The Break by katherena vermette

A glimpse into the world of a Mtis community in northern Winnipeg.

A glimpse into the world of a Mtis community in northern Winnipeg

CBC Books Posted: Feb 02, 2017 4:23 PM EST | Last Updated: June 5, 2023

When Stella, a young Mtis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime.

In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected with the victim tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night. Lou, a social worker, grapples with the departure of her live-in boyfriend. Cheryl, an artist, mourns the premature death of her sister, Rain. Paulina, a single mother, struggles to trust her new partner. Phoenix, a homeless teenager, is released from a youth detention centre. Officer Scott, a Mtis policeman, feels caught between two worlds as he patrols the city. Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about lives of the residents in Winnipeg's North End is exposed.(From House of Anansi Press)

katherenavermette's novelThe Break was defendedby Candy Palmater on Canada Reads2017.The Break was nominated for multiple awards, including the Governor General's Literary Awards, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, and won three awards at the 2017 Manitoba Book Awards.

katherenavermette is a Mtis writer from Winnipeg. Her other books include the poetry collectionsNorth End Love Songsandriver woman,the novelThe Strangersand the four-book graphic novel seriesA Girl Called Echo.North End Love Songswon the Governor General's Literary Award for poetry. Her next book is the novelThe Circle, which will be published in fall 2023.

From the book

It is so late it's early. She had waited hours for the police to come. Waited shaking, thinking they would come at any moment. She was unable to stop cleaning or crying. She should have called her Kookom then. She would've been asleep, but she still would've answered. Or Aunty Cher, she would've come over, made the coffee, yelled at the cops when they started acting like they didn't believe her. But Stella didn't do any of that.

Jeff gets up, stands behind her at the sink and pulls her into his arms, forcing her into a hug. She waits until he's done so she can ring out the wet cloth.

"You were half asleep. And it's okay. It's okay. But with your past, hon, you know you could've just been dreaming. You could've just been confused."

She breaks away from him and goes to wipe the table. "There's blood all over out there," she says over her shoulder as she storms out of the kitchen again. The wind picking up outside, knocking at the old window.

"No one says nothing happened," he sighs. "It just might be different than you think."

She doesn't say anything, just scrubs.

From The Break by Katherena Vermette 2016. Published by House of Anansi Press.

Interviews with katherenavermette

The Next Chapter17:22Katherena Vermette on "The Break"

Katherena Vermette on her first novel about Winnipeg's North End.

More about The Break

Book trailer: The Break for Canada Reads 2017

7 years ago

0:40

Katherena Vermette's family saga The Break will be defended by Candy Palmater on Canada Reads 2017. The debates will air March 27 to 30, 2017.

Katherena Vermette reads from The Break

8 years ago

1:34

Katherena Vermette, whose novel The Break will be defended by Candy Palmater on Canada Reads 2017, discusses one of her favourite sentences from the book.