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Title: The Sharpest Sight: A Novel (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies, Vol. 1) by Louis Owens ISBN: 0-8061-2574-8 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: September, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.02 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Flow Of Rivers, The Flow Of Lives
Comment: The Sharpest Sight by Louis Owens is a mystery, a police procedural, a thriller, an exploration of identity, and magical realism all rolled up into one excellent novel. Sharpest Sight takes place in a [lightly fictionalized] Salinas Valley, California sometime near the end of the Vietnam War. Attis McCurtain, Vietnam vet and insane killer, has escaped from the state hospital and may or may not be dead. Mundo Morales, who is Mexican-American, Catholic, a Vietnam vet, a sheriff's deputy, and an old friend of Attis', and Cole McCurtain, who is Choctaw-Irish-American, and Attis' younger brother, must each try and unravel the mystery of Attis' disappearance. Mundo is aided by his duty to his buddy, his duty to his position in law enforcement, his love of his wife and child, and the ghost of his grandfather. Cole gets help from his dad Hoey, his Uncle Luther, a Choctaw elder and shaman, Old Lady Blue Wood, another elder and shaman, and his duty to his brother. The local crazed bartender, a twitchy Vietnam vet FBI agent, and the family of the girl Attis killed also play a major role. As the flooded river recedes towards dry river bed, all the characters converge towards a solution to the mystery and in some cases, a greater understanding of self. Potential readers unable to suspend disbelief in order to deal with ghostly grandfathers and magical Choctaw dirty tricks shouldn't even try to wade into this novel. For all others, I recommend that you dive into The Sharpest Sight and see where the flow takes you.
Rating: 5
Summary: A satisfying, surreal metaphysical road trip
Comment: "The Sharpest Sight" reads a little like a murder mystery and a little like a road trip book, though both descriptions fall woefully short of doing this book justice. This is a complex tale of self-discovery and psychic healing set amid a backdrop of Native American and Hispanic culture and history, with Viet Nam flashbacks, fumbling feds and some mildly graphic sex scenes to help keep the action moving forward. While the main characters are vividly drawn, and completely believable and sympathetic, for my money it was some of the secondary characters who made this book worthwhile. The bar owner, Jessard Deal, is particularly entertaining, especially as he disintegrates late in the book. Some of his dialogue is priceless. The same goes for some of the FBI agents, which take on absurd cariciature-like qualities late in the book. Louis Owens has a deft hand with subtle intrigue and the surreal qualities of truth and discovery, and is expert at creating an authentic sense of place and character.
Rating: 5
Summary: Feel the river sand under your feet and the thrill
Comment: up your spine with this mystery evocative of Garcia Marquez and Hillerman rolled into one.
Choctaw/Cherokee/Irish Vietnam vet Attis McCurtain is murdered; his friend Mundo Morales and his
great uncle Luther know it immediately through vision and dreams. His brother Cole and father Hoey
must find the body which authorities believe is still a living psycho on the lam.
As with his other novels, Owens tightly weaves many cultures to achieve a beautiful, funny and suspenseful
story. If you're familiar with the mythological alter egos of Attis McCurtain and Diana Nemi it will take your breath away in
its intricacy. A quick trip to read up on these two in Frazer's The Golden Bough will bring the story full circle, as many
Native American stories tend to be presented. This book has the sexiest octogenarian couple readers are ever likely to encounter along
with surprise players from across cultures and times
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Title: Bone Game: A Novel (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series , Vol 10) by Louis Owens ISBN: 0806128410 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $11.65 |
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Title: Nightland by Louis Owens ISBN: 0806133732 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: October, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Wolfsong (American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series, Vol 17) by Louis Owens ISBN: 0806127376 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: March, 1995 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Dark River by Louis Owens ISBN: 0806132825 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: August, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Medicine River by Thomas King ISBN: 0140254749 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1991 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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