A review by whatsmomreading
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

4.0

Ceremony tells the story of Tayo, a young American Indian who returns to the reservation after being held in a Japanese war camp during World War 2. He suffers from PTSD, survivor’s guilt and severe depression upon returning to his aunts home where he was raised after being abandoned by his mother. He struggles to find himself amongst his fellow veterans who have started to turn to drinking to cope with their struggles. It’s finally decided that he needs to seek help through their medicine man in order to come back into himself.

I found this book at my library’s little book store & I’m so glad I gave it a chance! It’s so outside of what I normally read & one of my goals this year was to try more classics. Silko’s writing was so beautiful, the story was broken up by pieces of prose and poetry inspired by Indigenous folklore that served as great transitions in the story & gave some beautiful insight.

For me this was a beautiful reminder to branch out into other genres & stories, you’ll never know what you’ll enjoy!