The Red Canoe
Published on 28. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-915523-90-7 (ISBN)
Description
From multiple Pulitzer Prize-nominated author; following Buck, a man fighting for his life, & Lucy, a semi-feral girl, living on the border of Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community reservation as tragedy and trauma unite the two.
Buck, government name Michael Fineday, Ojibwe name Miskwa' doden (Red Deer) is on the brink of suicide. He has just been served divorce papers by his wife Naomi, who is fed up with his savior complex and the danger it often attracts to their door. Living on the border of Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community reservation, Buck makes a living as a boatbuilder and carpenter. He spends his days alone, trying to win the trust of a feral cat... until a semi-feral girl shows up, fascinated by the canoe Buck is building.
Lucy, Ojibwe name Gage' bineh, (Everlasting Bird), lives in a trailer alone with her father, a local policeman struggling with PTSD which is compounded by the loss of Lucy's mother. Just barely fifteen she has lived with a lifetime of abuse, while knowing that if she ever spoke out, her father would bear the consequences. Buck senses Lucy is in trouble and doesn't hesitate to come to her defense. On the foundation of their shared Ojibwe heritage, they trace Lucy's abuse to a ring that extends farther than either of them ever imagined, while building a bond even sturdier than Buck's canoe.
Buck, government name Michael Fineday, Ojibwe name Miskwa' doden (Red Deer) is on the brink of suicide. He has just been served divorce papers by his wife Naomi, who is fed up with his savior complex and the danger it often attracts to their door. Living on the border of Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community reservation, Buck makes a living as a boatbuilder and carpenter. He spends his days alone, trying to win the trust of a feral cat... until a semi-feral girl shows up, fascinated by the canoe Buck is building.
Lucy, Ojibwe name Gage' bineh, (Everlasting Bird), lives in a trailer alone with her father, a local policeman struggling with PTSD which is compounded by the loss of Lucy's mother. Just barely fifteen she has lived with a lifetime of abuse, while knowing that if she ever spoke out, her father would bear the consequences. Buck senses Lucy is in trouble and doesn't hesitate to come to her defense. On the foundation of their shared Ojibwe heritage, they trace Lucy's abuse to a ring that extends farther than either of them ever imagined, while building a bond even sturdier than Buck's canoe.
Reviews / Votes
"From one of the most original voices of the past several years comes a powerful story of brutal violence and righteous vengeance. Set on a reservation in southern Minnesota, The Red Canoe unflinchingly explores the challenges of racial prejudice and sexual predation faced by an extraordinary Native teenager. Master storyteller Wayne Johnson has crafted this tale with both compassion and wisdom, and keeps the suspense building relentlessly toward the novel's bitter cold and enormously satisfying climax."- William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land
"Heart-warming and gut-wrenching. A nuanced, superbly written justice thriller laced with unflinching grit and social commentary."
- Booklist (Starred Review)
"A powerful story of Indigenous people who are abused but also determined to battle brutality and corruption themselves when they can't rely on the authorities."
- Library Journal (Starred Review)
"Simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-pounding, The Red Canoe is a gritty and yet tender novel about an unrelenting pursuit for justice, redemption, and revenge. With nods to classic noir, westerns, action movies, and wilderness survival stories, this novel has a cast of misfit unlikely heroes you'll root for 'til the bloody end."
- Tara Laskowski, award-winning author of The Mother Next Door
"Intriguing...Readers will care enough about Buck and Lucy to see how they fare."
- Publishers Weekly
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Watkins Media Limited
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
340 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-915523-90-7 (9781915523907)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Wayne Johnson is the multiple-Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of the acclaimed Paul Two Persons mysteries, The Devil You Know, and many other works of fiction and nonfiction. Of mixed Native and European descent, he grew up in southern Minneapolis, and in the north lakes region of Minnesota on the White Earth and Red Lake Reservations. He currently resides in Salt Lake City. Find him online at waynejohnsonauthor.com