G.A. Grisenthwaite's novel Home Waltz is a coming-of-age story about friendship, identity and acceptance

G. A. Grisenthwaite is Nłeʔkepmx, a member of the Lytton First Nation who currently lives in Kingsville, Ont.  He made the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize longlist for Splatter Pattern and his 2020 debut novel Home Waltz was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction.

Home Waltz is a novel about a 15-year-old mixed-blood Nłeʔkepmx boy known as "Squito" Bob who trying to figure out his place in the world. He's not fully accepted as white or Indigenous, and often feels left out in his community and among his friends. Home Waltz follows "Squito" Bob and his friends over one big weekend, exploring friendship, identity and romance along the way.

Grisenthwaite spoke with Shelagh Rogers about writing Home Waltz.

An unlikely protagonist

"I think Home Waltz originated in a dream. It was originally a short story called Black Cow Sang At My Wedding and in it, Squito dies about two-thirds of the way through the story, and it's finished by his grandmother. 

"I still wanted him to die in the novel, but my wife said, 'Don't you dare kill off Squito.' 

I think, in no small measure, he is symbolic of the life I wish I had led.

"He settled in and wouldn't go away. I think, in no small measure, he is symbolic of the life I wish I had led. He's starting to become self-aware at 15, whereas I was well over 30 before I started to become self-aware. And he's also kind of hopeful, even though he wouldn't believe it if I told him that."

Seeking oblivion

"Squito kind of believes the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and his father is a monster. I tried to write a story that humanizes Squito's father and came to the conclusion that some people are just monsters and you just roll with it and they don't have to be fully-rounded characters.

"I think his dependence on alcohol has more to do with seeking oblivion, which is the same reason I drank. It was for no other reason than to just forget everything.

I think his dependence on alcohol has more to do with seeking oblivion, which is the same reason I drank.

"He thinks he's finding peace because there's nothing. And so if he can drink to blackout, he can essentially drink himself to death, he kind of absolves himself. If he dies, it's not his fault — it was the booze that killed him. He didn't kill himself. And he has the mistaken belief that if he's successful, he could wipe out all of the bad stuff that has happened to him and just be, I guess, a blank slate — or somebody else."

Language as protest

"There is no glossary. I did not put the Nłeʔkepmxcín in italics because it's not a foreign language. I didn't realize I was doing it at the time, but it was an act of protest. I've wanted to learn the language since I was 12 and I have never sat down with any of the people who have promised to teach me and actually learn the language.

I didn't realize I was doing it at the time, but it was an act of protest.

"My grandmother, Hazel, started teaching me words when I was a kid. And I wanted Squito to be in the same spot where he doesn't know the language, but he wants to know the language even though at this time speaking, the language was still not cool. I don't know if it was still illegal. I'd have to check that, but it was kept under wraps. You didn't speak the language in public. It just wasn't done. I wanted to address that and in some way."

G.A. Grisenthwaite's comments have been edited for length and clarity.