Book Review: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

When four teenage Native American boys, Ricky, Lewis, Cassidy, and Gabe, decide to shoot up a herd of elk on reservation land reserved for elders, they get banned for life from participating in any kind of hunting by the tribe. Lewis kept a secret though. One of the elk he killed was pregnant and he buried the still living fetus before the boys could be caught.

For ten years they went about their lives until one by one, they started dying horrible deaths. This novel is about revenge and cultural identity, and it is told in poetic prose that tell the horrific tale beautifully. Karma always catches up with us, especially when we don’t try to make amends.

I always hope for good tales about Native American myths. For them to be told properly. Who better to tell them than Stephen Graham Jones. Honestly, this book is brilliant. I couldn’t put it down and I’m excited to read the rest of his novels as they sit on my shelf.

So many books. So little time.