Post by Okwes on Dec 21, 2006 12:43:25 GMT -5
An odd and gloomy book -- with humor
Sunday, November 26, 2006
JIM CARMIN
David Treuer is an Ojibwe writer whose first novel, "Little," drew high praise from Toni Morrison and Louise Erdrich (both wrote jacket blurbs). His second work, "The Hiawatha," was less well-received, described in The Progressive as "perhaps the first grand setback in Native American fiction."
The Minnesotan writer has two new books, both by Graywolf Press: a third novel, "The Translation of Dr. Apelles: A Love Story"; and a collection of 10 essays in "Native American Fiction: A User's Manual."
"Native American Fiction" focuses mainly on what Treuer sees as flawed criticism of this rich body of work, but he also takes on the writing itself, stepping on toes (and words) of Erdrich, Leslie Silko, James Welch and Sherman Alexie. Treuer declares that Native American literature is too often improperly studied as a vehicle to Indian culture rather than as literature. He is troubled by "what is lost when we interpret Native American fiction with more stress placed on 'Native' than on 'fiction.' "
Treuer makes intriguing linguistic arguments. He criticizes Erdrich's use of Ojibwe nouns when, according to Treuer, the language is "dominated by verbs." He also condemns Erdrich's decision to translate Ojibwe but not German in her novel "The Antelope," claiming "textual inequality." Here, Treuer misses the obvious. Many of Erdrich's readers have some knowledge of German but few have it of Ojibwe. With Silko, Treuer picks on her "myth of myth" and gets nasty when he discounts Silko's statement that "words have their own stories." Treuer says: "It is called etymology."
He attacks Welch's "Fool's Crow," claiming that all the "characters speak the same way - even the animal characters," and that Welch doesn't cite Homer as a source, even though it's obvious to Treuer. Alexie is treated worst of all with stylistic and thematic comparisons made of his "Reservation Blues" to Forrest Carter's "The Education of Little Tree" - the controversial faux "memoir" allegedly by a Cherokee writer which, as the truth became known, was fiction by a white man known for his racism.
"Native American Fiction" is an odd and gloomy book with an occasional bit of humor (as when Treuer discusses a characteristic shared by "Reservation Blues" and "The Education of Little Tree" - "Hyperbole. It is the best literary device in the whole wide world.") Treuer believes all the novels he discusses, with two exceptions (by Alexie and Carter, no doubt), are great novels but he is troubled by how they are interpreted, even by their authors. Yet his arguments are at times sloppy and specious and, in the end, one wonders what has been gained by his writing this book, and by our reading it.
Jim Carmin recently reviewed "Blood and Thunder" by Hampton Sides for The Oregonian.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
JIM CARMIN
David Treuer is an Ojibwe writer whose first novel, "Little," drew high praise from Toni Morrison and Louise Erdrich (both wrote jacket blurbs). His second work, "The Hiawatha," was less well-received, described in The Progressive as "perhaps the first grand setback in Native American fiction."
The Minnesotan writer has two new books, both by Graywolf Press: a third novel, "The Translation of Dr. Apelles: A Love Story"; and a collection of 10 essays in "Native American Fiction: A User's Manual."
"Native American Fiction" focuses mainly on what Treuer sees as flawed criticism of this rich body of work, but he also takes on the writing itself, stepping on toes (and words) of Erdrich, Leslie Silko, James Welch and Sherman Alexie. Treuer declares that Native American literature is too often improperly studied as a vehicle to Indian culture rather than as literature. He is troubled by "what is lost when we interpret Native American fiction with more stress placed on 'Native' than on 'fiction.' "
Treuer makes intriguing linguistic arguments. He criticizes Erdrich's use of Ojibwe nouns when, according to Treuer, the language is "dominated by verbs." He also condemns Erdrich's decision to translate Ojibwe but not German in her novel "The Antelope," claiming "textual inequality." Here, Treuer misses the obvious. Many of Erdrich's readers have some knowledge of German but few have it of Ojibwe. With Silko, Treuer picks on her "myth of myth" and gets nasty when he discounts Silko's statement that "words have their own stories." Treuer says: "It is called etymology."
He attacks Welch's "Fool's Crow," claiming that all the "characters speak the same way - even the animal characters," and that Welch doesn't cite Homer as a source, even though it's obvious to Treuer. Alexie is treated worst of all with stylistic and thematic comparisons made of his "Reservation Blues" to Forrest Carter's "The Education of Little Tree" - the controversial faux "memoir" allegedly by a Cherokee writer which, as the truth became known, was fiction by a white man known for his racism.
"Native American Fiction" is an odd and gloomy book with an occasional bit of humor (as when Treuer discusses a characteristic shared by "Reservation Blues" and "The Education of Little Tree" - "Hyperbole. It is the best literary device in the whole wide world.") Treuer believes all the novels he discusses, with two exceptions (by Alexie and Carter, no doubt), are great novels but he is troubled by how they are interpreted, even by their authors. Yet his arguments are at times sloppy and specious and, in the end, one wonders what has been gained by his writing this book, and by our reading it.
Jim Carmin recently reviewed "Blood and Thunder" by Hampton Sides for The Oregonian.