The Lesser Blessed - Paperback

by Richard Van Camp (Author)

PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S TOP 10 'ESSENTIAL FICTION, NONFICTION,
MEMOIR AND SHORT STORIES BY NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS AUTHORS TO ADD TO YOUR LIST'

The coming-of-age Indigenous cult classic.

Internationally praised and the subject of a critically
acclaimed film, Richard Van Camp's bestselling novel about coming of age in
Canada's North has achieved the status of an Indigenous classic. This special
20th anniversary edition features a new introduction from the author, as well
as two short stories that follow the lives of the novel's main characters.

The Lesser Blessed tracks the exploits of Larry Sole, a
Dogrib teenager living in the small Northern town of Fort Simmer. After losing
much of his memory in a violent accident, what he loves more than anything is
reading, hearing and collecting stories. With no interest in booze or sports,
he floats on the edges of high school life, sustained by his love of Iron
Maiden and a hopeless passion for school hottie Juliet Hope. When good-looking,
trouble-seeking Johnny Beck moves into town, he shakes up Larry's dreamy
existence and leads him into a life of sex, drugs and violence, bringing him
face to face with memories that he's done his best to lose.

The Lesser Blessed is an eye-opening depiction of what it is to be a young
Dogrib man in the age of AIDS, disillusionment with Catholicism, and a growing
world consciousness.

Author Biography

An internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author, Richard Van Camp was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and is a member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Dene Nation. He acted as a cultural consultant for CBC Television's North of 60. A graduate of the En'owkin School of Writing in Penticton, he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Writing at the University of Victoria and completed his Master's of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. His new baby book Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns is the official selection of the Books for BC Babies program and was given to every newborn baby in British Columbia in 2008. Richard was awarded Storyteller of the Year for both Canada and the US by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers.