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A review by mitskacir
Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty
5.0
Absolutely phenomenal. One of those books that you finish and just have to lay there stunned for awhile.
This book melds the novel and the short story, presenting vignettes of David's life that oscillate between his childhood to his adult years (with a unique voice but with similar effect to the writing in [b:Blonde Indian: An Alaska Native Memoir|502297|Blonde Indian An Alaska Native Memoir|Ernestine Hayes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348339619l/502297._SY75_.jpg|490371]). In many ways, David is childlike in all of the stories but also grows up quickly in a world of alcohol and drugs, so sometimes it is unclear how old he is. However, in the stories of very young David the voice of the author and the (fabulous) audiobook narrator change to capture the sadness of childhood: the keen observations that children can make and the details that stick out as you remember events from your early years accompanied by a child's naïveté. These opacities in the narrative are so artful - the gaps in what the reader is given just large enough for us to understand most but not all of what is happening.
In the hands of another author the reader could really come away with strong judgements of some of the characters or a sense of pity for their challenging lives. Yet Talty balances trauma and humor in different degrees in each story, and the non-chronological structure lets the reader see the good and bad in each person and each situation. I think this is a book that is really going to stay with me. Audiobook highly recommended.
This book melds the novel and the short story, presenting vignettes of David's life that oscillate between his childhood to his adult years (with a unique voice but with similar effect to the writing in [b:Blonde Indian: An Alaska Native Memoir|502297|Blonde Indian An Alaska Native Memoir|Ernestine Hayes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348339619l/502297._SY75_.jpg|490371]). In many ways, David is childlike in all of the stories but also grows up quickly in a world of alcohol and drugs, so sometimes it is unclear how old he is. However, in the stories of very young David the voice of the author and the (fabulous) audiobook narrator change to capture the sadness of childhood: the keen observations that children can make and the details that stick out as you remember events from your early years accompanied by a child's naïveté. These opacities in the narrative are so artful - the gaps in what the reader is given just large enough for us to understand most but not all of what is happening.
In the hands of another author the reader could really come away with strong judgements of some of the characters or a sense of pity for their challenging lives. Yet Talty balances trauma and humor in different degrees in each story, and the non-chronological structure lets the reader see the good and bad in each person and each situation. I think this is a book that is really going to stay with me. Audiobook highly recommended.