Indians on Vacation by: Thomas King

Genre: Fiction 

Published: August 25, 2020 

Pages: 288 

Rating: 4/5 stars 

CW: discussions of inter-generational trauma and violence towards Indigenous Peoples, some medical-related imagery 

Bird and Mimi are a middle-aged Indigenous couple who have decided to take a trip to Europe in search of Mimi's long-lost uncle. They spend most of their time in the historical city of Prague, but Bird's continuous health problems and the couple's general annoyance towards each other does threaten to get in the way of a good time. As Bird and Mimi make their way throughout the city and others within the continent, they try to reconcile their personal feelings of each other, and their political values with what was supposed to be a vacation to remember. 

This was the first Thomas King book I've read, but he is well-known as an iconic Indigenous author and a writer whose use of humour in his books is unmatched. I actually read this book over the summertime, and I usually like to read vacation books during the warmer months. Most vacation books I read tend to be from non-Indigenous authors, so the thought of reading a book that doubles as Indigenous Literature and a vacation read interested me. I was definitely not disappointed by King's transformation of the setting and his quick-witted dialogue. 

A big plus for me was that the majority of this book takes place in Prague. I've been fortunate to go to Prague before and I fell in love with the city. Its medieval architecture really captivated me. But, I have never read a book set in Prague so I was very curious to see King's representation of the city. King definitely captured the accuracy of Prague, with Bird and Mimi visiting well-known landmarks and adding their own funny opinions towards what they're seeing. The book almost reads like a tour map of Prague, as Bird and Mimi make their way through the city, documenting what they see and how they personally view the landmarks. 

I've mentioned before that this book is a bit funny and witty, and I definitely felt for poor Bird and Mimi during some of their more less fortunate moments. King really plays up the fact that Bird and Mimi at their current ages experience a bit more aches and pains, and Bird especially is dealing with travelling while having some diabetes related problems. But, Bird chooses to tackle this pain with humour and sarcasm towards his current situation, which I think most people in his situation would do. Similarly, the couple do tend to bicker like an old married couple, which reminded me of my own parents and grandparents and I think most people who've been married for some time could relate to this. Overall, I fell in love with these two characters and would love to follow them through more of their adventures. 

While this book tends to mostly not take itself too seriously, King does also choose to include some discussions related to inter-generational trauma, colonialism, and especially, an Indigenous person's opinions towards Europe. Bird and Mimi enjoy travelling, but they also understand the complicated and quite frankly violent relationship between Europe and Indigenous Peoples. King definitely does not hold back in terms of discussing how travelling can also become political, and I like how despite this being a mostly humorous book, King makes a conscious decision to still educate readers on issues facing Indigenous Peoples. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It wasn't a five star read for me, simply because I just don't think it gripped me as much as some other books have, but I really didn't have any major issues with it. I think it's a great vacation read for those wanting something a bit different, and also a bit educational too. 

Have you read Indians on Vacation? What did you think? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess