The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Synopsis:

The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in The Only Good Indians – a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

Here’s some early praise:

“One of 2020’s buzziest horror novels.” —Entertainment Weekly

“More than I could have asked for in a novel.”—Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize finalist author of There There

“What Stephen Graham Jones does for me, is create new possibilities for Indigenous storymakers.” —Terese Marie Mailhot, New York Times bestselling author

“A masterpiece. ” —Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World

Edition:

E-ARC via Net Galley

My Thoughts:

I’m feeling a little intimidated, not gonna lie. I’m not sure how this review is going to pan out (I keep copious notes while reading, but…this book is a lot. It’s heavy, and I really want to do it justice). It’s so full of pain, but also of tradition, lore, and beauty. I don’t know how I’m going to manage writing coherently about this, folks. I’m kind of awed by the whole of it.

I’m also worried because I can’t consult my notes since this was an e-ARC, and my stupid Kindle has decided that it no longer feels like connecting to the internet, so I’m going to do this from memory. Luckily this is one highly memorable story. I wish I could lean heavily on quotes, because there’s so much here that is quote-worthy, but since the ARC specified that it was not for quotation, I shall begrudgingly refrain. 😥

First of all, story aside – the writing is absolutely incredible. My only other SGJ experience was his piece in the anthology Weird is Other People. That story, My Lying-Down Smiley Face was really good, but it pales in comparison to this. Where that story was good, The Only Good Indians is a fucking masterpiece. Every single word is like a punch to the gut. This is the first book in a long time that hammered me so hard, and so relentlessly that I actually had to walk away from it for a day once I hit part 2 and read something else (I chose The Roo).

“Denorah hates that she’d believed that, once upon a time. And she wants to cry for not getting to believe it anymore.”

The characters’ flaws definitely take center stage in this story. The four men at the center of the tale all did something incredibly stupid that flew in the face of their tribe’s tradition, and they have to pay the price for that. The social commentary present in this book is just incredible. While it is steeped in tradition, he also has a whole hell of a lot to say about the apparent realities of contemporary life for Native Americans (Please note, I am saying this ONLY as an outside observer who spent a chunk of my life living near reservations and visiting friends who lived there – I’ve never lived there myself – hence the “apparent” – I fully trust his Own Voices narrative, I just don’t want you to think I am co-opting this knowledge as my own).

I also find it fascinating that each man has in some way been punishing himself LONG before the “entity bent on revenge” ever comes near them. The entity is kind of just there to finish the job.

About the Author:

Stephen Graham Jones is the author of fifteen novels and six collections. He really likes werewolves and slashers. Favorite novels change daily, but Valis and Love Medicine and Lonesome Dove and It and The Things They Carried are all usually up there somewhere. Stephen lives in Boulder, Colorado. It’s a big change from the West Texas he grew up in. He’s married with a couple kids, and probably one too many trucks.

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Rating:

Plus a million more stars. Seriously, The Only Good Indians is so fucking good. It deserves all of the acclaim it has already received and then some.

The Only Good Indians
By: Stephen Graham Jones
Gallery / Saga Press
ISBN: 9781982136451
Published: July 14, 2020
Hardcover, E-Book, Audio
320 Pages
Author's Website