X-Indian Chronicles: The Book of Mausape [Hardcover]

Thomas M. Yeahpau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2006

Mausape belongs to a race that is losing its culture and to a generation that is losing its mind.

Mausape, a young "X-Indian" man dreams he's about to compete against the King of All Fancy-Dancers — who, it turns out, is Elvis Presley in full Las Vegas regalia. Another teenage boy, concerned that he's not a real warrior, seeks confirmation behind the liquor store from Grandma Spider, a wise, obese old creature with the torso of an elderly woman and the eight legs of a spider. In stories and poems mixing magical realism with unflinching reality, a young American Indian author offers a raw, graphic view of life on a reservation, a place where bitterness toward the white man lingers, where the enemy often appears in liquid form, where misogyny often raises its ugly head, and where a new generation's pop culture infiltrates ancient beliefs. A standout voice in the anthology NIGHT GONE, DAY IS STILL COMING, Thomas M. Yeahpau explores the place between native culture and contemporary America where X-Indians dwell.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of literature written by American Indians will want to know about this compelling collection of related short stories. These finely crafted, raw and gritty tales explore the effects of alcohol, drugs and how the assimilation into the white man's society has had a negative impact on Native American culture. "Mausape Onthaw was an X-Indian. He belonged to a race that was losing its culture and to a generation that was losing its mind," begins the first tale, which introduces the hero. The stories often shift back and forth in time, and between reality and the magical world of Native American lore. The main characters (first introduced in a short story included in the anthology Night Is Gone, Day Is Still Coming) all are searching for some direction to their lives. In "A Vitamin-A Vision Quest," Marlon, a law school student, after a night of heavy drinking and drugs, has a vision in which he decides to go clean, "I will be Marlon the man." As Prosecutor Marlon in the next tale, "The Case of X-Indian v. Al Cohol," Marlon puts "Al Cohol" on trial, holding it responsible for the atrocities committed towards Indians, "and the leading role in a conspiracy to kill off their entire culture." The concluding story, "Grandma Blessing" has many twists and turns, and a metafictional ending. Despite some graphic sexual and violent situations, readers will likely enjoy Yeahpau's fine collection of stories about modern-day Native Americans, especially fans of Sherman Alexie and poet John Trudell. Ages 14-up. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

Mausape Outlaw's grandfather^B has kept close to his Indian traditions and adopted very few of the white man's ways. But although Mausape idolizes his grandfather and is "an Indian by birth," his goal is assimilation into mainstream culture. In a series of interconnected stories, Yeahpau writes from the inside about young, contemporary X-Indians, Indians who feel trapped between traditions that they don't know and the white world, where it seems that they don't belong. Far from reverential or preachy, the narrative, written in urban slang laced with obscenity, is bleak, erotic, and often violent. There are constant battles with alcoholism (the "liquid white man" in disguise), and the vision quest is an acid trip. Most shocking, though, are the betrayals--the drug dealer turned police informer, the passionate lover turned killer. The hope in this book lies in the honest, young writer telling the stories. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (October 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763627062
• ISBN-13: 978-0763627065
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome, February 22, 2010

By 

R. Graham (NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: X-Indian Chronicles: The Book of Mausape (Hardcover)

this is one of the best books i've read in a long time! the ending blew my mind! amazing work.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Set of Tales, April 15, 2009

By 

R. Koehler (Normal, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: X-Indian Chronicles: The Book of Mausape (Hardcover)

In X-Indian Chronicles, Thomas Yeahpau, a Kiowa, gives us a fascinating collection of interwoven short stories and poems that center on the lives of four young American Indians growing up on the Rez today. Yeahpau calls them X-Indians because they "belong to a race that [is] losing its culture and to a generation that [is] losing its mind. (Yeahpau 3)" The stories are connected through the relationships of the four protagonists, though they can be read independently of one another.
The book raises questions about what it means to be an American Indian in a world that has seemingly forgotten that you exist. Do you choose to forget yourself, assimilating into the White Man's World? These characters often find they can't. Though they may no longer know their pasts as American Indians, their heritage still daily affects their lives. They live in the land of their ancestors, but the traditions of their ancestors have not been imparted to them. They don't know how to survive and thrive in the ways their people always have. The stories that served their ancestors so well were never passed on to them. This lack is a hole that they feel, but can not quite explain. They attempt to fill it with drugs, alcohol, and violence, but they are never satisfied.
This work brilliantly displays the difficulties and frustrations that occur when a culture is seemingly disintegrating around those who live in it. Though the book is sad and often heart rending, it is ultimately hopeful. Thomas Yeahpau shows how loss of stories can hurt a culture, but his stories are also a way to fill that gap. They represent a way of dealing with the loss and anger, love and hate, life and death. And that is what stories are all about.