In the Upper Country, by Kai Thomas

This novel explores a piece of history I know little to nothing about — the relationships between Indigenous and Black people (including intermarriage) during the era when slavery was legal in both countries, and in the period following when slavery was outlawed in the British empire, but bounty hunters could still pursue escaped slaves into Canada. From the experiences of Indigenous people kept in slavery in Canada, to a story that complicates our historical idea of Canada as a safe haven for enslaved Black people from the United States, this novel is a reminder that histories are always more complex and interwoven than the simplified versions we like to tell.