Customer Reviews

A Coyote Reader

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is one of the first anthologies I've come across which covers all the aspects of Coyote's character, from his role as creator to his raunchy, trickster persona. Too many people tend to water the Coyote tales down, which is unfortunate, as it reduces a very powerful figure to a Brer Rabbit comic character. Although most people know Coyote as a trickster, this anthology illustrates how complicated the morality of a god/first person can be, both creating and breaking rules, saving the people and bringing destruction on them. Just remember, these are wintertime stories- don't read this book in the summer!

I bought this book expecting it to be a collection of Coyote Mythology, but what I got was the dribbling of American writers who were inspired by the Coyote. This book is full of poems and short stories like the ones I was forced to read in High School English contained within the "Chicken Soup" books.

As Bright samples the spectrum of Coyote tales (tails?), in his "no punches pulled" fashion, one becomes aware of a continuity of spirit, pervasive in the telling, from the ancient native legends to the modern Zen adaptions. Perhaps with knowledge aforethought, Bright has surfaced a grey feature of humankind, dogging us through the ages: As we try to be "good", Coyote assures us that there is no such thing. Watered down versions of these stories would entirely miss this connection, and it is to Bright's credit that we receive our Coyote "Straight - No Chaser".

Other more familiar aspects of the Coyote folklore, such as the "everything-you-do-will- come-back-to-you" moral, are intelligently presented here in a very readable fashion. Bright attempts to present the stories in as much of an original form as he can. He rightly believes that form here is as important as content. The resulting mix of commentary, prose, and poetry is hard to put down!

I gave Bright 4 stars, because there's room for improvement, and I can only hope that an updated version of this book may someday appear. I felt that the Zen portion was handled too lightly, but it may simply be that the Coyote legend progresses a little too fast to be captured properly at any given time. Let this book begin your journey into discovering the true Coyote, which lies within you.

Sorry... this collection struck me as a prime example of artsy-froo-froo, white people pretending they know about "indian stuff". While I appreciate that Coyote has been an inspiration to to the folks who put this together, saying I liked it would sort of be like me telling my cat he's a "good boy" when he drops a dead roach in my lap as a "present".

I'd have loved to be able to say something nice about this. I guess it would be a worthwhile thing to have on your shelf, to compare to legitimate books, or to illustrate that there are many interpretations of Coyote's nature. I wouldn't pay top dollar for it.

And this interpretation is as legitimate as any, I suppose- I just didn't like it. The book seemed "full of itself." Considering the subject matter, I suppose there's some irony there.

I don't know why people would ever think Coyote tricks them. They usually trick themselves.

-- Coyote

This is a bad boo