Customer Reviews

Dance Hall of the Dead (Joe Leaphorn Novels)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Tony Hillerman has written a list of novels so distinctively unique that they could classify as a genre unto themselves. With their brilliant depiction of Native American cultures and life in our Western desert, these novels are much more than detective/thrillers. When I first read Hillerman, starting with one of his more recent books, I thought that his mystery, as a mystery, was rather slight. Nevertheless, I was captivated. And as I continued to read, I realized that the reader becomes so caught up in Hillerman's world, so enamored by the ceremonials, religious practices and daily lives of these native people, that one can almost lose sight of the unfolding mystery. Not so, however, wih this early award-winning novel. In this novel, suspense builds to a smashing crescendo, while his portrayal of the Zuni's Dance Hall of the Dead ceremonial is perhaps the most fascinating of all such portrayals.

The story begins with Ernesto Cata, a twelve-year-old Zuni boy, proudly and diligently practicing for his role as Little Fire God, in which he will lead his village and dance an all-night attendance on the Council of the Gods. But, in a practice run, the boy comes face to face with a kachina. An initiated and well-tutored Zuni, Ernesto knows what it means to see a kachina. And suddenly the Little Fire God has disappeared, leaving behind a pool of blood to soak into the desert sand. Then his best friend George Bowlegs, a Navaho, is also missing and Joe Leaphorn of the Navaho Tribal Police is called in to find him. When Leaphorn himself sees a kachina, he remembers a Zuni friend telling him that no one sees this spirit of the Zuni dead unless he himself is about to die. . .And far out on the desert, searching for the Navaho boy who reportedly has gone in search of the kachinas, Leaphorn stumbles into a trap. Shot with a tranquilizer hypodermic he is rendered physically helpless, unable to move a muscle. But his mind and senses are left super-alert and he can hear his stalker coming. . .

The story of! the kachinas and the ceremonial held each year in honor of these benevolent spirits, so they will bring fertility to the seeds and rain to the dry land, gives this early novel a power that Hillerman has not since surpassed. But each of his books widens the window he has given us onto this Native world -- a view that enriches all Americans, while filling us with poignancy for all that has been lost to the American experience.

First published in 1973, DANCE HALL OF THE DEAD was and is still considered among the best of Tony Hillerman's "Joe Leaphorn" novels, a series set on Southwestern Native American lands and following the adventures of Lt. Leaphorn as he investigates crimes on the reservation. In this particular novel, Leaphorn, a Navajo, is summoned to Zunni lands to assist in a particularly unpleasant crime: a Zunni teenager's blood has soaked the land, but his body is missing--and so is the Navajo teenager who was with him.

As usual, Hillerman writes in a strong prose voice, and much of the novel's interest stems from his depiction of the character, traditions, and lore of Native Americans who live on the reservation. Unlike some other Hillerman novels, the plot is fairly tight and does indeed live up to its description as a mystery--but even so the mystery here is remarkably transparent; even the most niave reader should be able to spot both killer and motive in the first quarter of the novel. That is unfortunate--but still, Hillerman's expert prose and his portrait of Native American society make DANCE HALL OF THE DEAD an interesting, entertaining, and often informative read. Generally recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This is the second book in the "Navajo Detective" series by Tony Hillerman and the first in which detective Joe Leaphorn is the principal charactor.

Dance Hall of the Dead is a sad story. It concerns the murder or disppearance of two boys, a Navajo and a Zuni, and Joe Leaphorn's efforts to find the missing boys. The riddle is entwined with Zuni religious ceremonies which Leaphorn, a Navajo, tries to understand.

Hillerman gives a virtual travelogue of the Zuni and Navajo country of New Mexico and Arizona in the early 1970s when the book was written. Leaphorn is a thoroughly likeable hero, rational, even-tempered, and ethical with a compulsion to get to the bottom of things. Hillerman is a master of creating an exotic atmosphere of Zuni and Navajo culture and ceremonies overlaid by the splendor of the natural setting. With such ornament, it hardly matters that the solution to the mystery itself is not very convincing.

What a great title! If you're a wide-open-spaces-kind-of-a-person Hillerman is unbeatable as a mystery writer with a western twist. In Joe Leaphorn he has created a fictional detective who can take his place among the all-time best.

Many books from the early seventies seem sort of comical almost 30 years later. The hippies, Watergate, Vietnam were very real but the writing of the times often doesn't hold up well. This book is a nice exception.

