This was more of a 2.5 as it started as a 3 then went downhill a bit for me. I'm not sure why I didn't love it, there was nothing wrong with it, I just couldn't connect with it or really understand it. I know it's probably accurate for many people, but him having named, physical embodiments of his depression and anxiety etc was hard for me to understand and relate to.


Would fit The 52 Book Club's 2021 prompts:
14 - Written By An Author Over 65 When Published
19 - Book With A Deckled Edge
26 - An Author Of Colour
29 - Featuring The Environment
33 - Featuring Adoption
47 - A Character With A Disability
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Bird and Mimi are on vacation in Prague, the latest in a series of trips retracing the journey of Mimi's Uncle Leroy, an ancestor who was forced off the reserve by the Indian agent in the early 1900s, joined a Wild West Show, and left the country with the family medicine bundle, sending back only postcards from his journey. As Mimi and Bird visit the sights in Prague, the reader also learns more about them through Bird's flashbacks to other trips, their first meeting, and other events through their storied life together.

A really beautiful and occasionally funny novel that reflects the hodge podge nature of life and travel. Bird and Mimi's trip to Prague will feel familiar to anyone who's traveled - trying to see everything, trying and failing at not being too touristy, and the strange positions you find yourself in as a stranger in a new country. Bird is also grappling with his own emotional demons and physical ailments, which makes travelling less of a joy. King's personification of Bird's demons is a particular delight of the novel. Interspersed with their current trip to Prague, we also get glimpses into Bird and Mimi's life together and the challenges they've faced as a couple. In addition there are brief hints that they are also both grappling with the accumulation of wrongs both they and their ancestors have faced as First Nations people and for which there are no easy solutions. Highly recommended. ( )

This is an excellent book. Thomas King weaves a story of a couple of indigenous descent vacationing in Prague with stories of the protagonist’s upbringing and development as an adult mixed in with commentary about the treatment of indigenous peoples, refugees, and our own personal demons. All with a wry wit. Very enjoyable. ( )

Tom King's talent for writing with sarcasm and humour shows in this book, yet the trip seemed like an unpleasant experience and not much fun to read about. ( )

I really enjoyed The Inconvenient Indian but this failed to engage my interest at all. ( )