Free Press
Book Club
Welcome to the Free Press Book Club!
This monthly book club runs completely online and is open to everyone.
Each month, we choose a novel and share it on this page, as well as in an email to those who have registered to participate. We send a couple of follow-up notes to check in on your progress and suggest a few discussion topics and questions to think about as you go.
At the end of the month, we gather to participate in a livestream book club meeting, hosted by our books editor, Ben Sigurdson, or one of our pals from McNally Robinson Booksellers, as well as the author of the book.
You can submit questions ahead of time, or drop them into one of the live chat boxes during the meeting. (And don’t worry, we provide an easy-to-access link to the stream, so all you have to do is click.)
Our focus is on local authors of varying genres and backgrounds, and we hope you’re excited to dive in.
Sign Up
Join the Free Press Book ClubThe Book
Wild Life
By: Amanda Leduc
In 19th-century Scotland, young Josiah is banished by his father for seeing the divine in the animals around him and sent to Siberia with a small Christian mission to purge such nonsense from his soul. Miserably scrubbing the chapel floor one night, Josiah is visited by what he thinks is God in animal form. When his saviours, a hyena and her mate, rescue him from a natural disaster that kills the other missionaries and then bring him safely home, he founds a religion based on his belief that God granted speech to the hyenas as part of a divine plan to heal and exalt the human race.
The hyena pair, Barbara and Kendrith, aren’t so sure that Josiah has it right. But with their beautiful strangeness, they utterly transform the people they encounter over succeeding generations. As Josiah’s church gathers adherents, more and more animals start to speak to humans–from signing baby gorillas to seductive alligators. At first one or two rebellious pets make a break for freedom, but then comes a mass exodus of all animals held captive, forcing people to contend with a wildness in themselves they have spent millennia denying. The end of this remarkable fairytale is both joyful and devastating, completely dissolving the boundary between what’s “human” and what’s “animal.”
Schedule
Nov 26
December/January book club pick reminder
Wild Life, by Amanda Leduc
Jan 5
Check-in
Expect an email from us to check in on your progress. We offer up some discussion questions and other things to think about as you continue reading.
Jan 12
Livestream information email
This email provides all the information you need for our livestream book club event, including the access link, some information about your viewing options and how you can submit your questions for the author ahead of time.
Jan 27
Free Press Book Club meeting
Join our live chat starting at 7PM CT with special guest, author Amanda Leduc.
If you have any questions, please email us at bookclub@winnipegfreepress.com
Past Picks
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
In partnership with
