adam1199

this is one of the most beautiful and understated books that i've ever read that is, at the same time, so fiercely postmodern in its agenda and conception of itself. this is a wonderful demonstration of all the promise of the most avant-garde of innovations and literary self-awareness but without any of the clinical coldness that usually comes with the territory. a real achievement, especially from such a young author. possibly even more important than all this is the fact that he has gone a very long way toward completely recreating the idea of a "native american" artform. the native author writes about a native man who does not, due to the events of his life, identify with the native -- and thereby gets around almost all of the conflicts that have become the trite hallmarks of so much contemporary native artwork. the author gets to write about all the things that he wants to transmit about his culture, people and traditions without having to tread the same old ground of "identity" and "self-image". this allows a beautifully-written book about the greater topic of simply being human to resound with and be enriched by native themes in a very organic, believable way.

2022-11-14 18:52