High marks to Shann Ray for the courage and risk and spirit of this book. I've never read anything quite it. It's not a "traditional" set of stories in prose. It's more a song cycle or an "installation" of language that spins you into the vortex of great and timeless themes (war, violence, gender, forgiveness) while also requiring you to bear witness to human crimes that are difficult to contemplate. It's not easy to be on the front row during atrocity. I approached the book as I tend to approach poetry--slowly, intentionally, reading only when I wasn't ly to be interrupted. My patience paid off. I feel as though Ray has cleaved the comfort of traditional forms asunder and reassembled lyric and narrative in new, urgent ways. I love the "triptych" form, for instance. And I deeply admire how he interrogates the mythology of both European and indigenous cultures. Ray doesn't pull his punches in this unique volume. As noted above, he takes risks, perhaps especially with the pieces rooted in the culture of the Northern Cheyenne people. There are moments of wretched cruelty and despair here. And beautiful evocations of redemption.2 s Robert Morgan Fisher596 16

No one writes about the appalling realities of genocide, poverty and domestic violence with more grace than Shann Ray. I've been following his work for years and this book is a watershed. He's at the top of his game here. Read this, share it. 2 s Brie1,546

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