Dance Hall of the Dead is one of the earliest of the Leaphorn/Chee series. In many ways it sets up (and epitomizes) the formula that has made this books so popular. Leaphorn (and Chee) is both a Navajo and an everyman. The mystery will lead to encounters with the white culture and another southwestern Native American culture -- in this case the Zuni's. And yes, there will be a serious dose of southwestern history, culture and spirituality. And, in the case of this book and many others, the case will be solved due to some violation of a cultural taboo by a bad guy outside of that culture. The pacing will be that of the southwest -- a mellower clock that the coasts operate on.

What stands out in this book is the author's insights on the mindsets of teenagers. More specifically, what happens when the usual teenage angst is complicated by trying to live in multiple cultures as is the case of the missing boy, George. George is a Navajo, living in modern America with all of its white culture, who wants to be a Zuni. Ah, youth....

When every book in a series rates five stars, how do you choose a favorite? It's hard, especially with Hillerman's Leaphorn-Chee series. But if push comes to shove and I *have* to pick a favorite, I guess this is it.

I have at times been tempted to think that Hillerman's appeal is partly 'merely' the appeal of his Navajo setting and 'adopted roots.' This book proves that it isn't the case. Abandoning the Navajo Reservation for a change and traveling to the much smaller Zuni one, the author shows us once and for all that he doesn't have to stay on The Big Res to keep us hooked or to educate us about authentic Native American issues.

In the summer of 1998 I took all of the Hillerman books then published on a trip with me to Arizona and New Mexico, and used them as travel guides as I toured all the places he writes about. Though it was greener than I expected, the Zuni reservation was laid out exactly as described, and, while outsiders are no longer allowed to view Shalako, Hillerman's descriptions of the original Zuni pueblo and environs proved to be bang-on accurate. Then I traveled west into the territory where Leaphorn undergoes his 'Helpless Hero' scene, and again the canyons and mesas proved to be exactly as described.

But that's all pretty much beside the point. Hillerman may be the prime tour guide of the Southwest, but his real strength is his characters, and here this book excels. George Cata is so real you can almost reach out and touch him, and so are all of the principal participants in the Shalako. The sinister 'white guys' are as creepy as anything Mario Puzo ever came up with, and Leaphorn, of course, towers over all.

Though the Navajos involved are pretty much peripheral to the main plot, except of course for the kid who wants to be Zuni and the policeman himself, this book is just as authentic, just as suspenseful, and just as moving, as any of the others. And the tour-de-force suspense plot puts it over the top.

This book made a Tony Hillerman fan out of me. The opening scene took my breath away: he gets you inside the skin of a boy who's both a typical American teenager and a Zuni conscious of his ritual responsibilities. The cast of characters is varied and fascinating, the setting is vividly depicted, and, although the plot seems to meander at times, it all comes together in the heartbreaking conclusion. (And, given the current political situation at Zuni, his beautiful, detailed description of Shalako is as close to it as most of us will have the chance to get!) This is Hillerman at the height of his powers, and, with one or two exceptions, I don't think his later books live up to this one.

"Dance Hall of the Dead" is the second book in Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee mystery series. Out of the eighteen novels which make up the series, this is one of my favorites. The book, (published in 1973), was awarded a 1974 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel. Both protagonists, Leaphorn and Chee, work for the Navajo tribal police and both are members of the Navajo Tribe.

Just before the major festival of the Zuni year to honor the kachinas, benevolent fertility spirits, Ernesto Cata, a twelve year-old Zuni boy, prepares for his part in the ceremonies. He has been chosen to enact the role of "Shulawitsi," the "Little Fire God." The kachinas are impersonated by elaborately costumed masked male members of the tribe. In a variety of ceremonies, they dance, sing, and bring gifts to the children. Although not worshiped, kachinas are greatly revered, and one of their main purposes is to bring rain for the spring crops. While out on the mesa practicing, Cata suddenly disappears. Shortly after he vanishes, his best friend, George Bowlegs, a Navajo boy, also disappears. There are indications that Cata has been stabbed to death. His suspected murder falls under Zuni jurisdiction. Because of the Navajo boy's involvement, Lt. Leaphorn is called in to join other authorities who are working the case. His mission is to find Bowlegs.

When Cata's body is discovered, rumors abound, mixing fact with supernatural legend. People are saying that a kachina is involved in the violent death. Leaphorn's search for the missing Bowlegs heats up. There is a brutal murderer on the loose and the Lieutenant wants to find the boy before the killer does. He has his work cut out for him. A winter storm is approaching, which could turn out to be extremely harsh in the desolate desert climate of the Four Corners region, home of the great reservations. Four Corners is located where the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado abut one another. Further complicating the case is a controversial archeological dig, George Bowlegs' dysfunctional family, and potential drug smuggling which may be connected to a nearby hippie commune.

