From Library Journal
Boundless optimism describes the mood of this uneven short story collection from an Ojibwa poet, playwright, and performance artist. Some entries show the hand of a master storyteller. Others read more like a thirdhand retelling of a master storyteller's work that has lost something with each new rendition. Love abounds, but whereas romantic love usually turns sour, the platonic love of fellowhood wins big. In "On the Run," for example, a middle-aged white cop and a young Indian meet at the police station where the young man's girlfriend is being held for the murder of her former husband; the cop ends up mentoring the young man through law school. Similarly, in "Harold Ball," a character described as "the most intolerant black person I or anyone else will ever meet" experiences a life-changing event on the bus he's driving and becomes the darling of all of Chicago's ethnic groups. A pleasant enough read, but not an essential purchase.?Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati State Technical & Community Coll.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Here is an unvarnished, multifaceted view of the modern Native American experience. Two-Rivers' Indians, in these 22 stories, are much like other contemporary stories in their variety, except that they are more likely to take pride in their heritage, to have experienced discrimination, and to be prone to problems with alcohol. Among the strongest stories in the collection are several featuring children, who make up about a third of the population of the small town of Sapawe, Ontario (the author's birthplace), who fight, plot, finagle, and generally behave like rascals. The tone turns chilling in "Smoking Pistol Syndrome," in which a mentally challenged teenager is prevented from following the dictates of voices in his head that tell him to kill himself because he hasn't learned to put bullets in a gun--yet. Two-Rivers' opening sentences are attention grabbers, and their promise is generally fulfilled, although occasionally the stories' endings would be more effective if they were less prolonged. Overall, these are stories suffused with good nature and understanding and are worthy of attention.
Michele Leber
