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A review by alex_ellermann
House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I didn't care for this book.
I understand that it's a landmark, the vanguard of the Native American literary renaissance. Its publication, in 1968, let loose a flood of Native American fiction that hasn't slackened to this day.
With a pedigree like that, I really wanted to like 'House Made of Dawn.'
However, I found it tedious and self-indulgent. I felt like its author was more taken with the beauty of his prose than his obligation to tell a compelling story. And, yes, his prose is beautiful. But his story is so frightfully dull that I felt it violated the first obligation of the storyteller: to fascinate.
Perhaps, had I come to this novel already fascinated by the Native American cultures of the Desert Southwest, this novel may have spoke to me. But I didn't. It didn't. I found 'House Made of Dawn' a slog, and a pretentious slog at that.
This book came strongly recommended, but I not every book his for every reader. Take this review as one datapoint. Many people love 'House Made of Dawn.' You may be one them. But it was not for me.
I understand that it's a landmark, the vanguard of the Native American literary renaissance. Its publication, in 1968, let loose a flood of Native American fiction that hasn't slackened to this day.
With a pedigree like that, I really wanted to like 'House Made of Dawn.'
However, I found it tedious and self-indulgent. I felt like its author was more taken with the beauty of his prose than his obligation to tell a compelling story. And, yes, his prose is beautiful. But his story is so frightfully dull that I felt it violated the first obligation of the storyteller: to fascinate.
Perhaps, had I come to this novel already fascinated by the Native American cultures of the Desert Southwest, this novel may have spoke to me. But I didn't. It didn't. I found 'House Made of Dawn' a slog, and a pretentious slog at that.
This book came strongly recommended, but I not every book his for every reader. Take this review as one datapoint. Many people love 'House Made of Dawn.' You may be one them. But it was not for me.