BOOK REVIEW: A Mi’kmaq child goes missing in ‘The Berry Pickers’
“A multigenerational story of trauma and regret”
By Michelle Beckwith
“The Berry Pickers” by Amanda Peters
Just in time for the Winter Olympic Games, my driveway bears a striking resemblance to a luge track. Anyone else? This time of year, as I slide/shuffle toward less precarious pavement, thoughts of summer sun and blueberries typically come to mind. This stellar debut from 2023 may transport you to summer days as we wait for the ice to melt.
A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia are in Northern Maine on their annual blueberry picking job in the early 1960s when the youngest child, four-year old Ruthie, goes missing. After an exhaustive search the family must return to Canada without Ruthie, setting a multigenerational story of trauma and regret into motion. The feelings of haunting and hope infuse a cast of characters, each touched in various ways by a single event. Told from the points of view of the child never found and the brother who continues to search for her, this slow and atmospheric family drama/mystery picks up the pace as questions are gradually answered. I hung on every word!
The author gave a wonderful author talk in Bucksport last April (thank you Buck Memorial Library) where she detailed her inspiration driving through some of our very own blueberry barrens. As I now drive by these fields, I think about the characters and their connection to our home. Ruthie—the promise of summer sweet fruit, and Joe—autumn red, angry and vibrant. The tragedy and sadness among the extended family is only part of the plot, and the levity and beauty of the detailed Maine and Nova Scotia settings create a balance and cadence so appreciated by this reader. It’s a story to reflect upon and one worth sharing.
“Some wounds cannot be healed. Some wounds never close, never scar, but the further away from the injury, the easier it became to smile.”
—Michelle Beckwith reviews books of various genres and especially enjoys titles set in Maine. Her reviews from the past five years are posted on her Instagram page @bookshelfbybeckwith. She and her husband Jeff live in Blue Hill.
