William Kent Krueger
P-Date: 2024
Mystery
This was smug on so many levels which illuminates the older generation of writers whose egos surpass the need to write with alacrity. Another mystery novel that privots from chapter to chapter on Indian pet names and how stalwart and upstanding Cork’s family is.
This author offers up a lot of opinions on Reservation life as a liberal* white boy from Orygun. Surprisingly accurate in comparison to my experiences working for Tribes 30 plus years and whose grandmother is 100 percent First Nations. What he conveniently leaves out, is how racist the tribes are – not only for anyone not native but those of a different tribe. The author paints this picture of native stoicism and forebearance under the strain of attacks from arrogant Feds and whitey that view the Tribes as a turgid anachronism. The Feds I worked with were good people across the board and accomodated the Tribes insistence on funding while being held hostage for crimes that they never committed.
This novel may have been better served, delivering reality rather than aggrandizing Native Americans / First Nations people. The Tribes collective malady is in it’s inherent construction. A structure that once served as a means of survival, exists in a world that favors individuality. The outcome where an organization like the Tribes, value the collective over the individual results in wide spread self-esteem issues pursuant to an idealized form of entitlement. The author paints a picture that is certainly not steeped in reality. I doubt he ever lived on a reservation for any length of time and has some “friends” that are native to bolster his credibility.
This novel starts off slower than snail porn with page after page of familial bs that tethers you to the story line in hopes that some movement ensues. Why two lesbians were pertinent to the theme is beyond me. Spending so many chapters on a side story that has no relevance to the outcome, is baffling (see above)*. This digs too deep into injustices perpetrated on natives as a primer for social justice. What the author fails to understand is that they don’t care for your version of what they need to become whole, as it is another non-native construct. In other words, go feel good about yourself somewhere else.
What is really weird are the three star reviews that gush about this authors work, while mine paints a most gutteral 3-star review. The native americans that go missing is also a big problem for our reservations out west. The author gets kudos for bringing more light to the issue with broader exposure.
3.2/5
Viking Jam 