Customer Reviews

One good story, that one: Stories

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They say (in their current hardcopy catalog: "The 10 stories in this collection are mischievously told, slyly exposing the underside of Native-whtie relations. Adolescents who don't like to read will get caught up in these stories."

King, a well-known Cherokee writer (Green Grass, Running Water; Medicine River) seemes to have settled for good in Canada, and his better know work uses fictionalized Blackfoot tribal people from Alberta.

They're here in "One Good Story" too. The title story has a Native storyteller wanting to tell some visiting anthros a funny local story, but they don't wanna hear that. So he tells a version of Genesis which they solemly record, then go away.

But other stories have other tribal locales.

"Joe, the Painter, and the Deer Island Massacre" has as its core the unprovoked 1850 slaughter of most of the California Wiyot tribe by settlers who wanted the sacred island (on which they were assembled for annual ceremonies). A century later the town wants a history pageant. Joe, the Painter, enlists many Indians and reenacts the slaughter. This embarasses the town fathers; they pick a dull pageant about a department store. The storyteller says he likes Joe, although nobody else does, and the reasons for that become quite clear as this story -- with its underlying horror of true history, which no one but Joe wants to acknowledge, becomes apparent. Joe's acknowledgement has nothing to do with acknowledging historical responsibilities or anything like that. He thinks the patriotic slaughter's a good story and should win the prize money, if the Indian storyteller will bring his relatives to play the parts of the victims.

Though these stories are funny, that's a device to disarm reader defenses. King goes for the heart with a very sharp arrow-point, and the reader's laughter helps pump out some blood that's always drawn. Though some may never notice, and remain unaware that beneath each story are solid, real historical events, mostly tragedies (from our point of view anyway). Irony and wit, rather than that hearty guffaw or tee-hee of what passes mostly for humor.

"A Coyote Columbus Story" included here, as it was first written in text prose, points up the fact that those story, issued separately as a brightly illustrated children's book (and found here as such on amazon.com) , is not really a children's book, that's a disguise for it. The teller is an Indian; Coyote has dropped by on her way to a Columbus Day party, explaining he's the guy who found America and Indians.

"Christopher Columbus didn't find America, I says. Christopher Columbus didn't find Indians, either. You got a tail on that story."

"Oh no, says Coyote. I read it in a book."

"Must have been a Coyote book, I says."

"No, no, no, no, says Coyote. It was a history book. Big red one."

This prefatory colloquy is eliminated from the supposed "children's book published by Canadian Douglas & MacIntyre, Ltd. It's good to combine "One Good Story, that One" with the brightly-illustrated supposed kidbook, if need be, teachers/parents read the book of text stories, to give them perspective on the supposed children's version of one of the good stories.

Reviewed by Paula Giese, editor, Native americna Books website, http://www.fdl.cc.mn.us/~isk/books/bookmenu.html

Came in the mail really quick and in great new condition. Also really good price for a book that I needed for class and would not read otherwise.

This book is really several wonderful stories, seen truly through native eyes.. one good read this book is.. I have yet to read one of Mr. Kings books that are not.