An Impossible Blue: A Novel
Jun 2027 · Alchemy by Knopf Canada
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infoThis book will become available on June 15, 2027. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
The stunning new novel by esteemed author Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, whose last novel, Noopiming, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and the Dublin Literary Award.
An Impossible Blue opens with the beginning of mourning: cherished Nishnaabe elder Akiwenzii has died, and his dear friend Moss is inconsolable. Akiwenzii was her scaffolding in the world, and now she must remake herself and her place in this bewildering present moment. In startling, beautiful, unvarnished prose, An Impossible Blue traces the eventful year that follows the old one's death. Moss moves internally from profound disbelief to a tender hope for renewal, while in the external world she travels across landscapes and waterways, remembering Akiwenzii's legacy of storytelling and care. Meanwhile, in a parallel journey, Akiwenzii spends the year grieving his own earthbound existence and remaking his life in the sky-world.
An Impossible Blue bends genres, blends myth with the contemporary, and traces Nishnaabe webs of social structure to build a layered meditation on grief. But this is also a novel about renewal, hard-won and hopeful, for both Moss and Akiwenzii, as it shows the re-worlding that arises for these characters and their community in the aftermath of pain and devastation. A brilliant work by one of our most talented writers, the novel seamlessly weaves narrative skill with philosophical depth to bring us a story that is at once generous, expansive, and revelatory.
An Impossible Blue opens with the beginning of mourning: cherished Nishnaabe elder Akiwenzii has died, and his dear friend Moss is inconsolable. Akiwenzii was her scaffolding in the world, and now she must remake herself and her place in this bewildering present moment. In startling, beautiful, unvarnished prose, An Impossible Blue traces the eventful year that follows the old one's death. Moss moves internally from profound disbelief to a tender hope for renewal, while in the external world she travels across landscapes and waterways, remembering Akiwenzii's legacy of storytelling and care. Meanwhile, in a parallel journey, Akiwenzii spends the year grieving his own earthbound existence and remaking his life in the sky-world.
An Impossible Blue bends genres, blends myth with the contemporary, and traces Nishnaabe webs of social structure to build a layered meditation on grief. But this is also a novel about renewal, hard-won and hopeful, for both Moss and Akiwenzii, as it shows the re-worlding that arises for these characters and their community in the aftermath of pain and devastation. A brilliant work by one of our most talented writers, the novel seamlessly weaves narrative skill with philosophical depth to bring us a story that is at once generous, expansive, and revelatory.
The stunning new novel by esteemed author Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, whose last novel, Noopiming, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and the Dublin Literary Award.
An Impossible Blue opens with the beginning of mourning: cherished Nishnaabe elder Akiwenzii ha...
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About the author
LEANNE BETASAMOSAKE SIMPSON is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer, and artist, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the intersections between politics, story, and song—bringing audiences into a rich and layered world of sound, light, and sovereign creativity. Working for two decades as an independent scholar using Nishnaabeg intellectual practices, Leanne has lectured and taught extensively at universities across Canada and the United States and has twenty years experience with Indigenous land-based education. She holds a PhD from the University of Manitoba, and teaches at the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning in Denendeh.
Leanne is the author of nine other books, including A Short History of the Blockade and the novel Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, which was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and the Dublin Literary Prize. This Accident of Being Lost was a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Trillium Book Award. Her nonfiction collaboration with Robyn Maynard, Rehearsals for Living, was a national bestseller and shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction.
Leanne is the author of nine other books, including A Short History of the Blockade and the novel Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, which was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and the Dublin Literary Prize. This Accident of Being Lost was a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Trillium Book Award. Her nonfiction collaboration with Robyn Maynard, Rehearsals for Living, was a national bestseller and shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction.
LEANNE BETASAMOSAKE SIMPSON is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer, and artist, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of her generation. Her work breaks open the intersections between politics, story, and song—bringing audiences into a rich...
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