When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald

A special thank you to Libro.fm and Simon & Schuster Audio for an audiobook listening copy.

Zelda was born on the fetal alcohol syndrome spectrum and knows that she is different. But like the ancient clans of Vikings, Zelda finds strength in her tribe: her her older brother, Gert, and his on-again/off-again girlfriend, AK47, her therapist, and her friends at the community centre (especially her boyfriend, Marxy).

When Gert gets in over his head trying to pay the bills, he resorts to some questionable and dangerous methods. Obsessed with Vikings—their legends, their fierce loyalty, their courage—Zelda decides to launch her own quest to become legendary, and help her brother no matter the cost.

After all, we are all legends of our own making.

This tale of autonomy (framed in the form of a quest) is a coming-of-age story that is marred by too much sex/too many sexual references that Zelda simply cannot understand. She is such a unique and well-written character that I couldn't help being charmed by her infectious and sincere passion for Vikings. And yet at the same time, I was horrified on Zelda's behalf at the situations that MacDonald wrote her into that left her diminished, powerless, and in danger. I felt protective of her, but maybe that was the point?

I'm conflicted with my feelings about this book. With the #ownvoices movement going strong, the literature landscape is changing. Does this book qualify? Does it aim to improve diversity in the industry by matching the author to its subject matter? Well no, it doesn't. How can a grown man share an identity with a young girl, let alone one with a cognitive disability? But through careful and compassionate writing, MacDonald has penned one of the most unique and (sometimes painfully) honest heroines and I'm confident that Zelda will find her clan of readers that will root for her.

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ANDREW DAVID MACDONALD won a Western Magazine Award for Fiction, was shortlisted for the Canadian National Magazine Award for Fiction, and his work has been anthologized in four volumes of The Journey Prize Stories, collecting the year’s best Canadian stories from emerging writers. He has an MFA from the Program for Poets and Writers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

MacDonald grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.