dallasbibliophile 's review for:

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
5.0
dark reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
I really, really enjoyed this novel! I picked it up for book club and wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve heard of Graham’s titles before, but I’ve never branched into the genre of horror outside of Stephen King. As I stated in my book club, I feel as though reading only King has blinded me to the potential of the horror genre --- and Graham just opened my eyes with this book. 

  • Elements I really enjoyed:
    • Native American storytelling which breaks traditional Western storytelling molds
    • The voices of the individual characters and how the characters’ flaws served as foils of each other
      • I loved how Arthur’s descriptions of food are mirrored by Good Stab’s descriptions of violence and gore, and that both men’s respective vice is their “fatal flaw” that metaphorizes the moral depravity of their actions.
    • Good Stab’s interactions with the napikwan creations was very compelling to me, and I am still struggling to untangle his complicated feelings towards napikwan creations. I found it notable that Good Stab identifies the catalyst to the events in the novel --- his initial turning into a vampire and the subsequent horrors that follow --- as his killing of the Beaver in order to have enough pelts to obtain a many-shots gun (a napikwan invention). Throughout the text, Good Stab reflects numerous times on the Beaver King that haunts him for his initial transgression against his people. I just think it is interesting that Good Stab even comments that he believes the Blackfeet’s original plan for the Cat Man (to take him up Chief Mountain) would have worked if not for Good Stab’s own interference with the beaver murder --- all in pursuit of a white man’s weapon. Additionally, Good Stab demonstrates an animosity towards the Crow method of hunting, but utilizes this skill himself to catch the Cat Man. I just find Good Stab’s interactions with other cultures to be very interesting across the story, especially as he struggles to maintain his identity and his Blackfeet heritage
    • All the little details and breadcrumbs foreshadowing later events --- I definitely want to reread this and try to catch all of the little hints Graham leaves of what transpires later.
    • the significance and intentionality in language and selecting vocabulary, which changes throughout the novel and from character to character
  • Common criticisms I saw other readers noted complained primarily 1) of Etsy’s character; 2) that the beginning was too slowly paced; and 3) that the writing style was run-on and “rambly”. My personal perspective on these respective complaints is 
  1. Etsy’s character is crucial. Without the narrative frame Etsy provides with the context of discovering her tresayle’s journal, the journal format that Good Stab’s gospel and Arthur’s absolution are structured in would fall flat. Not only would there be a gaping plot hole without any resolution, but I would also argue that Etsy provides a great balance to the tension we see between Arthur and Good Stab’s characters and motivations, of which I’ve talked more in depth previously. 
  2. I didn’t find the beginning to be too slowly paced; I think Graham uses the first hundred pages of the novel to set the stage for the horrors that unfold in the rest of the book. I think the tension- and world-building is crucial, and if Graham had rushed any of the character’s development more than the current pacing I think it may have felt too rushed. 
  3. I found the writing style to be compelling and compulsively readable; Jones’ visceral, descriptive, beautiful depictions of Montana landscape as well as the violence inflicted on the characters (TW, body horror) served to pull me into the text rather than come across as “rambly”. It also allows Graham to develop the voices of his characters. An interesting article I found on how Native American storytelling differs from Western storytelling provides a bit of context: “American Indian stories… didn’t necessarily have a beginning or an ending… the story may be more about the journey than the resolution. Today, it is a hardship for many storytellers to alter their native story to fit into mainstream society by giving it a beginning, middle, and end… Many times [Indian stories] continue for a lifetime” (https://www.slj.com/story/american-indian-storytelling). Additionally, Native stories are usually communicated verbally and not via written text. The audiobook format may serve as a better version of this novel in regards to accessibility to those who may be intimidated by the prospect of run-on sentences and stream-of-consciousness writing. This is a story worth consuming --- whether via text or audio --- so don’t miss it because of the unique storytelling style. 
  • Quotes I liked:
    • “The depravity of man’s heart knows no floor, and everyone in this hard country has a sordid chapter in the story of their life, that they're either trying to atone for, or stay ahead of. It’s what binds us to one another”. 
    • [Good Stab to Arthur]: “‘You Black Robes know about drinking blood, don’t you? You make your people in these wooden seats do it every time they’re here. In that way we’re the same’”.
    • [Good Stab to Arthur, regarding the American flag]: “Was it only his?... I thought it was a blanket for all… Americans to hide under… It flies above every camp of dead Indians… You put your reminders of pain on the wall and pray to them. We still hurt, so we don’t need the reminder”.
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