The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Winter 2023 Group Read The Only Good Indians in the category Fiction: Indigenous. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

Has anybody completed this book yet?
I've started it, as it was the only one of the group reads that was available at my library, but am struggling! It's not at all engaging and I feel that it's going to be a real slog to get through this one ...

I'm not reading it for the challenge, but read it a couple of years ago.
It was tough - the change of narrator after the first section was jarring, but I was glad to have read it. But it's very definitely horror (and a bit of both gory and psychological), so if you are struggling now it's likely not to get better :(

I am about halfway, and I am slogging through it-really not the kind of book I normally read, and I am not really getting it.

Nick KY

This is the kind of book I read, and I think it is written very well -- IF you can get used to a few jarring moments. The change of narrator that happens suddenly is one of these. I might be in the minority of this group, considering the previous posts, but I found the unease of the narrative style to reflect the disturbing nature of the story. We are amazed to once again read of those who cannot see their own faults, even when pointed out brutally to them.

The change of point of view is crucial to the revenge plot, though, as we find that the four pov's are from a group of men who had a common horrific experience in their youth. We eventually find out that the narrators of all three sections (the last section shared by two) have a common supernatural enemy which they did not know about. (It reminds me of Peter Straub's Ghost Story in that way.)

Also, all of the main characters are indigenous. and the non-indigenous touches become intertwined with the horror that stalks the protagonists. The horrific nature of slasher stories (lone serial killer stalks innocent young women -- stories that I loathe!) is turned upside-down and inside-out. Misogynistic serial killer stories concern women-haters In TOGI, men are the intended victims. But women get brutally murdered too when getting too close to the men, and that sometimes reads as misogynist, as if the supernatural entity causes the men to lash out against the women in their lives, most of whom are killed accidentally. These young men are trying to figure out the hostile world around them, that of the opposing social forces that hunt them down (sometimes literally) and that of the elements of nature that seek revenge for their foolish actions against the earth.

Heather(Gibby) wrote: "I am about halfway, and I am slogging through it-really not the kind of book I normally read, and I am not really getting it."

Exactly how I feel!

Nick wrote: "Nick KY

This is the kind of book I read, and I think it is written very well -- IF you can get used to a few jarring moments. The change of narrator that happens suddenly is one of these. I might ..."

Thanks for your input - differing viewpoints are very much appreciated! I'm going to stick with it & hope that it comes together more towards the end which you seem to indicate that it does ...
I do sort of understand what it's trying to do, and your input has helped with that ...

Ok , I am done and there are good and bad parts to this book. It started strong, and the ending brings it all full circle.

What I thought the book did really well is depict four flawed individuals who are struggling with their identity as aboriginal men. This is best depicted with Gabe and Cassidy's hosting of the sweat lodge, where they really only have a vague idea of the actual ceremonial meaning of the various aspects of the sweat.

But I had a real problem with the woman with the Elk head running around terrorizing people.
I give it 3.5 stars

I listened to this one, and I did lose track for awhile and wasn't sure what was going on and I actually started again to keep better track when the switch of narrator occurs (which helped). I've read quite a bit of indigenous literature and was happy to get to this one which has been on my TBR for a long while as has the author. This is my first by Stephen Graham Jones and I want to read more of his work. Thanks for the review, Nick KY, as it helped me put even more of my thoughts together. I loved the narrator, but I may read the next one I tackle in print as I'm better at not drifting away and missing important bits and pieces of the story.

I really struggled with this one, and there was a point fairly close to the beginning where I was ready to give up (see comments above!) but it did pick up & I'm glad I stuck with it. There was another point around 2/3 of the way through where I started to struggle again & it was a slog to get to the end. I think I might have enjoyed it more as an audio book but that wasn't available for me at the library ...
Overall, I think this is a book that has another "layer" to it that escaped me - I don't think I understood it well enough to give a full review ...