The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (Indigenous Americas) [Paperback]

Thomas King (Author)

Book Description

Series: Indigenous Americas | Publication Date: June 13, 2008

"Stories are wondrous things. And they are dangerous." In The Truth About Stories, Native novelist and scholar Thomas King explores how stories shape who we are and how we understand and interact with other people. From creation stories to personal experiences, historical anecdotes to social injustices, racist propaganda to works of contemporary Native literature, King probes Native culture's deep ties to storytelling. With wry humor, King deftly weaves events from his own life as a child in California, an academic in Canada, and a Native North American with a wide-ranging discussion of stories told by and about Indians. So many stories have been told about Indians, King comments, that "there is no reason for the Indian to be real. The Indian simply has to exist in our imaginations." That imaginative Indian that North Americans hold dear has been challenged by Native writers - N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Louis Owens, Robert Alexie, and others - who provide alternative narratives of the Native experience that question, create a present, and imagine a future. King reminds the reader, Native and non-Native, that storytelling carries with it social and moral responsibilties. "Don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story. You've heard it now."

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Trust a novelist and English professor to get to the heart of how stories and storytelling shape our perceptions. Oral stories, King asserts, are public, requiring interaction with an audience. Gathering oral stories into book form compromises the narratives; once set on the page, a story loses its context and voice. And written stories are usually private; no matter how many people read a particular book, each person reads that story as an individual. While King primarily considers narratives by and about Indians, his unusual treatise also includes coverage of a lengthy stay in New Zealand, identity politics, Native American history, and the experience of being the only middle-aged member of an amateur basketball team. Ultimately, King exhorts listeners to accept the responsibility of stories, writing, "Take it. It's yours. Do with it what you will. But don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story. You've heard it now." This is a wonderful study of the power of words. Rebecca Maksel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description

"Stories are wondrous things. And they are dangerous." In The Truth About Stories, Native novelist and scholar Thomas King explores how stories shape who we are and how we understand and interact with other people. From creation stories to personal experiences, historical anecdotes to social injustices, racist propaganda to works of contemporary Native literature, King probes Native culture's deep ties to storytelling. With wry humor, King deftly weaves events from his own life as a child in California, an academic in Canada, and a Native North American with a wide-ranging discussion of stories told by and about Indians. So many stories have been told about Indians, King comments, that "there is no reason for the Indian to be real. The Indian simply has to exist in our imaginations." That imaginative Indian that North Americans hold dear has been challenged by Native writers - N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Louis Owens, Robert Alexie, and others - who provide alternative narratives of the Native experience that question, create a present, and imagine a future. King reminds the reader, Native and non-Native, that storytelling carries with it social and moral responsibilties. "Don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story. You've heard it now."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (June 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816646279
• ISBN-13: 978-0816646272
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Canadian
  • #14 in Books > History > Americas > Canada
  • #23 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Native American

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master Storyteller, March 5, 2006

By 

Ray Evans Harrell (New York City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth about Stories: A Native Narrative (Massey Lectures) (Paperback)

The Truth about Stories, a Native Narrative,

By Thomas King. U of Minn. Press

The Truth about Stories by Thomas King is the prestigious Massey Lectures on culture produced on Canada Broadcasting Corporation Radio. King is the writer of many of my favorite works including the very funny Medicine River that was made into a TV movie with Graham Greene.

This book is another honor added to this Cherokee writer's portfolio. I found the book beautifully written and enjoyable as a interweaving of stories both from traditional sources and his personal life.

King has a deft way of making fun of himself that resembles the lead character in Medicine River. At the same time he is as obvious in his manipulation of the reader as that character was in creating the situation that trapped the Graham Greene character into coming home.

The book is laid out in five sections that begins with the story of "The Girl who fell to earth." King then proceeds through the comparison between native literature that stresses the interconnectedness of life and the authoritarian structure as experienced in the "Alpha Male" version of the Biblical Creation. What he doesn't mention is that this also has its parallel in native life in the Alpha character of Wolf society. But that is quibbling.

King takes the listener reader through his life as a non-reservation Indian and as an activist author. He records funny encounters with reporters and journalists who struggle to understand how he could be "Indian." Or even what being Indian entails.

He speaks to the problem of suicide amongst a people who are not afraid of death but can't find a reason for living and ends the book with the problem of his failure with a friend and the issue of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

If there is a problem in the lectures I would say that it doesn't really draw upon our strengths but more on the observations of Indians by outsiders eyes. Indian people had a full rich societal life with all that entailed prior to the plagues that destroyed us. I would like our story tellers to show us how these metaphorical myths opened up the depths of our spirits. How we had a science, art, economics, public health, laws and spirituality. How the stories walk lightly through these structures instead of with the steel tipped boots of the tyrant. Now that is a book about stories that I would enjoy even more than I enjoyed this one. And I enjoyed this one a great deal.


Ray Evans Harrell (this is a review that i wrote for the nuyagi keetoowah newsletter for november 2005. )

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories can change your life, October 10, 2005

By 

p0km (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (Indigenous Americas) (Hardcover)

This book is fantastic! The first chapter alone is a must read for everyone you know, and could change your life. About how the kinds of stories we tell can be paradigm-shifting. Deals with the romanticized notion of native americans (see also Edward Said's book ORIENTALISM), how an invented idea of "indian" has been used and abused by the u.s. in hypocritical ways, and how the stories we hear and tell about ourselves shape our identity. Lots of very sad facts about native american history in its relationship with the US government. The book is set up in a kind of spiral with a recurring story told in different ways at the beginning of each chapter. This book is really for everyone - not just those with an interest in native americans. The stories we are telling in America today are globally destructive and negative - let's start fresh with some positive stories to turn this country around - we are all on this planet together.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Power and Meaning of Stories, August 23, 2005

By 

J. M. Hannam (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (Indigenous Americas) (Hardcover)

Oft times we don't realize how important stories are in our lives. Each day is a new story we live, a new story to share with someone. Thomas King (the author) hits the nail on the head through his notion of stories as a means to change ones life.

Each chapter begins and ends the same, with a short ancedote, something King can call his own. What falls inbetween ranges from personal to historical stories, all with pertinence and value.

King portrays the significance of stories and how they can be overlooked and ignored. Stories are one of the foundations of how we live our lives. Each story has the opportunity to shape and/or change ones life. Enjoy King's story and share your own with others.