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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
A man leaps in front of a car one night, ending his own life. Was it suicide? Or something more sinister? Mired in grief, his girlfriend, Noemi, desperately tries to find meaning in the tragedy, convinced he would never leave her like this. Her uncle, Louie, having just returned to the reservation after twelve long years away, fears that Noemi might be right, that something else is at play in this sudden death. He worries because he's seen something like this before, in the summer of 1986, when people were unexplainably compelled to violence, the dead sat up in their caskets, and the corpses of animals rose time and time again. Throughout one long night, the pair try to discover if an old evil has come to haunt their home once again.
The atmosphere of this novel was expertly done, spooky and unsettling right from the start. You can almost feel a presence lingering over the most mundane of passages, blanketing everything Louie experiences in an off-kilter light. It definitely kept me on edge throughout, always anticipating what horror was about to unfold next. The pacing also helped to keep up the suspense, mixing high intensity fever dreams with more mellow retellings of myths and history.
Louie's narrative from 1986 makes up the bulk of the book, and is primarily what moves the story along. I did find myself wishing that there was more to Noemi's chapters, besides just texting and walking through the dark. It felt pretty unbalanced,
I did thoroughly enjoy Indian Burial Ground and think Medina paints a very intimate portrayal of the maladies gripping this Native American community. The metaphor of addiction and depression being this all consuming, evil spirit, that takes everything you have to fight off was insightful and gripping.
The atmosphere of this novel was expertly done, spooky and unsettling right from the start. You can almost feel a presence lingering over the most mundane of passages, blanketing everything Louie experiences in an off-kilter light. It definitely kept me on edge throughout, always anticipating what horror was about to unfold next. The pacing also helped to keep up the suspense, mixing high intensity fever dreams with more mellow retellings of myths and history.
Louie's narrative from 1986 makes up the bulk of the book, and is primarily what moves the story along. I did find myself wishing that there was more to Noemi's chapters, besides just texting and walking through the dark. It felt pretty unbalanced,
Spoiler
and as the novel drew to a close it became apparent there wasn't enough time for Roddy's death to be anything other than suicide.I did thoroughly enjoy Indian Burial Ground and think Medina paints a very intimate portrayal of the maladies gripping this Native American community. The metaphor of addiction and depression being this all consuming, evil spirit, that takes everything you have to fight off was insightful and gripping.
Spoiler
Ern kills his mother, which is what kicks off the evil spirit tearing through the reservation. He doesn't explain why he kills her, only that the evil spirit lives in him and demands he do bad things. It jumps to those in the community least likely to be able to fight it off, the disabled, the elderly, the very young, and forces them to kill themselves. Then it passes on to deceased animals, reanimating them until it finds a new victim. Louie is able to fight it off and put it to rest. In the present day it doesn't appear that the spirit is back, and that Roddy's suicide is just that.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Confinement, Suicide
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Once I got the characters straight, I needed to know more. The reservation came alive off the page. The twists were plausible and I love the supernatural. The themes and lessons will stay with me.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicide, Colonisation
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Note: I started this as audio, and had to switch to physically reading it which was a much better experience. The audiobook is really sadly a disservice to this story.
There was a lot of potential in this story, and some parts delivered while others fell a bit flat for me.
The themes and use of indigenous folklore to tell the story were the biggest wins for me. I really enjoyed the passages of folklore stories and the weaving of “spirits” with the horror elements, both really helped with the unsettling atmosphere of the book. Also, when action was happening on page, I was super invested and properly creeped out, wanting to know more.
I almost wish the book went further with the mythical elements because I think it would have fleshed out the point of bringing awareness to inter generational trauma and hardships for indigenous communities. For example, I think the story would have had better connectivity (and pacing probably) if Noemi’s timeline also had the same mythical elements as Louie’s timeline, and then punching up the horror in lieu of the thriller (because the ‘thriller’ aspect of this really didn’t deliver).
I also didn’t love all the mechanisms used to carry out the story (e.g. the overweight character being the sad, lonely creep turned basic serial killer, the alcoholic mother dying by chocking on her own vomit ), because I think the author could have chosen different ways to get us to the same result.
I will still happily pick up more work from this author, I like what he’s doing and can see me enjoying future books from him.
There was a lot of potential in this story, and some parts delivered while others fell a bit flat for me.
The themes and use of indigenous folklore to tell the story were the biggest wins for me. I really enjoyed the passages of folklore stories and the weaving of “spirits” with the horror elements, both really helped with the unsettling atmosphere of the book. Also, when action was happening on page, I was super invested and properly creeped out, wanting to know more.
I almost wish the book went further with the mythical elements because I think it would have fleshed out the point of bringing awareness to inter generational trauma and hardships for indigenous communities. For example, I think the story would have had better connectivity (and pacing probably) if Noemi’s timeline also had the same mythical elements as Louie’s timeline, and then punching up the horror in lieu of the thriller (because the ‘thriller’ aspect of this really didn’t deliver).
I also didn’t love all the mechanisms used to carry out the story (
I will still happily pick up more work from this author, I like what he’s doing and can see me enjoying future books from him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Fatphobia, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Car accident
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No