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lsparrow's review
3.0
a trickster tale
one that defies genres and continually flips
It felt like a book where you could read it over and over and get new things and each time miss things.
definitely not for the easily offended or faint of heart - or perhaps that is exactly who it is for.
one that defies genres and continually flips
It felt like a book where you could read it over and over and get new things and each time miss things.
definitely not for the easily offended or faint of heart - or perhaps that is exactly who it is for.
trashpigeon's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I feel like our prof should have warned us about the content of this book. But then again, if he had, it wouldn't have had the same effect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Transphobia
lsmith36's review
5.0
This is one of those books that I hesitate to recommend, simply because I love it so much, which is kind of a twisted thing to say. Honestly, I just think it's rather brilliant, and really pushes the boundaries of what literature can be. I'm also obsessed with Vizenor's labeling of it as a living text, and the ideas that brings to the table with post-modern literature in general. It's not something that's easy to read by any means, but I think about it often.
halalgoblin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
christytidwell's review against another edition
1.0
This book is seriously fucked up. For me, Bearheart belongs in the same category as Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho: I can see why it's interesting intellectually, but it made me feel sick while reading it and I never want to read it again.
Vizenor thoroughly challenges conceptions of gender, sexuality, humanity, Indian-ness, and lots more in this novel. In the afterword to the book, Louis Owens writes about his experiences teaching the book, saying, "Since being hauled on the carpet for teaching Bearheart, I have been sure to include the novel in every Native American literature course I teach. It is a brilliant, evocative, essential corrective to all false and externally imposed definitions of 'Indian.' It challenges all of us, and, like all trickster tales, it wakes us up" (248). Despite my disgust while reading Bearheart, it certainly is valuable in this way.
Having acknowledged that, though, if you are disturbed by violence, rape, frequent explicit sexual acts (many of which of a . . . shall we say . . . nonstandard persuasion, and just general weirdness, this is not the book for you.
Vizenor thoroughly challenges conceptions of gender, sexuality, humanity, Indian-ness, and lots more in this novel. In the afterword to the book, Louis Owens writes about his experiences teaching the book, saying, "Since being hauled on the carpet for teaching Bearheart, I have been sure to include the novel in every Native American literature course I teach. It is a brilliant, evocative, essential corrective to all false and externally imposed definitions of 'Indian.' It challenges all of us, and, like all trickster tales, it wakes us up" (248). Despite my disgust while reading Bearheart, it certainly is valuable in this way.
Having acknowledged that, though, if you are disturbed by violence, rape, frequent explicit sexual acts (many of which of a . . . shall we say . . . nonstandard persuasion, and just general weirdness, this is not the book for you.
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