Customer Reviews

Winterkill: A Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I basically read "Winterkill" in one sitting. It's an excellent story about fathers and sons and the family history that both brings them together and also creates walls between them. Through the principal character, Danny Kachiah, Lesley weaves an absolutely engrossing story of a contemporary Native American family. In the process, he also tells something about the nation (in this case the Nez Perce of Eastern Oregon) and its history, and how this history weighs down on its descendents. The story is never anything but believable-the characters are very realistic, and Lesley's portrayal of life among the "reservation Indians" is brutally honest. Also, there is no climatic "redemption" or catharsis or any of the other cliched conclusions that can usually be found in similar "family drama" literature. This is what makes "Winterkill" so much like real life, as it deals with slow growth and the painful ups and downs that generally mark interpersonal relations. There's not much more I can really add here, except to say that this is the best piece of fiction I've read in a long time.

I do not read much current fiction. There is a lot of stuff coming out every day that ranges from mediocre to simply god-awful, and who knows what you are going to get when you pick up a book? I only have so much time available to read books, so it is too valuable to waste on crappy fiction. Therefore I tend to avoid the newer stuff until the chaff has been sifted out.

This was an exception. I stumbled onto "The Reader" while this novel was being featured. It was about two-thirds of the way through the book, and after listening to two episodes, I was hooked and grabbed a copy at the nearest bookstore to read for myself.

It is a touching story that appeals to the reader on many levels. The exploration of the two father-son relationships should ring true for many readers, as should Danny's attempts to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer a young man who can easily withstand the rigors of the rodeo circuit. Danny is a marvelously complex character who intrigues the reader. Lesley is careful not to make Danny seem overly heroic or noble, for that would simply make him into a caricature. Instead, he becomes a character that all too many of us can relate to, regardless of our ethnicity.

For the reviewer that complained that "by the end of the novel nothing in the plot has been solved or put to rest," I feel that that was one of the stronger aspects of the book, and would gently point out that few things in real life wrap up neatly at the end of a 30 or 60-minute episode. This is fiction we are talking about, not fantasy.

Lesley richly deserves the two Pulitzer nominations he has garnered, and perhaps someday it will be a win and not just a nomination. He is one of a handful of contemporary authors whose work I will read without hesitation.

I really enjoyed the book, I am from the northwest, so some of the places that he talks about in the book, I actually have been there. I love how he mentions some Reservations that were burried under the dam. Like Spearfish,, I haven't heard that in a long time. I love that Danny is getting to know his son Jack. And how he thinks back about Red Shirt. He is a great writer, and I will be reading some more of his books very soon.

This book got me back into reading fiction for the first time in years. I asked a friend who reads a lot of different authors for something, and he said try this one. So I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I live in California, but am fond of the Pacific Northwest, and have done a lot of travelling there. Lesley has a fine ability to evoke what is special about the land and people of this area. The book has some interesting accounts of the ways of the tribes in the area, such as the Celilo, a fishing tribe whose prime fishing grounds are wiped out in one poignant scene by a newly constructed power dam.

The story follows Danny Kachiah, a Nez Perce who barely ekes out a living working the local Rodeo circuit as a bronco-rider. He is trying to re-assume the role of father after his divorced wife is killed in a car accident, leaving him with his estranged son, Jack. But it is Danny's relationship with his father, Red Shirt, that is central to this book.

Danny is haunted by the memory of his father, a tough, smart old Nez Perce, and by the remarkable stories his father has related to him over the years. Throughout the book, it is the memory of his father and of the cultural traditions of his tribe that Red Shirt has passed on to him through his stories and teachings, that guide his actions as he attempts to get his life back together, and especially, to re-establish his relationship with his son.

Winterkill is a well written book. The majority of the books appeal comes from its' realistic characters. The beginning of the book starts with Danny. This is really done well. The reader is allowed to focus and understand what has happened to Danny before Lesley starts introducing other characters. The reader doesn't feel like there are to many people to be able to keep track of. Instead Lesley introduces the other characters as he goes and as the book progresses so to does the readers knowledge of the characters. This is a very natural sequence of events that creates a well flowing story. The way that Lesley works with the past is also done well. When Danny is thinking about the past and his father, it is always relevant to what is currently happening in the story. This allows the flashbacks to fit in extremely well and be meaningful to the reader. The flashbacks themselves are also well done. They fit in with what is happening in the story but also give the reader insight into both Danny and Jack. The flashbacks are especially nice because they allow you to see not only the culture of the family but also its' past; good and bad. The short flashbacks incorporate both bits of the families Indian culture and how modern Indians are trying to cope with a changing world. The best thing is that it related three generations. The flashbacks allow you to see traditions that are being carried on through Red Shirt to Danny and finally to Jack. The ending of the book was also interesting. It starts with an elk hunt. This hunt relates back to the beginning and how Danny once shot at a wolf that was supposedly a protecting spirit. I found the ending interesting because it related what had happened with Danny and Red shirt to the modern relationship of Danny and Jack. It also showed Danny and Jack bonding together. Also it talking about the Dream! ers, this relating again the Indian culture in a very real way. I personally liked the ending because it was realistic yet still ending with Danny and Jack beginning to grow closer together. END

A damn good story...Fathers, sons...the pain of loss and the joy of redemption in a unforgiving environment...

I discovered "Winterkill" and "Riversong" quite by accident, at a small bookstore in Parry Sound, Ontario 7 years ago. They are both excellent and readable more than once. The characters are absorbing and very believable. I read them both back to back and finished, hungry for more. The story line is well-developed. It is refreshing also to read books about modern Native American culture and belief systems.

This book is a really good read--well written and interesting. It gives good information about the native cultures--past and present--in the Pacific Northwest.

Leslie comes through again with a story that feels like my own by the time I finish.

I feel that this book is writen so well that it could have been a true story. It tells the way of life with out the auther trying to show only one side. It can be a little crude in spots but I feel that it only makes it all the more real. If you have any intrest in indians or rodeo life, you should read this book.