Moon of the Crusted Snow

A Novel

By: Waubgeshig Rice

Narrated by: Billy Merasty

A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice

With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow.

The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision.

Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.

©2018 Waubgeshig Rice (P)2018 ECW Press

Critic reviews

“Perfect for those who read Iain Reid’s Foe this summer and are looking for something in the same vein.” (The Globe and Mail)

“The creeping tension and vividly drawn landscapes make Waubgeshig Rice’s characters’ choices all the more real.” (Toronto Star)

“Moon of the Crusted Snow asks how do we live in a good way during the collapse of the infrastructure that supports modern life? For Evan Whitesky, the answer lies in rekindling Ojibwe, the old ways, language and culture. For other characters, when the food runs out, all options are on the table, no matter how gruesome. As the tensions between those surviving the end of modern civilization build to a harrowing conclusion, Rice deftly weaves tender family moments with his brutal survival scenes in the unforgiving northern Ontario winter. Chilling in the best way possible." (Eden Robinson, award-winning author of Monkey Beach and Son of a Trickster)

The possibility of having to live off the grid.

The way tge tribe pulled together renewing the old ways to help overcome dangerous odds.

Helllofagood book

Every step of the way this story delivers. One of the best books I’ve read! Worth purchasing. The narration was perfect. Highly recommended!1

Amazing Imagery

I loved listening to the Anishinaabe language in this book. I grew up hearing the language from my great grandma and it made me feel so many things hearing it in a story. The imagery in this book was amazing. I loved hearing it while sitting through a snow storm. I can't recommend it enough.

Amazing!

Fantastic novel that blends the post-apocalyptic paranoia so often present in modern fiction with the trauma, struggles, and world understanding of a small First Nations community. It’s incredibly executed with wonderful character writing; I couldn’t put it down. Having it read by an indigenous person was also a unique delight. I heard there may be a sequel coming out and I’m really excited to read it!

So haunting and well done

The heaviness of a cautionary tale, wrapped in good medicine. Listen with snow on the ground