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A review by richardrbecker
Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
Although I’m less inclined to think of this novel as horror in the most classic sense, Indian Burial Ground captures the atmospheric qualities of the thin layer between the supernatural and psyche, especially as it pertains to Indigenous people, known to give the paranormal more credence. (I recently read The Paranormal Ranger, with real-life accounts that made Indian Burial Ground feel even more plausible.)
It is told from the point of view of two characters — a young woman still hoping to escape the reservation and her Uncle Louie, who did escape the reservation — narrating from different points along a shared 10+ year timeline. Louie shares his experiences as an impressionable but responsible teen who looks after younger kids (Noemi being one of them). Noemi shares her experience after her boyfriend’s apparent suicide, which upends her life.
Louie’s story is significantly more paranormal than Noemi’s, yet both stories inform each other. Just as her boyfriend Roddy’s death doesn’t add up, neither did many of the experiences Louie had in his youth. In fact, his experiences are what prompted him to leave in the first place. And yet, this is not where the novel truly shines.
Medina does an authentic and mindful job of exploring Indigenous addiction and suicide rates and the consequences of these unfortunate and alarming statistics. By doing so, he breathes life into what it might be like to live on a reservation and attempts to find a balance between the modern world and ancient tradition, especially among those who feel trapped between them.
Well worth the read. So glad to hear it was recently short-listed for Superior Achievement in a Novel in the Bram Stocker’s Awards.
It is told from the point of view of two characters — a young woman still hoping to escape the reservation and her Uncle Louie, who did escape the reservation — narrating from different points along a shared 10+ year timeline. Louie shares his experiences as an impressionable but responsible teen who looks after younger kids (Noemi being one of them). Noemi shares her experience after her boyfriend’s apparent suicide, which upends her life.
Louie’s story is significantly more paranormal than Noemi’s, yet both stories inform each other. Just as her boyfriend Roddy’s death doesn’t add up, neither did many of the experiences Louie had in his youth. In fact, his experiences are what prompted him to leave in the first place. And yet, this is not where the novel truly shines.
Medina does an authentic and mindful job of exploring Indigenous addiction and suicide rates and the consequences of these unfortunate and alarming statistics. By doing so, he breathes life into what it might be like to live on a reservation and attempts to find a balance between the modern world and ancient tradition, especially among those who feel trapped between them.
Well worth the read. So glad to hear it was recently short-listed for Superior Achievement in a Novel in the Bram Stocker’s Awards.