Customer Reviews

Wolfsong: A Novel (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series)

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This is not a politically correct book.

It challenges ideas of Native "authenticity" and gives short shrift to out-of-town environmentalists (rather shorter shrift than I entirely agreed with, in fact). When Tom decides to act against a copper mine, he does so not out of simplistic ideological purity but because of a complex of reasons, largely having to do with his own identity. (And he was uncritically working as a logger before that.)

Nevertheless, this is a profoundly environmentalist novel, with intensely beautiful descriptions of wilderness. It's an environmentalist novel because of the unbreakable connection it creates between humans and their environment and because of its challenge to the ideals of short-term profit. (At the same time, the problems of poverty are never glossed over.)

Owens wrote beautifully and incorporated stunning passages of magic realism. Tom is a believable character--confused, irresponsible (college drop-out), lonely, fierce, and ultimately heroic in the same way animals are in those old Western novels where wolves and mustangs leap off cliffs rather than be captured.

It is the "forks" in the river and the road for the citizens of Forks,
a small town which perviously had logging money running through
its veins, but now it is considering an infusion of mining dollars
as the mills close down. Native American Tom Joseph returns home to
attend his uncle's funeral and to unconsciously assume the mantle of
trickster and to learn what drove his uncle to acts of ecoterrorism and
monkeywrenching. Readers will get a true feel for the temperate rain
forests of Western Washington while reading this novel, and may be
tempted to don a slicker or their climbing boots by the time it is
finished. Owens lets the reader decide many of the outcomes in
this novel, though the meaning is always clear, the humor is rampant
and the small town was probably a role model for Northern Exposure,
right down to troubled sexy waitress and a fly bouncing around
in the pie case.

For wilderness supporters, this book is a horror story. The book is
based on the very real possibility that a copper mine could
be opened with the attendant roads and carnage, on Miner's Ridge,
north of Glacier Peak in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. Congress
left a loophole big enough to drive a front-end loader through
when the Wilderness Act was passed. The road isn't there yet,
but Owens' vision is remarkably clear. Take heed, and enjoy

Wolfsong is a cautionary tale of what could potentially happen
in the North Cascades. Congress conveniently neglected to
ban mining in wilderness areas where old claims were established.
This is Owens' cry of alarm: don't even consider mining in
places like this. Wolfsong is told through the eyes of a local
Native American, Tom Josephs, who inherits the mantle of
protector of this sacred place from his uncle. Funny,
insightful, true to the environment and the community, this
book deserves a place on the shelf next to Desert Solitaire
and the Monkey Wrench Gang

Anyone who fears the possibility of mining interests encroachinginto the wilderness will understand the real threat thatfaces the Native American "hero" of Wolfsong. With an Abbey-like view to Monkeywrenching when the time is right, Tom Joseph learns to set his priorities and do some great backpacking up the Suiattle River in the process. This is Owen's first novel, begun in 1975 when he was a Wilderness Ranger in the Washington Cascades. There still is a valid copper claim on Miner's Ridge, north of Glacier Peak. This is a scary story; it could really happen.

This book combats the usual conservative white male destruction of the enviornment, and offers instead a compelling look at the incredibly brave and noble traditions of Native Americans and their conservation efforts. Copper mines are not usually something I could care about, but this book challenges the assumption of the domineering white patriarchal culture, and I for one am grateful.

I had to read this book for my Nature and Environmental Literature class and I LOVED it! In fact, I ended up reading it in one day. It's intelligently written and easy to read. The story is chalked with complexities yet it isn't complicated or hard to follow. This is one that I will keep on my bookshelf forever.