Scan barcode
A review by _cecilie_
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a ride, not always a fun one but definitely one that kept me entertained for nearly five hours and for that I’m very thankful since I was on a train ride home, cramped into my seat and if not for this bored out of my mind. It proved to be entertaining albeit at times quite slow narrative that did manage to capture me nonetheless.
I liked the fact that this was a novel written by an ‘own voices’ author from the perspective of Native American experiences in the modern day mixed with good old folktale horror which was both intriguing and original. The inciting incident of an elk hunt gone wrong with the brutality of mankind being the driving force behind the main antagonist coming after the perpetrators was very well done and I appreciated the traditional narrative of ‘humans bringing a curse upon themselves’. Very allegorical, very nice, I like.
All in all, it may reveal more about me than about the author that I was almost elated when, after an admittedly slow part of the novel, the perspective changes to second person. Ohhh, now we’re getting somewhere interesting! You, that is, I or rather we as readers, become the antagonist: the elk head woman (and what a force she is!). I kind of loved that. Not that I needed much encouragement to identify and sympathize with her if I’m being honest. I was ready to be a bit let down by the end because I suspected her to be taken down like your run-of-the-mill horror villain. Glad to say that I was wrong! I like that the ending mirrors the Native American folk tales that I read when I was a child which in many cases have a cyclical narrative in which a wrong needs to be made right through an action that mirrors the initial wrongdoing. A storyline like that is very satisfying to me.
One point that irritated me a bit was that parts of this novel could feel quite dragging and I found myself distracted a few times and had to remind myself to keep reading. I’d also have appreciated even more horror action? There were horror scenes but more in the creepy and eerie and less the exciting sense. Also this had a bit too much basketball in it for my liking if I’m being honest. Especially the game at the end was a bit goofy, but then again, that whole theme just wasn’t for me at all. Creepy elk head lady appearing behind the train tracks while a train was coming through? Yes, that part was great!
I liked the fact that this was a novel written by an ‘own voices’ author from the perspective of Native American experiences in the modern day mixed with good old folktale horror which was both intriguing and original. The inciting incident of an elk hunt gone wrong with the brutality of mankind being the driving force behind the main antagonist coming after the perpetrators was very well done and I appreciated the traditional narrative of ‘humans bringing a curse upon themselves’. Very allegorical, very nice, I like.
All in all, it may reveal more about me than about the author that I was almost elated when, after an admittedly slow part of the novel, the perspective changes to second person. Ohhh, now we’re getting somewhere interesting! You, that is, I or rather we as readers, become the antagonist: the elk head woman (and what a force she is!). I kind of loved that. Not that I needed much encouragement to identify and sympathize with her if I’m being honest. I was ready to be a bit let down by the end because I suspected her to be taken down like your run-of-the-mill horror villain. Glad to say that I was wrong! I like that the ending mirrors the Native American folk tales that I read when I was a child which in many cases have a cyclical narrative in which a wrong needs to be made right through an action that mirrors the initial wrongdoing. A storyline like that is very satisfying to me.
One point that irritated me a bit was that parts of this novel could feel quite dragging and I found myself distracted a few times and had to remind myself to keep reading. I’d also have appreciated even more horror action? There were horror scenes but more in the creepy and eerie and less the exciting sense. Also this had a bit too much basketball in it for my liking if I’m being honest. Especially the game at the end was a bit goofy, but then again, that whole theme just wasn’t for me at all. Creepy elk head lady appearing behind the train tracks while a train was coming through? Yes, that part was great!