Leaphorn is skeptical of traditional values, culture, and the supernatural, although he takes reports of witchcraft, and other related phenomena, seriously. He may not be a believer, but "he still treasures the old ways of his people." However, the Zuni are not his people and their laws and religious practices are difficult for him to understand, especially since this is a "crash course" in a new culture. Usually the Navajo and Zuni tribes do not mingle.

Apart from the chilling, suspenseful mystery and fascinating subplots, Tony Hillerman's descriptions of Navajo and Zuni cultures reflect his love of the Native American peoples and the wonders of the American Southwest. Joe Leaphorn was educated in boarding schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Because of his "non-Indian" education, Leaphorn is not as familiar with Navajo tradition as the younger officer Jim Chee. Oddly, this younger man is much more of a traditionalist and is studying to become a healer, a "shaman," while working for the Tribal Police. Leaphorn's outsider perspective on traditional Navajo and Zuni values makes for an interesting read.

Again, "Dance Hall of the Dead," is one of my favorite books in this series. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Jana Perskie

Listening Woman (Joe Leaphorn Novels)
Skinwalkers (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Novels)
Tony Hillerman's Navajoland: Hideouts, Haunts, and Havens in the Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Mysteries

Typical Tony Hillerman mystery:
Good action
Excellent characters
Intriguing plot
Insight into native American culture

The only down side was one of the CD's had a defect, and the player in my car could not read after the first third. I was able to read the disk on one of my computers only. One drive out of five on three computers could read it, none of my CD players could.

I could find no link for customer service on the publisher's (Harper Audio) web site.

George Bowlegs is a curious and unusual Navajo boy. There are certain things George is not allowed to know. Ed Pasquaandi is the Chief of Police, Zuni. He is discussing a jurisdictional dispute with Joe Leaphorn. Leaphorn is summoned to help find George Bowlegs. Leaphorn had had a Zuni roommate his freshman year at Arizona State.

Leaphorn finds that two boys are missing. In addition to Bowlegs there is a Zuni boy named Ernesto Cata. Cata is to be Shulawitsi, the Fire God, in a Zuni ceremony, the Shalako. Leaphorn learns from a younger brother that George Bowlegs is running away from the Kachina, a mask representing ancestral spirits. The younger brother believes that Ernesto is breaking a taboo in talking to George about Zuni rituals.

George had intended to find out about the Kachina in school; but he had run off when he learned that Ernesto was missing and investigators had found blood. Ernesto had stolen something from the archaeologists. Leaphorn interrupts Ted Isaacs, apprentice archaeologist and graduate student, digging at the site of a Folsom hunting camp. He learns that a more senior archaeologist sent the boys away from the site several days earlier and that they had not returned.

It seems that George is studying to be a Zuni, really an impossibility, although a nineteenth century arcaeologist, Frank Cushing, had been made a member of the tribe. George is claiming that Ernesto can make him a member of the Badger clan. Visiting some white people, 'hippies', at a hogan deserted by the Indians since there had been a death there, Leaphorn sees the man-bird, the Kachina.

At the hogan of the Bowlegs family, Leaphorn discovers Shorty Bowlegs, George's father, dead. The hogan of the Bowlegs family is visited by Leaphorn after his observation of the funeral rites for Ernesto Cata who had also died.

In reporting the deaths offically, Leaphorn finds that there are two investigators involved, one from the FBI and the other from the Bureau of Narcotics. Leaphorn is driven to realize that he doesn't respect the FBI agent, O'Malley, and O'Malley doesn't respect him since there is a refusal to share information.

In the end the solution to the deaths, (George Bowlegs dies, too), lies in understanding the essential nature of majoritarian and Indian cultures. Joe Leaphorn is shocked. The reader shares his dismay. The book is a marvel.

Tony Hillerman has a way of immersing you in a culture that you as a non-native american will ever be able to do. He takes the traditional Sherlock Holmes kind of character and morphs him into a Navajo cop. I have always found all of his books to be interesting, thrilling, and informative. My older brother gave me my first Hillerman novel many years ago. At one time I owned all of his works either in paperback or hardback. When my eyesight began to go at the age of 56 I thought I never again could thrill to his stories. Now that they are all in the Kindle format I am one happy camper. Try one of his books. I think you will become addicted to him just like me.