Review: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

I cannot think of a better way to kick off a new year than with a five-star read and The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones delivered.

What I expected to be a classic ghost story was instead a deep exploration of Indigenous Gothic examining the intersections of folk horror, tradition, and modernity. The novel follows a group of Blackfeet men as they are haunted by the angry spirit of an elk they violently hunted years ago. The Only Good Indians seeks to examine the relationship between traditional cultural values and the modern era asking how, if possible, these things could coexist. Additionally, the novel also asks what truly makes a "good" Indian, playing on the racist phrase, "the only good Indian is a dead Indian."

The novel almost acts as an Indigenous retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. Memory and trauma play key thematic roles throughout the novel's development, ultimately driving the main characters insane. Reoccurring imagery of the elk and the violent slaughter also hammered home the guilt the main characters were experiencing that led to their downfall.

The internal conflicts of the main characters and their thought processes were some of the true strengths of the novel. The guilt, trauma, and fear dripped off the pages. (By the end of the book, even I was looking over my shoulder to make sure there wasn't a ghost elk behind me.) The only weakness of the writing was that at times the story seemed a bit jumbled and confusing, but I actually believe this was done on purpose to showcase the spiraling of the characters. Confusion led to fear.

I think this book would be enjoyed by anyone who is a fan of gothic literature, especially that which concerns itself with American history. In addition to Poe, I would categorize Jones' work with those of Hawthorne and Faulkner -- these American authors concerned with the haunted American soil and landscape.

The Only Good Indians was truly a rich read that I am so glad I experienced.