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PHENOMENAL. I was hooked from the first page. I discovered Morgan Talty‘s writing in Never Whistle At Night and can I just say that I love short story collections? I‘ve discovered so many great authors that way and I can‘t wait to read more of Talty‘s writing. He recently came out with another book and I‘m waiting for it at the library. But this is hands down one of my top 3 reads in 2024.

I think it is important to go into this knowing that it is a book of interconnected short stories, that move back and forth through time and revolve around one family.
I loved this, David is a heartfelt and well drawn character and his family are relatable if damaged. I do not see a lot from Native people out of Maine and it is interesting how similar their lives are to NY reservation lives.
I love that Talty used his Native language throughout

5⭐️ Interlocking short stories composed of the life experiences of David as a Native American boy & man on an eastern US reservation. Nonlinear - reads the way memories pop up in our consciousness.

Having grown up in an isolated NA village, in MHO the writing feels very real and is emotionally gripping.

I will most definitely be reading Talty‘s novel that looks to be coming out in April next year.

Trying to read, but with the time change Cooper thinks he‘s going to starve to death waiting.

Loud & clear Mr. Cooper.

Wow, only two stories in and I‘m hooked! The writing is amazing. So glad I pulled it off the shelf this time.

I‘d much rather be reading than doing admin crap. 😣

...during part of the float the river had spaced us out so Tyson was far to my left, and JP far to Tyson's left, and when we came to the bend of the river its meandering pull brought us together and it was then that we paddled four strokes to the shore and the canoes slid up on the soft dirt bank, a wall of vines dangling down like wet hair. We tied the canoes... and with aching, lowered heads we walked the darkening woods to the street.

Mom had this way to make you want to die....

Soon, Mom came out of the room and put the phone se the hook. She didn't ask how the sandwich was. "I'm beating to Overtown soon," she said, returning to the bathroom, and in time Mom's makeup container snapped shut, and when she came out of the bathroom she said nothing to me and left. I could do no wrong when Paige was around, but the moment she was gone, the world in which we lived became my fault.

Peter Jennings was gearing up to a segment about NASA and Pioneer 10, how it sent its last signal, and how NASA had no plans to contact Pioneer 10. No plans! None. The metal ship was going to keep on going way out there in quiet, quiet glides of black, and since it was a thing, a machine, it couldn't see like us, and we way back here would never, ever know if the machine was okay.

Current #audiobook. Anyone else here do Reading Rivalry o Facebook? I‘m on team #RRFirekeepersDaughter

All stories are set in a Native American community in Maine and center around the main character as a boy and young man. Safe Harbour was my favourite. Themes are trauma, addiction, mental illness and poverty. I loved the voice and the writing is so good I felt immersed in the stories and place.

Interconnected short stories, David‘s family & friends on the Penobscot Indian Nation reservation. Beer & smoke runs. Porcupine quills. Carcasses. Caterpillar carpets. Methadone.Teeth in jars. Pugwagees. Moose meat & corn fritters. Medicine men. Mental health. Smudging as an act of loving kindness. P216 “I had nowhere to go, but I ran like I did.” 2022

The impact of substance abuse and generational deprivation sits at the centre of each of these stories. Although there are moments in this collection that are unrelentingly bleak, there are also moments of humour in the narrative voice. In this way, Talty takes a look at the complexities of lives in these places. As will all collections, this was a little uneven, but built towards a devastating conclusion.

If you are looking for a plot, these connected stories will not be for you. However, if you are looking for an untethered timeline which allows the emphasis of the bonds between people and place and the demons hiding within, look no further. This will hit that sad, dark, tense spot in your psyche.

Christmas Book Mail!! I got two Book Depository packages in the mail this morning. One had - Space, Bliss Montage and High Risk Homosexual - and must be from @Reggie Thank you Reggie! That was such an exciting package to open and all books I want to read. I am on a long hold list at the library for Ling Ma! So glad to have it in my hands - I loved Severance🥰

Now who is Night of the Living Rez from? I am so excited to read this too!

Wow, impressive debut. These linked short stories, all narrated by David, a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation, at different points in his life, are striking. Heavy and bleak, but also tender and beautiful. I‘ll be reading whatever Talty writes next.

https://youtu.be/9AvVHM7dpD4

#SkodenReadathon
#ernauxvember
#BookTubeSpin7

Intro

Highlights

All About H. Hatterr by G.V. Desani

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation by Andrew Stobo Sniderman & Douglas Sanderson

Twenty Thousand Saints by Fflur Dafydd

The Uncle's Story by Witi Ihimaera

This book is amazing. I kept thinking it was a real story, but it's fiction. Which I had to keep reminding myself. Over and over. It is not happy. The last two stories are especially extra.

I bought it in an indie bookstore in ME, not realizing the book is set in Maine. My book club bestie picked this and I love her for it. The rest of the book club is complaining that it's depressing. 🤷

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I enjoyed this collection of interconnected stories set on a Native reservation in Maine. The stories touch on a range of subjects, including drugs and addiction, community, family, motherhood, parenting, trauma, displacement, racism, bigotry, colonialism, are sometimes funny and, quite often, heartbreaking. It‘s not always an easy read but it‘s a raw, powerful, and engaging one. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Reading a chunkster so grabbing a more portable book for today‘s train ride.

Went for a walk, came home with a new book.🤷‍♀️😬

A look at reservation life in Maine through 12 related stories.

Really moving writing but not quite the right POV for me. The stories all have young men at their centre - but all have a secondary older female character, like a mother or a friend‘s mother. And those are the stories I wanted - give me Beth‘s story or David‘s mom‘s story! So… yeah, I need someone to pick this up and tell the other side of all the stories!

4.5⭐/5⭐

These stories are so tightly bound together that I‘m a little surprised this wasn‘t marketed as a novel, since I feel they work as one. We follow a Penobscot family living on the rez and the quiet desperation of their lives in poverty. I really liked this.

I was surprised by how much I could relate to in these 12 interconnected short stories about an Indigenous—Penobscot—family who live on a reservation in Maine, ie: driving over a solid mass of caterpillars on the road, or a car with a radio that goes on & off over bumps. I am fortunate that the serious problems in this book—living with addictions, family violence & poverty—are outside of my experience. Darrell Dennis narrates the fine audiobook.

… Tabitha, an asshole everyone at the clinic knew, who threw up her liquid methadone and then sold it …

Set in a Native Community in Maine, these stories follow David at different points in his life. There is a lot of sorrow and tragedy as well as tenderness and love between family members. 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

This was fantastic. I'm super impressed by Morgan Talty's writing voice and how it somehow perfectly conveys everything from everyday home life to normalized substance abuse and trauma to loving, complex relationships to intensely tragic moments. And I cared so much about what happened to David/Dee and his loved ones. Really enjoyed the audio (which I was grateful to access via the #librofm #ALC program).

Thursday #bookmail! Really looking forward to this debut collection.

Brilliant short stories rave reviews a collection I will be recommending.