The Orenda is not a fun read. That's in part, what makes it an excellent read. 
 Of late I've been consuming a lot of literary candy. Simple but good stories, in a familiar mold, entertaining but with little real depth. Thus the lack of reviews on the ol blogsite. So i made a conscious decision to get back into reading materials with more meat, and The Orenda kept popping up in my media streams. 
 It was slow going for the first few pages, but once in, the water is great. "Gripping" is the word I keep seeing used, but I'm not sure I agree with that. It doesnt grab you by the face and hold you down like a thriller or an adventure novel. What it does is make you stop to digest what you're taking in. To react. To stop for a second and say, whoa, okay, now what? 
 Usually im more than happy to ignore literary awards and industry reviews, but this time they're right. Get a copy, and prepare to spend a slow season absorbing it.