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just_one_more_paige's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is the fourth Aspen Words Literary Prize 2023 longlist read that I've gotten around to this year. Even though the shortlist has already been announced, I'm still planning to read the ones that have seemed most interesting to me, regardless of whether they moved on or not. I don't think I have it in me to read it in full this year, but I had seen a lot of great reviews for this one, so I knew this would be one I would pick up. And since this one did, in fact, make the shortlist too, I was that much more excited to experience it myself.
Through a multigenerational story-telling voice, Calling for a Blanket Dance takes us through the story of Ever Geimausaddle's life. From traumatic childhood events to his father's failing health and his mother's struggle to support the family, from his time spent in the military to his experiences as a single father to children whose mother struggles with addiction, from his second partner and their struggles starting their own family to his work with at-risk indigenous youth, from his own issues with rage to his re-connecting with his Oklahoman and tribal and Mexican family and roots, Ever fights to create a life that is, for him (if no one else), full...of stability, of helping others, of family and a place to call home.
Well, this was a really interesting written format and style. Each chapter is narrated from a different perspective, all but telling a sequential story of the life of the focal character, Ever. Even more unique is that, for many of them, they are telling a story of Ever, but in relation to or in observation of a third person or perspective; so each piece of Ever's life that that we get is even once more removed, with the narrator being more minimal/tangential in comparison to the story they're relating. Though as time passes and the chapters continue, the narration becomes closer and closer to Ever himself, or interactions with Ever himself, until the final chapter, which brings the book to its finale with a chance to speak of himself in his own voice.It was so cool how, by the end, I really did have such a full understanding of Ever, even with hearing most of his story from a this remove. It really does a great job showcasing how our relationships with others, the way we treat and interact with them, are the most truthful way to see who a person actually is (an incredible "actions speak louder than words" message) I don't know if I’ve never read a character portrayal like this before.
Thematically, Hokeah addresses a number of difficult topics, like intergenerational memories of trauma and addiction, the way that changes genetics, and the way memories from before you actively remember live in the bones/body. This is then compounded by the way violence and addiction and job/housing insecurity and other traumas are often an everyday reality in indigenous life. There were a few moments at the end, particularly Ever's final chapter, that I found particularly compelling to read after just having finished Evicted - the incredible focus on housing as the point around which family stays stable and centered and together hit a lot harder in that context. There was also, threaded throughout, a subtly affecting look at the efforts people are making to help change things and create better spaces and environments for future generations than they had. I find that often, reasonably and understandably, stories like this one focus on how the previous generation's trauma irrevocably harms the next in un-overcomable ways and the cycle continues. And while this novel recognized that too, it also provided a touching look at the way even the most individual, the smallest (on a population scale, not as far as their impact on a person), changes/choices/efforts can make such an incredible difference in the direction the future takes. And I loved that.
As I was reading, I thought this was a solid read. Good writing, absorbing content, but (at least for me) not particularly special or standout. But then, the second to last chapter, when the cultural and societal connections, the community support and paying it back/forward, the effort and importance of lifting up family and tradition came to the center stage, mixed with a full circle narrative in a very touching and filling way, and my feelings about the quality of this book took a big jump. It highlighted the best of this indigenous community (that’s always there, if not always used or see in the positive light it could be), shifting the focus in a way that gave needed depth to the impact of the novel. While this is probably not a new favorite, in general or of the Aspen Words long/shortlist, I that late shift really brought things together in a satisfying way and made this book so much more, for me.
“One day, he always told her, over and over. But 'one day' said everyday sounded more like 'never.'”
"When we’re faced with our own mortality the only strength we have left is laughter.”
“There was only one thing worse than wasted potential: the people who didn't give potential any expectations.”
“I suppose Ever was right about small expectations: they rise like water.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Alcohol, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Medical content
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