroken and hopeful.”—Amanda Peters, author of The Berry Pickers

What listeners say about The Circle

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Heartwrenching

Each chapter following a different character impacted by the same violent act, The Circle is healing and heartbreaking. Tears are still rolling.

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The perfect completion

I can’t say enough good things about this series. I am not sure if there will be more books, but definitely following KV for future works.

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Thank you

A glorious and authentic prairie story! Inspiring to say the least. The characters are raw and complex and both the short story and long story internet and teach

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Loved this book

Beautifully ties in the first two books in the series. The Circle makes me want to go back and re-read The Break and The Strangers with fresh eyes and new understanding of the characters and their families and stories. Katherena Vermette has a gift for storytelling like no other author I’ve read.
Highly recommend this and any other Katherena Vermette works.

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Loved how it all intertwined

Loved how everyone's stories intertwined with eachother ... that's how it really is in indigenous culture 🫶🏼

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heartbreaking!

beautifully read. beautiful story. you just keep on wanting to learn more about each of the characters...

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Course Required Reading

Although this was an assigned reading, I enjoyed every second of this storytelling masterpiece. The performance was outstanding! Highly recommend!

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Unfortunate

I love this series. I was so excited to spend more time with The Strangers, but unfortunately, this book was disappointing. The performance was excellent as per usual, but the story itself seemed almost contorted into an ideological box that it didn't fit into. There was a lack of authenticity in the writing that wasn't present in Vermettes' last novels. An awkwardness that took away from the flow and heart I loved so much in The Break and The Strangers. The Circle had some great parts and I cried at the end, but overall, it felt disingenuous.

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