Wolfsong by Louis Owens

Wolfsong Reviews

• 
  Jhenisha Kim

  There were times that it was interesting but then it just lacked. The novel wasn’t intriguing enough to allow the reader to keep reading, it became boring at times.
• 
  Michelle Boyer

  This story has some interesting themes:
  Colonization
  Devastation of the landscape
  Effects of boarding school
  Traditional vs. Contemporary world
  
  The only problem is that Owens does not engage me as an author. This is one of the texts that the "Canon" says is a must-read American Indian text. Perhaps it is, but there has been a lot written since that is much better.
  
  But if this was a book you enjoyed, I recommend
  Wind from an Enemy Sky by
  D'Arcy McNickle. It has similar themes and if you enjoyed this, I think that Wind might actually be more engaging.
• 
  Sam Niemeyer

  Louis Owens delivers another incredible example of Native American fiction – a strong example of the NA canon but also just a good piece of literature in general. Unfortunately, I did not find that Wolfsong measured up to the quality of Dark River or Bone Game, but it was still a good read.
  
  Once again, Owens relies on postmodernism, incorporating elements of technology and the oral tradition to weave his story. Each character was purposeful and contributed to the story. I had a lot of sympathy for everyone in this fictional version of Forks, but I wouldn’t know if it represented the real city, but it certainly represents the hopelessness of many other impoverished cities I have seen and lived in. I had sympathy for Jimmy and even Jake. As always with postmodernism and Native American fiction, I identified more of a collapse of the story’s logic than a traditional climax. Although it’s suggested that possible supernatural or spiritual elements play into the story, there are still certain clues that help us relate to Tom’s decline; “And the men and women swirled toward the dense center of the bar, a thing collapsing inward upon itself, the women in tight pants and skirts, smoking and flirting and laughing, and the husbands in new jeans and flannel shirts shouting and slapping one another” (pg 184).
  
  The more I read of his work, the more acutely aware I become of his depression and the dark cloud of oppression and identity confusion that exists in the Native American community – and basically everywhere although it is less pronounced in other communities.
  
  I found the book reminding me of No Country for Old Men (the film) and Kingdom of Fear by Hunter S. Thompson. Both have similar exhaustive pacing and elements of struggle and desperation within a realistic broken reality.
• 
  Annie

  read this a long time ago, loved it