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Product Description
The story of Jack Crabbe, raised by both a white man and a Cheyenne chief. As a Cheyenne, Jack ate dog, had four wives and saw his people butchered by General Custer's soldiers. As a white man, he participated in the slaughter of the buffalo and tangled with Wyatt Earp.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
All Time Favorite Through The Years,
By Deborah L. Cohen (Chicago) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Little Big Man (Paperback)
Like many others who reviewed this book, I first read it (in high school) after seeing the movie. The movie was a real eye opener for me, for the first time giving me a sense of Indians as real people, struggling to stay themselves and maintain their way of life against the relentless & overwhelming campaign of conquest, destruction & genocide by Whites. It inspired me to read this book, which I found to far surpass in richness, character development and detail what I had thought to be an excellent movie. After reading it the first time I think I read it annually for the next ten years, and several more times since. Each time it has moved me to laughter, anger, and without fail tears at the end. I can't begin to do it justice, even trying gives me "...a pain between my ears..." and some of the reader reviews have already done a fine job of describing it. There's just a couple of points I'd like to add. Jack Crabb has always reminded me Huckleberry Finn. Through close personnal experience, each character evolves in his understanding and appreciation of a race he'd been raised to believe inherently inferior to whites (Jack Crabb's rearing by Indians does not begin till his tenth year). Niether Jack nor Huck are saints who always "knew better". Along the way, both struggle with feelings of doubt, guilt & shame when they find themslves favoring the Indians or Blacks over Whites. Both think badly of themselves for doing so. Like Mark Twain, Thomas Berger puts us into the head of a White male who struggles with the conflict between his own experience and the stereotypes he'd been raised on and which shape the White society of his time. Both books are marvels of insight into human nature. "Little Big Man" goes further in brighing alive actual historical events Jack experiences first hand. Read the history book by Dee Brown, "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" to afirm how well Thomas Berger captured and related such notorius events as the Washita massacre and the Battle at the Little Big Horn. My other point to new readers is to be sure and read the Forward, which is actually part of the novel and provides valuable background and insight into Jack's character and wisdom. Enjoy.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Funniest Tragedy I Have Ever Read,
By Alios (New York State) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Little Big Man (Paperback)
A plodding first chapter by the fictional author of a fictional biography, is necessary because it prepares us for the story of Jack Crabb, Little Big Man. With the second chapter the hilarity begins (with some lapses in the regional speech). There is a minimum of a laugh per page. The tragedy is a man caught between two cultures. He admires the Cheyenne, his adoptive people, but is carrying so much baggage from his original upbringing that he feels shame and guilt. Consequently he belongs to neither. He is a man lost to both as circumstance moves him back and forth between them. The book is culturally, but not historically accurate. Still I believe it ranks with the best American fiction.
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the finest American novels,
By
This review is from: Little Big Man (Paperback)
Long before Micheal Blake's politically correct tome "Dances With Wolves" gave voice to other side of the American West, Thomas Berger wrote the expertly crafted, humourous, tragic and down right entertaining "Little Big Man". Written in 1965, when it was still fashionable to portray the Native American as a "in the way savage", Berger deftly blended the genres of tall tale and history in a manner that really has yet to be matched.The character of Jack Crabb is cut of classic cloth. His story may very well be pure hogwash, but it is filled with touching humanity that underpins all the comedy. Berger portrays The Cheyenne people, or the "Human Beings" as possessing many of the same foibles and warts as their European counterparts. They are not painted as noble savages as in Blake's new agey work, but rather as complex characters deserving of respect and honor. Berger's General Custer is a wry study of madness that somehow avoids cynicism. One of this book's many virtues lies in its ability to lend the Western myth a critical eye, while avoiding the nihilistic pessimism that frequently goes hand in hand with such work (something the film version couldn't avoid). "Little Big Man" is a must read to all who love good yarns spun with a big heart and a bigger mind.
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