Read This Book: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Content warning: Lots of animal death and peril, some body horror

The Only Good Indians is about four Blackfeet men who, before the book even begins, go elk hunting at the end of the season. It’s the week before Thanksgiving and winter is coming, and they aren’t having much luck. They’re tempted to cross over into elders’-only territory, knowing the consequences could be dire if they’re caught. But they’re unable to resist the temptation and the need for meat, so they take a chance, not knowing that by crossing over onto this land and stumbling upon a herd, they’ll awaken a force that becomes bent on revenge ten years later.

I loved the bleak early winter setting of this book, and how every single word evokes dread and suspense in the reader. The author explores stereotypes about Native people that persist in society as he opens the book by revealing where the men end up: one dies outside of a bar over a drunken misunderstanding and act of violence, one leaves the reservation they grew up on and marries a white woman, and the other two men stay, but find their lives moving in different directions. Jones slowly leads the reader to each man and reveals their fate as they realize that it’s not the Blackfeet elders or game wardens they need to fear for their past mistake, but an inhuman force they inadvertently disturbed. This novel examines the power and importance of tradition and rites, and the consequences that can befall a person and everyone around them when certain rites and boundaries are disrespected. I loved that this book looks at a community and far-reaching effects of these men’s actions. It also had one of the most tense chase scenes that I’ve ever read–I promise, it’s not what you’re expecting!

Bonus: The audiobook was narrated by Shaun Taylor-Corbett and it was great!

Happy reading!
Tirzah