Reviews

From Alberta Views

Who Speaks for the River? explores one of “Alberta’s – if not – Canada’s defining environmental controversies.” This book is “ important” and “compelling.” Girvan writes like a “seasoned novelist.” The “bitterness of the struggle renders the empathy and fairness Girvan shows to individuals on all sides even more impressive.” The author “presents all views fully and fairly…his deep respect for the Piikani people in particular is compelling. These voices are rarely presented as clearly and honestly as Girvan strives to present them. The book leaves the reader with a sense of “real connection…” [Read the Full Review]

 

From The Goose

Who Speaks for the River? examines a “formative moment in Canadian environmental history.” While this is “assuredly a well documented and meticulously-researched work of non-fiction, [the author] measures his efforts by an ideal of narrative form he describes that is invested in “interpretation, reconstruction, and rarely—perhaps in a work of literature—resurrection. It is in that method of reconstruction that the composition of Who Speaks for the River is most interesting.” Rather than writing an “elegy” or “lament” for what happened in the past, the author tries to “retrieve that past to reinvigorate passion for just, inclusive environmental action and decision-making.” This book is “important reading for those who would understand the ongoing public battles involving the competing demands of resource management, ecological health, and environmental justice. Likewise, Girvan’s work would surely galvanize resistance like the Idle No More campaign by way of his careful analysis and documentation of the historical record of environmental injustice.” [Read the Full Review]

 

From Watershed Sentinel

“This book builds suspense like a novel. Girvan has done an exceptional job of writing about so very sensitive an issue as whether or not justice prevailed.” [Read the Full Review]

 

Snowbird Magazine

A “riveting” and “prescient” true story with “page turning” courtroom scenes. [Read the Full Review]

 

Alternatives Journal

“A character-driven narrative, populated with colourful actors driven to advance their own interests in relation to the river.” [Read the Full Review]