Synopses & Reviews
Tayo, a young Native American, has been a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, and the horrors of captivity have almost eroded his will to survive. His return to the Laguna Pueblo reservation only increases his feeling of estrangement and alienation. While other returning soldiers find easy refuge in alcohol and senseless violence, Tayo searches for another kind of comfort and resolution.
Tayo's quest leads him back to the Indian past and its traditions, to beliefs about witchcraft and evil, and to the ancient stories of his people. The search itself becomes a ritual, a curative ceremny that defeats the most virulent of afflictions despair.
Review
"An exceptional novel a cause for celebration." The Washington Post Book World
Review
"The novel is very deliberately a ceremony in itself demanding but confident and beautifully written." The Boston Globe
Review
"Her assurance, her gravity, her flexibility are all wonderful gifts." The New York Review of Books
Review
"Ceremony is the greatest novel in Native American literature. It is one of the greatest novels of any time and place. I have read this book so many times that I probably have it memorized. I teach it and I learn from it and I am continually in awe of its power, beauty, rage, vision, and violence." Sherman Alexie
Review
"Without question Leslie Marmon Silko is the most accomplished Native American writer of her generation." The New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Leslie Marmon Silko is a former professor of English and fiction writing.