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The Man Who Killed the Deer
by
Frank Waters
The story of Martiniano, the man who killed the deer, is a timeless story of Pueblo Indian sin and redemption, and of the conflict between Indian and white laws; written with a poetically charged beauty of style, a purity of conception, and a thorough understanding of Indian values.
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
December 3rd 1984
by Pocket
(first published 1942)
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This book is what it says on the cover, "...a beautiful book." I am sure it will speak to many people in different ways. My favorite part was the long descriptive paragraphs, crystallizing Martiniano's thought processes into recognizable and new insights, some describing nature and cycles with perfection. It is not a pat ending, so if you don't like that you might not enjoy the ending of this book. What I took from it was the writing about relationships, marriage, children, and family. The chara...more
I really enjoyed the pacing and feel of this book. It swept me up and set me down in the southwest. For me, one of the most striking elements of the book were the council meetings held my the Pueblo elders. The balance between silence and talk during the deliberations, and the authors descriptions of the importance of the silence made me wonder if there was a way to re-incorporate this process into modern meetings. Just imagine what a meeting where there was equal periods of silence after each p...more
I'm a little biased. This book is about my grandfather's tribe, Taos Pueblo, so I have a special fondness for this story. It's about a young Pueblo man who goes away to school and has conflicts returning to his people years later. As many young Indian people experience (past and present), this young man faces internal struggle between returning to his old ways while living in a modern world. I recommend reading this if you're especially interested in the history of forced assimilation (e.g. Boar...more
This is a serious look at the Native American culture as it tries to survive surrounded by ours. Martiniano is a Puebloan Indian who as a child was sent off to school as part of a government program to help the Indians better integrate. It has the effect of dislocation: he finds himself a stranger in both worlds, persecuted for his nonconformity.
The book is beautifully written, both story and symbolism. There are life lessons imparted as we follow the proud Martiniano. With time, he finds peace...more
The book is beautifully written, both story and symbolism. There are life lessons imparted as we follow the proud Martiniano. With time, he finds peace...more
Since I grew up near Taos N.M. and visited often, I was particularly glad to read this book. I loved the way Waters pays tribute to the Pueblo culture without romanticizing it. The book explains to me the reticence of a couple of Native college roommates who could be enigmatic when it came to discussions of home and family. Loved this book.
Frank Waters is considered the father of the Southwest novel. In this book he explores the experience of a man caught between two cultures, a man who has no identity in this suspended state, until finally he has to choose.
I loved this book! It really addressed a lot of questions I had about how Native culture maintains it's own religion yet has adopted Catholicism.
An intriguing book about the sad transformation of the American Indian to the white man's ways of life.
I first read The Man Who Killed the Deer in college, and it has always stuck with me as a book to read again. Now that I have read it a second time, I'm not sure why it moved me so much before. The story is difficult to follow. There are portions which are quite lucid, then all of a sudden, something else is happening. I am glad I re-read this book, if only to satisfy that part of me that needed to. But I really couldn't say I would recommend it.
I read this book every year. Gets more dog ears every time.
Provides unique insight into cultural anomie.
an amazing book - a must-read on everyone's list
Nov 10, 2012
Dorothy Lloyd
added it
This got on my list by mistake.
Frank Waters' classic novel.
view 1 comment
Martiniano goes away to school and comes back 'in between'...not really part of white society, as the boarding school attendance was intended to do, and yet not part of the Pueblo, being seen as a bit of an outsider given the boarding school experience. The book is about sin and redemption. Martiniano sins...he breaks the white man's rules...and also breaks tribal rules. He is seen as a troublemaker. Ultimately he finds redemption, finds his way back to the tribe and it's way of life.
Hard to say what I thought of this book; it was a monthly choice for one of my book groups. A fascinating trip through life in a New Mexico pueblo and the spirit of a people in a rapidly changing world. It is considered a bit of a classic in the Southwest and certainly keeps you thinking as you read. I'm left with the realization of how difficult it is to understand a culture when you are looking from the outside in.
Brilliant in every way. Thoughtful. My copy of this book is over 40 years old. So, definitely a book to keep and re-read.
Compelling, enlightening. I read this years ago so this is a re-read with a wiser head. Beautifully crafted.
Since I have now finished re-reading, I can recommend this book to anyone interested in the creative mind, the individual in society, native culture and the nature of the artist – these are Frank Waters's principal themes.
Compelling, enlightening. I read this years ago so this is a re-read with a wiser head. Beautifully crafted.
Since I have now finished re-reading, I can recommend this book to anyone interested in the creative mind, the individual in society, native culture and the nature of the artist – these are Frank Waters's principal themes.
Stick with this one...the pace is not unlike the pace out on the Pueblo where the story unfolds. It kinda has its own rhythm. Not a book to read on a Kindle while hurrying off to work or whatever. More of a long night on the couch when a storm has knocked out the power and you're reading by candlelight sort of book. A classic Taos tale but broad enough in theme to offer something for anyone able to slip into its gentle current and float quietly down its river.
After traveling in the South West this Fall, I find this story of the clash between Pueblo values and "white" values very interesting. Although given another name, the Pueblo referenced has to be Taos. The good news is that one of the issues in the book - access to the sacred lake - was solved by President Nixon. The Taos Pueblo now owns their sacred lake.
More great Puebloan perspectives. Seems like Taos, but i'm not sure, it's one of those northern Pueblos. It's fun to read about Pueblo life in the early century. I like the qoute about the pebble being like a star at the bottom of the pond. It's a sad story but empowering.
Jun 29, 2008
Linda
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
adults and teenage boys
Recommended to Linda by:
Don
This tells of the passing of boys from childhood into manhood in an American Indian setting. This was recommended to me and my son by a psychologist. it was interesting that the author was accused of being a racist several years after his book became popular.
Good for the history of indians and such but very graphic and lots of inappropriate parts. I had to read it for a class so maybe that's why I didn't like it very much
beautifully written. a must for anyone interested in pueblo indians.
Jun 22, 2009
Chad
added it
Thinking of shaving the heels off of my cowboy boots...
Jun 05, 2013
Matt
marked it as to-read
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