Old School Indian
by Aaron John Curtis
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"An astonishing coming-of-middle-age debut about an Ahkwesahsne man's reluctant return home, Old School Indian is a striking exploration of the resonance of love and family, culture and history. Abe Jacobs is Kanien'keha:ka from Ahkwesahsne-that's People of the Flint, from Where the Partridge Drums-or, if you ask a white dude, a Mohawk Indian from the Saint Regis Tribe. Whichever way you cut it-and Dominick Deer Woods, our irreverent, wisecracking narrator, cuts it six ways to Sunday-at show more eighteen Abe left the reservation where he was raised and never looked back. Now forty-three, Abe is suffering from a rare disease-one his doctors in Miami believe will kill him. Running from his diagnosis and a failing marriage, Abe returns to the Rez, where he's convinced to undergo a healing at the hands of his Great Uncle Budge. But this ain't Sweet Home Ahkwesahsne, as Dominick might say, and Budge-a wry recovered alcoholic prone to wearing band t-shirts featuring pot-bellied naked dudes-isn't the least bit precious about his gift. Which is good, because his time off Rez has made Abe a thorough skeptic. However, to heal Abe will have to undertake a revelatory journey, confronting the parts of himself he's hidden ever since he left home and learning to cultivate hope, even at his darkest hour. Delivered with crackling wit and wildly inventive linguistic turns, Old School Indian is a striking exploration of the power and secrets of family, the capacity for healing and catharsis, and the ripple effects of history and culture."-- show lessTags
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historical fiction (1990s-2016 Miami, Syracuse NY, and a fictional reservation in NY area)
shortly after 43 y.o. Abe Jacobs is diagnosed with a mysterious, incurable, aggressive (and fictitious) autoimmune disease, he returns to his Ahkwesahsne (Mohawk) roots and reconnects with his family and "cuzzins" on the rez; he even has a great uncle who is known as a Healer (can't hurt to try at this point) and also must reflect on his failing marriage (in hindsight, it wasn't a great idea to try to force a monogamous marriage on a polyamorous woman).
Sharply funny (Abe and his cuzzins are riotously quick with the wise cracks) with pithy/toothy insight, from an Akwesasne author whose (nonfictitious) PAN disease is in remission.
shortly after 43 y.o. Abe Jacobs is diagnosed with a mysterious, incurable, aggressive (and fictitious) autoimmune disease, he returns to his Ahkwesahsne (Mohawk) roots and reconnects with his family and "cuzzins" on the rez; he even has a great uncle who is known as a Healer (can't hurt to try at this point) and also must reflect on his failing marriage (in hindsight, it wasn't a great idea to try to force a monogamous marriage on a polyamorous woman).
Sharply funny (Abe and his cuzzins are riotously quick with the wise cracks) with pithy/toothy insight, from an Akwesasne author whose (nonfictitious) PAN disease is in remission.
I loved this book. Abe, Budge, Alex, Dominick Deer Woods and the whole cast of characters were quirky, funny, frail, strong and loving. The voice of the novel was creative and Deer Woods' poetry was an unexpected and acerbic addition.
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