Review by daniellestarredpages - The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

daniellestarredpages 's review for:

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

3.5

challenging dark emotional tense

Etsy Beaucarne, you ruined it at the end there.

It took a few chapters for me to get into this book, mostly because of the writing style; there was another reason, but I’ll get into that later. The sentence construction was a bit odd and can take some getting used to. For most of the book it can be attributed to the historical setting and the writing style common in those times, but even in the chapters set in Etsy’s P.O.V. in 2012, it was written the same way. I got used to it after a while, but I do think it’s something that could turn readers off.

Stephen Graham Jones is a very skilled writer. ‘The Buffalo Hunter Hunter’ showcased his talent for writing characters so brilliantly that they are able to evoke very visceral feelings in readers. Or at least for me. The rage I felt reading Arthur Beaucarne’s journal entries, that racist piece of shit had my hatred from the get go. The cast of characters and their introductions were woven throughout seamlessly. Each character, no matter the length of time we “see” them, felt intrinsic to the story.

His writing ability also carries over to the setting and descriptive elements of the book. The narration from every single character in this book painted such vivid imagery. Not only Good Stab’s narration but also Arthur and Etsy’s writing. Overall, every aspect of the author’s writing style led to an immersive reading experience.

Unfortunately, Etsy’s character had an entirely negative impact on my enjoyment of this book. Her voice is so irksome, and while I do acknowledge that her presence in the book allowed for some scenes that added to the story and characterisation of Good Stab, we spent too long following her. Also, not only was her narrative voice annoying, but her P.O.V. was a bit nonsensical in the sense that what she was “saying” didn’t match the format. She was supposed to be typing in a majority of her chapters, and then there were a few scenes where she is speaking into a digital recorder. But there were lines of her talking to herself or something like that, and it made no sense for her to be typing these things out.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. It is a book that deals with and features heavy topics, so it definitely isn’t a lighthearted read, but I had a good reading experience.

Content Warnings