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mossykitty's review against another edition
5.0
Never would have picked up this book if I didn’t need to for a class, but WOW was that a crazy and thought-provoking ride
mnboyer's review against another edition
3.0
A story about the Little Elk people (fictional) attempting to fight against colonization. There are also undertones that one of the returned grandsons (had a boarding school education) is unaware of how to best go about blending back into the tribe.
A good story, but some lull narrative.
A good story, but some lull narrative.
javier9's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
nubmis's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kaiad's review against another edition
3.0
Reads like a classic Greek tragedy and explores the history of the Flathead reservation in Montana in the 1930s. Themes of environmental justice, miscommunication, and cultural survival. I got this for a Native American Writers class and am very glad I had the chance to read this novel.
christytidwell's review
5.0
D'Arcy McNickle's Wind from an Enemy Sky is a book about communication and its failures. It is about lost land, culture, history, power, and life. It is a novel that illustrates the failures of good intentions and the end of a world.
Toby Rafferty, the Indian Agency Superintendent, attempts to understand the people he is meant to help, the Little Elk people; Adam Pell has made a hobby of Indians and wishes to help them recover their lost culture and even perhaps their lost land; and Two Sleeps, a visionary and leader, believes that "a man by himself was nothing, a shout in the wind. But men together, each acting for each other and as one--even a strong wind from an enemy sky had to respect their power" (197). These white men want to understand and perhaps even begin to understand and Two Sleeps sees hope and power in individuals working together for a common purpose.
There are so many good people approaching the problem of relations between white men and the Little Elk people, but in the end, this is not enough. As Rafferty realizes, "we do not speak to each other--and language is only a part of it. Perhaps it is intention, or purpose, the map of the mind we follow" (125). Despite Rafferty and Pell's attempts to understand, ultimately they do not. And their misunderstandings, their missteps, are costly, leading to death, both individual and cultural. In the final scene, the hope that Two Sleeps finds in the image of people withstanding a "strong wind from an enemy sky" is destroyed, as he sings "the death song, and the wind bore it along, as from an enemy sky" (256).
"That day, the cry of the plover was heard everywhere . . . Ke-ree, ke-ree, ke-ree. No meadowlarks sang, and the world fell apart" (256).
This is a beautiful and fascinating book, one that I didn't want to stop reading. McNickle's approach to the characters is complex; neither the white men nor the Native Americans are painted with broad brush strokes, but individuals on both sides are explored as individuals within these larger communities. McNickle's style is mostly straightforward, with occasional moments of lyrical beauty.
This is a book that deserves to be more well-known and, in fact, it is a book that I would like to teach in my American literature course. I think it would lend itself well to a general literature course.
Toby Rafferty, the Indian Agency Superintendent, attempts to understand the people he is meant to help, the Little Elk people; Adam Pell has made a hobby of Indians and wishes to help them recover their lost culture and even perhaps their lost land; and Two Sleeps, a visionary and leader, believes that "a man by himself was nothing, a shout in the wind. But men together, each acting for each other and as one--even a strong wind from an enemy sky had to respect their power" (197). These white men want to understand and perhaps even begin to understand and Two Sleeps sees hope and power in individuals working together for a common purpose.
There are so many good people approaching the problem of relations between white men and the Little Elk people, but in the end, this is not enough. As Rafferty realizes, "we do not speak to each other--and language is only a part of it. Perhaps it is intention, or purpose, the map of the mind we follow" (125). Despite Rafferty and Pell's attempts to understand, ultimately they do not. And their misunderstandings, their missteps, are costly, leading to death, both individual and cultural. In the final scene, the hope that Two Sleeps finds in the image of people withstanding a "strong wind from an enemy sky" is destroyed, as he sings "the death song, and the wind bore it along, as from an enemy sky" (256).
"That day, the cry of the plover was heard everywhere . . . Ke-ree, ke-ree, ke-ree. No meadowlarks sang, and the world fell apart" (256).
This is a beautiful and fascinating book, one that I didn't want to stop reading. McNickle's approach to the characters is complex; neither the white men nor the Native Americans are painted with broad brush strokes, but individuals on both sides are explored as individuals within these larger communities. McNickle's style is mostly straightforward, with occasional moments of lyrical beauty.
This is a book that deserves to be more well-known and, in fact, it is a book that I would like to teach in my American literature course. I think it would lend itself well to a general literature course.
beckyjenson's review
3.0
What a sad, odd story. It is an work of fiction, but is based on actual tribal relations with the government in the 1960's. The story tried to show both sides. I'm not sure if I actually liked the story, but I do think my brain grew a little in the area of Native American knowledge.
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