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The Only Good Indians
ONLY GOOD INDIANS | DISCUSSION
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The Only Good Indians | part 2
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loved the characters here, but there was one thing I got lost at maybe someone could help me with?[spoilers beyond this point]
Was Jo already dead beneath the truck when events began to unfold around the Sweat Lodge? It wasn't clear, unless I missed something.
Book Hunter B wrote: "loved the characters here, but there was one thing I got lost at maybe someone could help me with?[spoilers beyond this point]
Was Jo already dead beneath the truck when events began to unfold a..."
(view spoiler)
DeeDee Dennis wrote: "Book Hunter B wrote: "loved the characters here, but there was one thing I got lost at maybe someone could help me with?[spoilers beyond this point]
Was Jo already dead beneath the truck when ev..."
Okay, thanks for the clarification. I reread that part several times and I don't know why my brain couldn't really grasp the events at hand.
You’re welcome! :) it took me a minute to mentally digest that part too, I feel like a lot was happening lol
DeeDee Dennis wrote: "You’re welcome! :) it took me a minute to mentally digest that part too, I feel like a lot was happening lol"A whole lot! Parts of this book were really fast paced and I was often retracing entire pages to figure out what was happening :D Overall excellent book though. I'm looking to revisit some of Jones' past works in the near future.
Book Hunter B wrote: "DeeDee Dennis wrote: "You’re welcome! :) it took me a minute to mentally digest that part too, I feel like a lot was happening lol"A whole lot! Parts of this book were really fast paced and I was..."
I had to retrace entire pages too haha, sometimes the writing felt borderline stream-of-consciousness and it definitely took getting used to. I'm curious about Mongrel and Night of the Mannequins, I'm looking to visit those at some point as well :)
I liked this section too. Still really enjoying this. Not sure where the third part will go.
This part was definitely my favourite, the opening scene was amazing and i loved how it dipped into second person every once in a while.
Part two was my least favorite section so far. I just wasn’t as interested as I was in the first part. Interested to see what happens in part three though!
The first section of part two was a little slow for me, but once it finally get there, I really enjoyed it. What did you all think about the use of the second person narrative? spoilers below
I personally found the second person narrative to represent the entity to be effective in pulling me in. As the chapters went on, I found myself excited for bloodshed, to the point where I was just like kill them all, kill them all and when she did oh my god it was so good. Each character death was like, ooh, damn and I felt like I was watching a horror movie play out in my brain. I was sad that they died, but also I really liked it?? Idk how to describe that. When Cass hands Gabe the thermos to help Gabe kill him, wow. Soooo good!
Still really enjoying it, do I fully grasp what is going on? No haha
I think so far I liked this second part better because there were less changes, less internal dialog and more scene description, and therefore it was easier to understand. I still don't feel comfortable with the writing though, and once again I felt disconnected from the violence and the action.
I am very confused about the second part. So far my least favorite section. Maybe its the narration style? I don't know.
Not gonna lie, all the basketball references were throwing me off for a while. Those things just don't interest me. But this part of the book was so action packed! I really enjoyed it. I am really hoping that D doesn't die in the third part of the book. But, we shall see.
The writing is really beautiful, but I don't think it's grabbing my attention that much?However, it's really slow-paced which I believe makes the gory, horrifying scenes way more effective.
I found the first part of this section a bit slow going but the last half certainly made up for it. I hate that they all died but also loved it at the same time?! I’m really impressed with the writing so far, I have no idea what’s going to happen next.
Didnt like this section as much as the first part of the story. I liked the change of perspective and I'm all hear for bloodshed, but I didn't find it nearly as interesting as following Lewis's decent into chaos.
I loved this section, someone described the writing as being like a "stream of consciousness" and I feel that's really accurate. It definitely takes some getting used to but it really worked for me to build the atmosphere and tension. I'm not usually a fan of 2nd person narration, but that also worked really well for me here. I'm very intrigued to see how this is going to end.
I liked this part better however, the start was a bit flat for me after the action and shock of the ending of the first section. We were re-introduced to Gabe and Cass that we vaguely knew from the first part, So it felt a bit like starting from the beginning again.I liked the idea of the sweat lodge and how their thoughts about their culture were explored. My favourite character was probably Cassidy, he seemed like he was trying to better his life and i was sad that he wasn't able to do that.
I agree with others here about having to re-read pages to keep up with the pace and even now not everything is clear. I thought Jo was dead under the truck already, didn't the Elk Woman reference her under there before? And surely she would have left before Victor and the Dogs were killed so why would she be hiding under the truck? Why wouldn't she have called for help when Lewis came out of the lodge or Cass after? This part also confused me about what Lewis was seeing in the first part, he said he saw a woman with Elk antlers but wasn't she "reborn" from the Elk calf he pulled from Peta after he killed her? Or are the two unrelated?
I'm assuming that the Elk Woman will go after Denorah in the next part.
DeeDee Dennis wrote: "Book Hunter B wrote: "DeeDee Dennis wrote: "You’re welcome! :) it took me a minute to mentally digest that part too, I feel like a lot was happening lol"A whole lot! Parts of this book were reall..."
Spot on with the stream-of-consciousness note!
