Summary:
Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.
My take: 2 looks
Lewis, Cassidy, Gabe, and Ricky are hunting in a forbidden part of the reservation reserved for elders only. When they stumble upon a herd of elk, it’s almost too good to be true, and they open fire, killing several. This will keep their freezers full all winter, and then some, but they are forced to abandon the meat when they are caught by the game authority.
And here starts a story of elk revenge. One of the dead elk was pregnant, and now she is dead and pissed.
The writing style of Jones was very difficult for me to follow for the first 3/4 of the story. Most of the time, I had no idea what was going on, which character I was reading about, and completely ignorant to the allusions that were being dropped. However, in an effort to read more diverse authors in 2021, I was determined to finish.
Following Lewis most of the story meant that the other three characters, which should have been as important as Lewis, were very flat and one-dimensional. By the time the story moved to another character’s view point, it was time to wrap up the action, tie up loose ends, and present the climax.
A climax in which I was not invested. I still don’t know if Shaney read the books, and what purpose they served. I have no idea why a motorcycle seemed to be very important, then simply disappeared. What was going on with all of the basketball action? What on earth was the deal with the people at the post office, their relationship with one another, and the fact that some of them just didn’t have to show up to work and it was seemingly okay? Then, when the revenge part of the last 1/4 of the story started to take shape, the writing style changed to a more cohesive narrative.
Maybe that’s what the author intended. Perhaps the style in the beginning was the elk trying to gather herself for what she had been searching for: retribution. Until she was more fully formed physically, the story itself was disjointed to serve as an allusion to her resurrection. But no, as good as it sounds, I don’t think that was it. I think he tried to tackle too many things that, with any one of them individually, would have made a compelling and cohesive story. Contemporary Indian life, race relations, guilt, revenge, regret, rebirth, tribal customs, the pull of the past … it was just too much. Add a myriad of underdeveloped characters, and you’re left with a frustrated reader.
Because of other reviews, I will read another by this author, but cannot recommend this one.
Not recommended.
