A review by grimalkintoes
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’m back with another Stephen Graham Jones review, but who here is surprised? Nobody? That’s what I thought. The Only Good Indians, Jones’ 2020 release, tells the tale of 4 Native American friends from the Blackfeet Nation as they come face-to-face with the terrifying reality that no debt goes unpaid — nor does an elk mother forget.

Guilt and grief clash together in a rupture of blood and antlers, sorrow burrowing down and seeding a cycle of revenge. But from that seed, too, rises a daughter who will “…take the world in her teeth and shake until she tears a hunk of something off for herself.”