Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony: A Casebook

by Allan Chavkin (Editor)

Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony , the most important novel of the Native American Renaissance, is among the most most widely taught and studied novels in higher education today. In it, Silko recounts a young man's search for consolation in his tribe's history and traditions, and his resulting voyage of self-discovery and discovery of the world. The fourteen essays in this casebook include a variety of theoretical approaches and provide the reader with crucial information, especially on Native American beliefs, that will enhance their understanding and appreciation of this contemporary classic. The collection also includes two interviews with Silko in which she explains the importance of the oral tradition and storytelling, along with autobiographical basis of the novel.

Genres: Native American, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 24, 2002

Reviews

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly serviceable casebook of essays on one of my favorite novels. Several, especially those by Paula Gunn Allen and Keneth Lincoln foreground the novel's Laguna dimensions; Allen writes in a self-reflective mode about the complications of teaching into or around or refusing to address the silences connected with tribal perspectives on sacred concerns. If you're looking for clear orientation and guidance, the essays by Louis Owens and Robert Nelson are first rate. The bonus is a brief selection of interviews with Silko pointing ahead to Almanac of the Dead.

[Boostamonte Halvorsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very helpful in regards to having to write a critical analysis for school. Anyone really interested in Native American stories and heritage should read Ceremony by Silko. This book just helps explain a lot of what is going on underneath the story.

[Andy Oram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly a must-read. It starts very sad and disturbing, but gradually becomes more positive. A bit of overt politics enters, more heavy-handed than I'd like, but not enough to disturb the magic of this moral tale.