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inman_c 's review for:
Fools Crow
by James Welch
So much of what I experienced reading this novel is caught up in my experience as a progressive or "evolved" man of the 21st century, ultra-aware of the abuses of every minority in the American experience of progress, including unfortunately natives and women. So, when I read the world of Fools Crow through the lens of a 1986 Welch, some of me guiltily gulps at the abuses of the systems of power that dictate Pikuni society. Women are placed at the bottom of this power ladder, and Welch does not spare the harsh realities of the feminine sphere in western aboriginal societies, showing how rape, slavery, and polygamy rip apart the psyches of the female characters. Though there isn't a condemnation of these realities, Welch also doesn't condone them; even more impressive is that the female characters have such depth and agency despite the fact that they have very little power outside of the family or a few select roles at religious festivals. I could see Welch or this book being heavily criticized in the era of the #metoo movement, but Welch leaves room for subtlety instead of reactionism in abuses of these areas, which seems more in line with actual life than a political movement.
There are some who would say that this is just another story highlighting the standard theme of the "noble savage" that is being swept aside by the evils of Western Civilization, and it is true that Fools Crow lives a blessed life that is almost always on the upswing. Still, I don't think it is just another thinly veiled attempt to celebrate the life of native ways too soon taken away. Fools Crow is a complex character living in a complex time, and Welch does much to show that not all that occurs with his protagonist is good or even acceptable to himself or his tribe. Fools Crow is simply a man who is lucky and strong, so if that makes him a "noble savage," so be it.
Lastly, this book is firmly a "book of the West." It describes the landscape of Montana in a richly poetic tone that is consistent with the beauty of the landscape. The prairies are more than grasslands and even the war lodge locations, buttes, and river valleys/crossings all have their own emotional and spiritual significance. What is even more impressive about these descriptions are that they don't just come from the mountain meadows of the Rockies or Backbone but in the common places or wintry drabness of the real-life dwelling places of the Pikuni. This is a major win for Welch and his narrative of describing the plainness of the lives of the Pikuni tribe amidst the struggles of the changing socio-political landscape.
A masterful novel that deserves a place in the trophy case of western literature.
There are some who would say that this is just another story highlighting the standard theme of the "noble savage" that is being swept aside by the evils of Western Civilization, and it is true that Fools Crow lives a blessed life that is almost always on the upswing. Still, I don't think it is just another thinly veiled attempt to celebrate the life of native ways too soon taken away. Fools Crow is a complex character living in a complex time, and Welch does much to show that not all that occurs with his protagonist is good or even acceptable to himself or his tribe. Fools Crow is simply a man who is lucky and strong, so if that makes him a "noble savage," so be it.
Lastly, this book is firmly a "book of the West." It describes the landscape of Montana in a richly poetic tone that is consistent with the beauty of the landscape. The prairies are more than grasslands and even the war lodge locations, buttes, and river valleys/crossings all have their own emotional and spiritual significance. What is even more impressive about these descriptions are that they don't just come from the mountain meadows of the Rockies or Backbone but in the common places or wintry drabness of the real-life dwelling places of the Pikuni. This is a major win for Welch and his narrative of describing the plainness of the lives of the Pikuni tribe amidst the struggles of the changing socio-political landscape.
A masterful novel that deserves a place in the trophy case of western literature.