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A review by jeremyreads
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a difficult book to read due to the violence portrayed. I would say it's a well written book and worth a read if violence isn't something you are too sensitive to, but it hit a few specific triggers for me. I read it a year ago and just know I'm writing a review. My thoughts are tied to specific parts of the book so there will be spoilers.
I would say first and foremost, I really disliked the graphic violence depicted, especially against the innocent characters and specifically the women in the book. The women in the book become collateral damage at best, and at worst, possibly are "fridged" (a trope had famous in comic books). I don't think any character is directly killed by the "spirit" that is seeking revenge, but all the situations seem to be instigated in some way by the spirit. None of the women "deserved" the deaths, and it is debatable whether to four men deserved it based on your feelings about the inciting incident. The deaths are described in graphic, gory detail.
Obviously not everyone will be affected like I was, since I find violence against innocent people in media very off-putting. It's also possible I didn't "get" the book. Given the title and the mentions of racism against native Americans, I thought racism would be one of the main themes, but that didn't seem to be the case to me. I don't know if that was the author's intention, but it is how I felt while reading. It could be that it was supposed to be a "typical" horror plot just involving Native characters and including mentions of the issues they face. I don't mean to be insulting, overly critical, or racist myself, but I'm just a little confused and feel as though I missed something.
Wow, I hope I don't come off sounding like an ass with this write-up. I'm trying to process my feeling with this review.
I would say first and foremost, I really disliked the graphic violence depicted, especially against the innocent characters and specifically the women in the book. The women in the book become collateral damage at best, and at worst, possibly are "fridged" (a trope had famous in comic books). I don't think any character is directly killed by the "spirit" that is seeking revenge, but all the situations seem to be instigated in some way by the spirit. None of the women "deserved" the deaths, and it is debatable whether to four men deserved it based on your feelings about the inciting incident. The deaths are described in graphic, gory detail.
Obviously not everyone will be affected like I was, since I find violence against innocent people in media very off-putting. It's also possible I didn't "get" the book. Given the title and the mentions of racism against native Americans, I thought racism would be one of the main themes, but that didn't seem to be the case to me. I don't know if that was the author's intention, but it is how I felt while reading. It could be that it was supposed to be a "typical" horror plot just involving Native characters and including mentions of the issues they face. I don't mean to be insulting, overly critical, or racist myself, but I'm just a little confused and feel as though I missed something.
Wow, I hope I don't come off sounding like an ass with this write-up. I'm trying to process my feeling with this review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism