3732. The Man Who Killed the Deer, by Frank Waters (read 14 Apr 2003) This work of fiction, first published in 1942, by an author who I understand is a kind of cult figure, especially in the Southwest, I found a chore to read: it spends a lot of time philosophizing on pantheistic Indian beliefs. If I were a quitter I would have quit reading this by the time I was half thru. Sometimes not quitting a book turns out to be the right thing, but in this case I found this not to be true. ( )

Martiniano is a Pueblo Indian...in a way. He was sent to an "away school," a White school, and upon his return he sometimes feels uneasy with the old Pueblo customs. He joins the peyote cult that is gaining steam amongst the Pueblos.

Martiniano's personal concerns are played out against a tense background in which the Pueblos' need to keep private access to a sacred ground is matched up against land claims. There are many scenes in which the principals look away from one another, finding that they have nothing to say to each other.

Tense and emotionally powerful. ( )