Riska wrote: "This part was definitely my favourite, the opening scene was amazing and i loved how it dipped into second person every once in a while."The second person is genius—really amped up the creepy factor
I liked the first part more, although I did get through this one a lot faster. The basketball and sweat lodge stuff was pretty uninteresting to me and I do still feel pretty disconnected from everything that's going on. The gory scenes don't make me feel anything as I'm not even really understanding what's going on (for example I still don't really understand what happened to Nathan's dad and I didn't understand how Jo died before someone mentioned it in the comments above).
What has developed in the last part? Did you like the direction?As I guessed, they guys were killed off one by one. But WHOA, the execution was good! Just like everyone else here, I had to read some pages multiple times to get what was happening.
And yes, I kept wondering why Jo was under the truck! Did I miss the explanation on why she was there?
I was also not interested in the basketball stuff, although I kept wondering if there was any relationship between the basketball stuff in this part to the first part where Shaney just turned up with a basketball and later Lewis wondered where the ball came from? Was this explained already and I also missed it?!
The Sweat Lodge concept was new and intriguing to me - I didn't understand what it was for a while till they actually started doing it, then I got it (did I say I had to re-read this part multiple times?! LOL).
Also, this part explained the context why the book was titled 'The Only Good Indians'. I was never familiar with the phrase 'the only good Indian is a dead Indian', because I didn't really watch Western movies.
Btw, I'm still not fully understanding the 'rule' about the Elk - is it the embodiment of the vengeful mother? or the calf? And it didn't have physical existence before, but Lewis' action somehow enabled it to materialise physically??? I want to know more!
Do you have a favourite character?
I agree with everyone else that Cass seemed to be on the right track to live a good life. I also liked Victor - he sounded like a good, hard-working, honest police officer who also tried his best to be a good father.
How about scene?
Cass handing the thermos to Gabe - not a favourite scene, but an impactful one! Very heartbreaking. And just moments before Nathan saw them as an example of friendship-goal too!
Another impactful one would be the description of Jo rushing to crawl into the engine space but didn't make it (although again, I agree with everyone here and wondered if she was already dead beforehand, and it was just Cass guessing).
What do you think will happen in this final third?
More action and impactful scenes! Although, I really really hope that Denorah will survive. I guess it will depend on whether the Author believes we should/shouldn't inherit the sins of our fathers LOL.
I'm also very intrigued about this yellow-eyed elk-woman. Was this her first time materialising as a human, or was she already a human in a previous 'cycle'. Also, I thought when Victor saw her, she recognised her because he said something like he thought Lewis had killed her, so it couldn't have been her. So was this elk woman... Shaney? Peta? Someone else who worked at the USPS with Lewis?
I guess I'm just not that into this book. Some parts have me pulled in completely and others I'm so disconnected from. I like part 1 better so far. I'm not sure what the significance of everyone dieing is. If it was supposed to resemble the failure of Lewis's promise that all pieces would be consumed and used, really only the 4 should die.Direction: Yes, necessary deaths. But, not everyone should? I feel like we've moved away from the purpose. But maybe that will change in part 3.
Favorite character: Lewis
Scene: Probably the hunting scene in part 1.
Final third: Unsure
I did not like this part in the beginning because it was almost like starting a whole new book. I had to figure out who was who and what was going on. Not that I ever have really known what's going on in this book. 😂 But once we got to the part where they're actually doing the sweat, I was really into it just like I had been invested in the first part. The direction it went makes sense now and I'm glad we got to know Gabe and Cass.Cass or Victor might have been my favorite characters in this part. They seem like they're both doing the best they can with the hand they've been dealt. Cass, especially, is trying to get his life back on track and I love an underdog.
The scene where Cass hands Gabe the thermos back is just 😭 wow, so powerful.
I was also confused by the Jo situation. So when Cass came out of the tent didn't he say she was under the truck? He asked her if the money was there or made some comment about the money being gone, iirc, but notably she never answered him. Then later, she's STILL under the truck when Gabe drops it on her. I don't know, I would have to reread it but I don't think Jones ever gave us any reason to believe Jo was still alive under the truck. Afterall, Elk Head Woman killed the dogs and killed Victor, who's to say she didn't also kill Jo while she was under the truck and Cass just ASSUMED she was still alive? Then she gets smashed by the truck and no one will ever know how she really died.
The third part: I think Elk Head Woman goes after Denorah and.. from there the book either ends super brutally, maybe with Denorah and Elk Head Woman dead, or the book ends with Elk Head Woman equating Denorah to her own calf and deciding not to kill her. Or maybe it ends super creepy with Denorah and her fairy Godmother the Elk Head Woman.
So reading the first part took me a month to read. Second part I finished in less then a weak. Is the book getting better? No, it's still just as good, it's just that my reading slump is over.Anyway - for some reason the book feels nostalgic somehow - like I would have love to read this when I was younger. And now? I still enjoy it.
I'm just wondering - what brought the elk woman after 10 years? Is it like Lewis thought? Did she need to be reborn as a kid of one of them and this was the first time one of them impregnated anyone?
Not expecting answers - just fun to theorise.
What has developed in the last part? Did you like the direction?
Do you have a favourite character?
How about scene?
What do you think will happen in this final third?