Wagamese (Keeper N' Me) threads Native Canadian lore and spirituality into his generous and sentimental Western. Rodeo bull rider Joe Willie Wolfchild, eight seconds away from becoming the #1 ranked "All-Round Cowboy," suffers a career-ending accident that leads him to retreat to the family ranch, where his parents, grandparents and physiotherapist try to coax him back onto his feet. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Aiden Hartley, a disaffected city kid jailed for his role in a botched armed robbery, and his abused mother, Claire, are shepherded by a sympathetic cop (who happens to be a friend of the Wolfchilds) to the Wolfchild ranch, where they can mend their fractured relationship and get Aiden on a better track. Claire takes to the country life and to the Wolfchilds, who represent the stability she's always wanted. Aiden, not one for the "yippee cay-yay" stuff, locks horns with Joe Willie until the similarities in their warrior spirits bring them together. Aiden helps Joe Willie restore a '34 Ford pickup, and Joe Willie teaches Aiden to ride bulls. From there, the narrative grows predictably uplifting, and Wagamese's tendency to carry on (and on) about the romance of cowboy life wears thin. But the novel remains a worthy testament to the healing power of family and tradition. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Dream Wheels
Narrated by Tom Stechschulte
Richard WagameseUnabridged — 13 hours, 37 minutes
Dream Wheels
Narrated by Tom Stechschulte
Richard WagameseUnabridged — 13 hours, 37 minutes
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Overview
Editorial Reviews
The life of a rodeo cowboy takes on a spiritual cast in this story about a Native American bull rider who overcomes a tragedy with the help of his family and an unlikely friend. Joe Willie Wolfchild is the best rodeo rider there is-until he is thrown by a bull. With one arm destroyed and one leg crushed, Joe returns to his family's ranch to heal, his career over. Meanwhile, in a city a world away are Aiden Hartley, a hardened teenager drawn toward the power of crime, and his mother, Claire, who seeks an elusive stability in one man after another. While Joe grapples with his physical disabilities, Aiden spends a year in jail for planned robbery. Their lives converge when Aiden's youth officer arranges for Aiden and Claire to spend three weeks working on the Wolfchilds' ranch. Although the plot is predictable, the narrative is poetic and spiritual, giving depth to what could have been a trite story. Wagamese (For Joshua) draws on Native American teachings and the beauty of nature to illustrate the healing power of tradition and the land. Recommended for public libraries.-Joy Humphrey, Pepperdine Univ. Law Lib., Malibu, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
A serene, beautiful debut that brings together a busted-up rodeo rider and a teenaged ex-con who help each other heal at a family ranch in the Wild Canadian West. Joe Willie Wolfchild has been a champion rodeo rider since childhood, but his ride on the infamous bull See Four leaves him so battered and maimed that he is forced to retire. He retreats to his Ojibway grandparents' Wolf Creek ranch, where he is nursed by his Sioux mother, Johanna. Meanwhile, in a bleak suburb, 15-year-old Aiden Hartley drifts into a dangerous life of gangs, drugs and robbery, spurred by the trauma of seeing his black mother, Claire, beaten up by her white boyfriend. Aiden winds up in jail for two years, during which Claire extricates herself from the abusive boyfriend and starts a new life. When Aiden finishes doing his time, a sympathetic youth detective arranges a recuperative stay for him at Wolf Creek. Closed up within himself, Joe Willie is absorbed in trying to fix an old family truck given to him by his father, while Aiden is cocky and hostile. These two stubborn, wounded souls circle each other warily, drawn closer by Aiden's startling natural propensity for riding. They come to an agreement: The boy will help Joe Willie fix his truck, and in return, the older man will teach him how to ride a bull-but not until Aiden becomes hardened by cowboy life, which includes punishing hikes up Iron Mountain and an encounter with a bear. And Johanna helps Claire restore her relationship with her son by sharing the healing ways of the Sioux. Wagamese, himself an Ojibway from northwestern Ontario, delineates with skill and dignity these stoical lives shaped by the land of their ancestors. Uncomplicated and unforced,allowing layers of faith to unfold with a natural grace and wisdom.
Richard Wagamese is a born storyteller and Dream Wheels is his finest book yet. Cover to cover a ripping read.”
—Louise Erdrich
“A three-pronged story of redemption, kinship and healing. . . . Dream Wheels’s. . .wisdom is not community specific. It’s universal.”
—The Gazette (Montreal)
“Compelling. . . . With an opening passage reminiscent of Faulkner . . . Dream Wheels will delight cowboy literature fans, readers looking for a gorgeous turn of phrase, those interested in Native culture, or anyone simply after an engaging and satisfying story.”
—Calgary Herald
“A touching, life-affirming tale. . . . Wagamese is capable of true grace on the page.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940171227142 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Recorded Books, LLC |
| Publication date: | 04/22/2016 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Read an Excerpt
Dream Wheels
By Wagamese, Richard
St. Martin's Press
Copyright © 2006 Wagamese, RichardAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0312359268
Joe Willie had always ridden as a matter of fact. From the time he could remember he had been straddling something, from his father's bouncing thigh in the living room to the pony at three, the sheep at mutton busting at four, the horses at six, the steers at eight, and finally, the bulls at ten. Sticking and staying had come to him as naturally as walking and riding, lunging out of the chute on a bareback horse, a saddle bronc, or a bull like the champion Brahma cross beneath him now, was merely the definition of a life, a cowboy life bred in his Ojibway-Sioux bones as surely as this rodeo grew out of the old Wild West shows his great-grandfather had whooped and hollered and ridden in alongside old Buffalo Bill himself.
He heaved a deep, rib-expanding breath and let it go slowly. Beneath him the bull shuddered once then settled into a curious quiet. They sat there connected by the bull rope and one gloved hand, waiting. There was a smell in the air. Joe Willie shook his head once quickly to clear it, shivered his legs against the bull's sides, raised his right arm slowly to clear the top rail of the chute and nodded solemnly to the rope man at the front of the chute.
And the world exploded.
---from Dream Wheels
Continues...
Excerpted from Dream Wheels by Wagamese, Richard Copyright © 2006 by Wagamese, Richard. Excerpted by permission.
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