From the Glittering World: A Navajo Story (American Indian Literature & Critical Studies) [Paperback]

Irvin Morris (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The story of the Native American's struggle to survive in two worlds, Native and white, goes back well before the likes of Sherman Alexie, Leslie Marmon Silko and James Welch to Charles Eastman (The Soul of an Indian) and his predecessors. One of the latest to tell the story is Morris, a member of the Tobaahi clan of the Navajo Nation and a teacher at State University of New York, Buffalo. He opens with a Navajo creation story about how the Fifth World, the Glittering World, came to be. From there, Morris moves forward, blending myth, fiction and memoir to give readers stories ranging from the Navajo's tragic Long Walk in 1863 to a poignant tale of a lonely Navajo grandmother's struggle to reclaim her grandson from the world of the bilagaanaa (whites). Morris's lyrical voice, his sharp eye for detail, combined with lean prose, leads readers into the harrowing, tragic and outrageous land of the Glittering World. Here, the traditional world of Navajo clans, skinwalkers, hogans and other facets of reservation life clash with harsh urban realities encountered in places stretching from Hollywood Boulevard to a Gallup, N.M., jail cell. The stories are sprinkled throughout with Navajo words; this technique, though initially distracting, by the end serves to enhance the theme of the clash and combination of two disparate cultures.

Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Irvin Morris, a member of the Tobaahi clan of the Navajo Nation, is Professor of American Indian Studies and English at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (February 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806132426
• ISBN-13: 978-0806132426
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Irvin Morris is the English name of the Dine (Navajo) writer who currently teaches at Dine College, the oldest and largest tribal college in the U.S. He holds a MFA from Cornell University, a BA from the University of California-Santa Cruz, and an AFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts. His short stories have been widely anthologized. He writes primarily about the Dine experience and is currently working on his first novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All about the journey, December 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: From the Glittering World: A Navajo Story (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series) (Hardcover)

I gotta admit I liked it!
This book begins with the colorful story of how civilization came to be Indian style. The animated journey of not quite human humans as they travel through four worlds before settling down in the fith glittering world.
The books then proceeds to a journey in which the narrator starts at home on the reservation and rebeliously travels the country. From living on the streets to completing a MFA from Cornell, the narrator eventually completes the physical and metaphoric inner journey back home.
This book was not as mystic and symbolicially laden as its contemporary American Indian Literature, but it does not take away from the feelings one eventually shares with the narrator.
The creation story at the begining is an added treat!