One fine spring morning, a float plane lands on a lake near the northern Ontario town of Sioux Junction, and three men get out: a judge, a Crown prosecutor and a defence attorney. The trial of Thomas Obomsawin, a native painter who has been accused of setting fire to his mother's house, is scheduled to begin. It soon becomes clear that it is not only the painter who is on trial but everyone in Sioux Junction - from Jo and Cecil Constant, who own the town's only hotel, to the Sauve brothers, whose decision to close down the sawmill has spelled the death of Sioux Junction, right up to the judge and the lawyers themselves.

But at the heart of this novel is the tumultuous life of Thomas Obomsawin: his life and his art, his wiles and his weaknesses, his talent and his tragedy. Filled with humour and compassion, biting satire and flashing insight, Obomsawin of Sioux Junction is the story of a town -- and a country -- divided and united by language and history.

Daniel Poliquin is one of Canada’s leading francophone writers. The author of nearly a dozen books in French, mainly novels and short story collections, he holds Master’s degrees in both German and Comparative Literature, and a doctorate in French Literature. The award-winning author is also a Chevalier in the Ordre de la Pleiade, a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, and a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa. All of Poliquin’s novels have been translated into English and the author is a noted literary translator himself, who has translated many important books into French, including works by Mordecai Richler, Jack Kerouac, W.O. Mitchell, Matt Cohen, and Douglas Glover. Daniel Poliquin lives in Ottawa, where he works as a parliamentary interpreter.

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Wayne Grady is the general editor of this series of literary anthologies devoted to the world's natural wonders. One of Canada's foremost popular science writers and the winner of three Science in Society awards from the Canadian Science Writers' Association, he is the author of twelve nonfiction books on such diverse adventures as hunting dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert, investigating global warming at the North Pole, and discovering the wild in an urban metropolis. His books include the bestselling Tree: A Life Story, written with David Suzuki, and Bringing Back the Dodo. His most recent book is the award-winning The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region. He lives near Kingston, Ontario.

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