Customer Reviews

Wild Indians And Other Creatures (Western Literature Series)

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

 

 

This collection of 23 short stories is set almost entirely on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwest South Dakota and the border towns in the Nebraska panhandle. It is the harsh land of the high plains where the seasons are extreme and the lives of Indians balance conditions of poverty and racism against the love of family and home - plus a heavy dose of dark humor.

Humor in some of these stories borrows from Native American oral tradition, with shape-shifting characters who are both animal and human - Coyote, Raven, and Bear. Other stories lean more toward social realism, following lives plagued at every turn by misfortune, alcoholism, ill health, domestic violence and ignorance. Though truly horrible things sometimes happen, each story stops somewhere short of bleakness and despair. Demon alcohol, for all the damage it does, and libido-driven adventures still bring periods of relief. And there is affection and caring that present themselves like Old Bear in the last story to speak sweet reason to despair.

I recommend this book to readers interested in the modern-day lives of Indians on America's reservations. Adrian Louis, in both his poetry and fiction, offers a bracing corrective to all the sentimental and racist stereotypes held by others. His is a grimly unblinking vision of hard lives that still preserves their humanity.

I had seen the movie "Skins" and instantly bought the novel on which it was based, then became an instant fan of Louis'. Why he is not a bestselling author is a mystery. He writes such PAGE TURNERS you can't put the damned book down! I could have read this, and almost did, in a few hours.His writing is very, very raw (a lot of very primal sexual content)and illustrates what the Indians (NEVER Native American! Indians will laugh at you for this PC term!) really think of Whites. This is not really a compilation of short stories, but the threading, leap-frogging chapters of the horrid lives of several characters who went the route of welfare and the natural occurring vice that comes with a life of no purpose: alcoholism. From the tragic little Mariana who never had a chance, who started breeding and whoring at a very early age to Teddy Two Bears whose desperation to hide his homosexuality from his tribe almost causes him to murder.

Louis's expertise with the writing craft is phenomenal! It's one thing to write correctly, but to create a page-turner is a rarity indeed. The only complaint I have with Louis is the downer content of his books. Basically like driving past a terrible car crash and you can't help but look at the bloody carnage all over the pavement. Animal cruelty abounds. Particularly the scene where the car-injured German Shepard is dealt with by a house full of drunken Indians. I hope this was fiction, but I have a feeling this actually happened. I also felt rather sickened by the fantasy letter in chapter "Edwin's Letter About A Man Called Horse" in which an innocent letter from a White school's 3rd grade class wants to get some answers to questions about that movie. Edwin finds nothing much lower in life than White people trying to find nobility in Indians and fantasizes about the nasty letter he wants to write back to them. In this letter he pretty much lays it on the line about how Indians have been screwed over and ruined by government programs (programs Indians accepted heartily, I might observe!) Louis doesn't seem to realize a lot of us Whites out here are extremely interested in the Indian culture and history. Another illustrated hatred was for anyone with Cherokee blood, White or full blood. Well, I'm part Cherokee too. Mr. Louis, can you honestly condemn someone for who their ancestors slept with?

Other than this, the book starts a tad slow, but by Chapter 2 is revving up and with each chapter goes even faster. Please Mr. Louis, write more books! You have a phenomenal gift!!!!!

Five stars for the writing, 4 stars for the fairly depressing subject matter (but presented in a very interesting way.)

This is the first book I ever bought about Native Americans. It was really great. Funny, sad, shows great love. More, more!

Louis is angry and irreverent, but yet not offensive. It'a a very quick, enjoyable read. The short stories in this work touch on every issue you can imagine, mixing humans and anthropomorphic creatures against a graphic backdrop of contemporary reservation life. If you like Sherman ALexie, you'll love Louis!