The Only Good Indians

I loves me some antlers

I am going to try to return to form and keep this review relatively spoiler free. The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones, was a thoroughly entertaining and interesting novel. Surrounding four members of the Blackfeet tribe both on and off the reservation the novel instantly begins to set itself apart from most horror I have thus far come across. It’s a very emotional book covering a lot of different facets and complications that come from the lives of Native Peoples in white a

merica.

The book spends a lot of time inside its characters' thought processes and inner lives as it crosses their various perspectives. It does so with commendable ability while adhering to a third person perspective. Although, I do say that as a person who disagrees with all those posts and writings saying that third person is often deficient at establishing connection between a character’s thoughts and thought processes in comparison to first person. But that’s neither here nor there. The book does a good job of grounding and making its characters clear, personable, and effective in the mind of the reader.

The book uses supernatural horror alongside very real presentations of racism and prejudice to face themes of generational trauma, cyclical violence, loss of innocence and childhood, and the lethal effects of white supremacy and colonialism. Its characters grapple with the shames of leaving their life on the reservation and among their tribes behind in search of a different life, even if not necessarily a better one. It deals with the shame and conflict that comes with remaining on the reservations even after your friends have left, even after genocide, even after assault after assault after assault, after murder after murder, after cruelty, after every other misery and prejudice heaped upon the Native Peoples of america.

It utilizes a lot of great tools beyond the horrors of racism to make its scares effective. There’s some very crunchy, pulpy gore in there alongside some fun designs and interesting perspectives that bring the reader very close to all the bloody action. There are definitely some scenes here and there that left me a touch confused about the physics and realism of what I was reading about the more “realistic” characters’ lives, but it’s easy to get past once you remember that it’s a supernatural folk horror book. If you’re looking for realism, which I most definitely wasn’t, it’s best to look elsewhere. The contact points with reality come from deep emotional attachments with and between characters, some very relatable dramas and concerns, and a general lack of positive experiences with very angry creatures.

It approaches spiritualism, community, and how deeply interconnected they can be in a really interesting way. I’m seeing less of it recently, although that can probably be attributed mainly to my own choice of media to consume rather than huge signs of cultural change, but it’s always refreshing to see Native Peoples’ culture explored in a way that isn’t centered around being entirely one way or the other. Obviously it’s good to not see people being portrayed as scalp-starved savages, that’s a given, that’s the most basic and straightforward gimme a non-racist could get. What I’m more talking about is reading the scenes in this that have to do with rituals and sweats and other sorts of cultural gatherings that are done with a group of laughing friends and self conscious newcomers. The people on reservations and still living in the cultures that white america wants so desperately to be extinct aren’t murderous savages, no, but they’re also not perfectly stoic noble guardians of the world beyond stone walls. They’re people, and I love seeing people be people. Goobers and childhood friends yucking it up in a sweat lodge and complaining because it’s hot as hell and the sweat is making the mud stick to their butt but sticking it out because it feels right and it’s what brings them close together. I love that. It’s such a deeply intimate look at a lifestyle and reality that isn’t my own, but I still look at it and can see the times I spent with friends just trying to make it to the next day.

I would very quickly recommend this book if I was asked, and since you’re here I’m gonna take that as roughly equivalent to you asking me. It’s a relatively short read, and it keeps your attention well. It does a great job of drawing you into itself in those pages and does it quickly. It’s refreshing both in its approach to its characters and in the way it handles its horrors.

I feel bad sometimes when I write these reviews because more often than not, although you’d be forgiven thus far for believing otherwise, I generally have more to criticize than compliment. It’s easy to complain, it’s fun too. My negative reviews stretch further than my positive ones, but trying to stay spoiler free is restricting me a little in getting my feelings out there. It’s a fantastic book, don’t let my brevity confuse you. I could go on about character choices I adored, spooky bits that really had me on edge, this and that and that and this but it wouldn’t do the book the justice it deserves. Go read it, Jones does a much better job of showcasing his skills than I could do for him. If I go ahead and just tell you all the best bits it won’t hit you the same way it hit me. Hats off both to this book and to Stephen Graham Jones for being as wonderful and captivating as they are.