Reviews - The Only Good Indians

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

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This is one hell of a novel - SGJs work with mounting tension and character work is insane.

First, let's talk tension. I read a lot of horror, but it's very rare for a book to actually make me feel a sense of unease. The first section, with its slowly mounting paranoia and its ambiguity really hit the nail on the head for me in a way that so few novels have. As an aside, one of the tensest scenes doesn't involve the supernatural, but an interaction between a Blackfeet man and a cop - it felt excruciatingly real, which speaks volumes about the US and how Native Americans are treated.

Now let's talk characters...

If you're from a rural area and grew up kind of poor, the main cast are probably going to feel like people you know. You don't need to be a Blackfeet or even an American (I'm not) for that to be true. They're both universal enough to transcend culture and unique and authentic enough to transport me to the setting and its rhythms. Ricky, Lewis, Gabe, Cass - I feel like I went to secondary school with these guys , they feel like people I went drinking beer in the woods with when I was a teenager. They feel like some of the people I see now, in my thirties, when I go back to my old village, that haven't moved on with their lives much, or at least that found contentment in small-town stasis. (The novel is set on a reservation, not a small town - but my point stands)

The vaguely stream-of-consciousness narrative and head-hopping may not be for everyone, but I felt it served the tale incredibly well, mimicking a kind of oral tradition (i.e. the way people make digressions when vocally telling a story) and adding a lot of charm.

Admittedly, some of the basketball stuff went over my head - would probably deduct a few points for that, but that's very subjective on my end. Also - I will warn there is a lot of gore and violence towards animals (I dislike the latter but it's not a deal-breaker for me as it is for many other readers.)

If you can handle the above, this is a masterpiece of horror and a great literary work in its own right - I definitely see this becoming an all-time classic.

ttthomas's review against another edition

3.0

This would’ve been a lot better if it followed Denorah the entire time. She was really the only character I cared about, which is the only reason this is getting a 3 instead of a 2. I couldn’t care less about the first 2/3’s of this novel, but the last third, especially that climax? Incredible.