Bruchac, Joseph - Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

[oyceter]

I write short reviews so I can post them...

This is a competently written but not spectacular novel about the Navajo code talkers of WWII. What struck me most was Bruchac noting the discrepancy between the Navajos being forced to abandon their language earlier on (many of them have their mouths washed out with soap if they're caught speaking Navajo) and the US later needing that very language for the war.

While I admired the Navajos' willingness to fight for a country that had pretty much screwed them over, I'm angry that even then, they didn't get promotions or much recognition.

Comments

[oyceter]

No, I think you are making sense! Thanks for the write up! I think a lot of my reaction is my imposing my own problems with nationality and patriotism onto the book, which is rather self-centered at best.

And ooo! The powwow sounds awesome!!

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Oh, no worries, I tend to have a bit of a kneejerk "what d'you mean WE, kemosabe?" twitchiness myself towards flag-waving in most settings, so I do hear you on that. And it's not like there aren't Indian folks who raise the same "why are we fighting for the opressors" issues -- in fact, I just got back from seeing this amazing activist Dine' punk band, Blackfire (http://www.blackfire.net/), and that was one of the subjects they were addressing between songs. But at the same time you can also find a lot of folks in Indian country who are pretty conservative politically.

And yes, the powwow was fabulous -- here on the East Coast we're sort of off the major circuit so the NMAI event is pretty much the biggest thing in town, and they only hold that every other year...sadness! Although maybe it'll take my knee that long to recover...this was the first year I managed to get over my shyness and anxiety issues enough to actually get up and dance, and I kind of overdid things trying to make up for lost time.