Dancewater Blues

Jean Free, a library consultant, was an elementary-school teacher and
librarian in Whitby, Ontario.

Brady Stuart has struggled to work his father’s orchard on the shore
of Okanagan Lake for nearly 50 years, since the elder man’s death by
Naitaka (another name for Ogopopo, the aquatic monster said to inhabit
the lake). At age 65, Brady and his wife, Therese, have survived the
closing of the silver mine, cancer, and poor crops. A passionate belief
in the mythical creature seen in his youth gives Brady’s life purpose.
When Cal Cranston brings high-tech equipment, including a mini-sub, to
search the lake for the fabled creature, Brady and his young Indian
friend Roy Silverheels decide to thwart plans for caging Naitaka, and to
try to gain public support to preserve the qualities that make the lake
unique.

Connolly has written a compelling story about the friendship between an
elderly white man and a young Indian and their obsessive belief in the
magic of the Native culture. In the course of the novel, Therese learns
to face fear and young Roy discovers the truth about his father as he
tries to “figure out why the people the creature tried to kill were so
anxious to protect it.” Reading Dancewater Blues helps us reaffirm the
necessity of exploring the truth about ourselves and the need to
protect, help, and believe in our diverse cultures.