Chenoo: A Novel (Volume 68)

by Joseph Bruchac

Jacob Neptune, a wise-cracking, two-fisted Penacook private investigator with a checkered past, lives in upstate New York—four hundred miles from his tribal community on Abenaki Island. Then one night the phone rings. “We . . . got . . . trouble,” Neptune’s cousin Dennis says from the other end. And trouble is where it all starts in this brilliant, often hilarious novel by acclaimed Abenaki storyteller Joseph Bruchac.

Attacked by bikers before he can even board his plane, Neptune—“Podjo” to his friends—quickly begins to realize just how much trouble surrounds his people’s ancestral home. Guided by his sense of duty to his homeland, he agrees to help protect Dennis and other Penacooks as they stage a takeover of a state campground on land that should have reverted to their tribe. But encroaching developers, government operators, and even fellow Penacooks eager to build a casino each pose a threat to the Abenaki lands—and all have reasons to want Neptune out of the picture.

Podjo greets each challenge with self-deprecating humor—but it’s difficult to shake his increasingly disturbing dreams, and an unsettled feeling when his return leads to a reunion with a long-ago love interest. As he and Dennis contend with hired guns, police, and security, a far greater threat appears: someone, or something, is brutally killing people in the woods. It will take all of Neptune’s skills as a martial artist and the wisdom gained from tribal elders to battle the forces that threaten the sacred land—and his and his people’s lives.

Bruchac ratchets the tension from the first page to the last in this detective novel that pairs comedy and action with serious consideration of corporate greed, environmental destruction, cultural erosion, and other modern-day issues pressing Native peoples.

Genres: Mystery, Native American, Fiction

209 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2016

About the author

Joseph Bruchac lives with his wife, Carol, in the Adirondack mountain foothills town of Greenfield Center, New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. Much of his writing draws on that land and his Abenaki ancestry. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He, his younger sister Margaret, and his two grown sons, James and Jesse, continue to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills, including performing traditional and contemporary Abenaki music with the Dawnland Singers.

He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.

As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading this book although I thought the ending was weak, almost beside the point. Bruchac's interweaving of Abenaki tales with the current story and portrayal of the Native American sensibility was done very well. I found it drew me in and showed me another perspective with humor. Well worth a read!

[Jillian Tully · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like the book had unnecessary romance towards the end, as well as not finding the true meaning of this book until the end. I usually don’t read murder mystery books, but I truly had no idea that this would have been the outcome.

[Phair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have enjoyed many of Bruchac’s juv and YA titles. Surprised to come across this adult mystery featuring a modern day Native American private eye. Joe Neptune had an interesting background with Special Services military training, expertise in varied martial arts and Eastern philosophy as well as stories and practical skills learned from his Abenaki elders. So much about Indian history, resistance, culture and philosophy is revealed either through Joe’s reflections on those topics or his recalling of stories of his People (which are included in the text). Some good action as well. There are two more Joe Neptune books. Might revisit the series.

[Jessica McReaderpants · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this but it was a little too red-skinned .007 - Bond, Blackfoot Bond for me. MacGyver married a Native American mystic and had this main character as a son.
However, the stories were interesting although the plot a bit weak and the characters with the exception of Dennis needed fleshing out.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - I really, really enjoyed this book and the main character - Jake Neptune. This was not only an interesting story, but it gave me a lot to think about in terms of my own life. I think I will be seeking other works by this author... it's great that he has written so much - I have lots of choices.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a collection of myths and legends than an actual story. The protagonist was an interesting character, to say the least. Unfortunately, not in the same caliber of writing as The Round House, which I recently read.

[Michael Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob Neptune is a good character, and I like the dynamic between Dennis and him. The inclusion of the stories, which provides a certain control of the narrative pace, generally adds to the cultural context.

[emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made me laugh out loud more than once.

[Yanick Punter · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had its moments.

[Tony Mistretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mix of American Indian historical fiction, murder mystery, martial arts and comedy. The protagonist interweaves fables and intense insightful dreams into the story.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot going on in the 209 pages of this novel: a murder mystery, Native American land claims vs. government land grabs, Penacook legends & customs, cultural assimilation issues, martial arts wisdom, and unresolved childhood issues. It would be very easy for the story to veer offtrack in any of those directions, but luckily for the reader we have central character Jacob Neptune to hold it all together. Jake has issues - including all of the above - but he also has a wry sense of humor and a shaman's sense of "finding things". There is an incredible backstory alluded to in several asides that refer to Jake's violent and addictive past, adventures in Africa and Alaska, military service overseas, and more.

In many ways, Chenoo is Jacob Neptune's multi-layered introduction to the world.... there's a lot more there... let's hope he is given the chance to emerge. The potential is here for something special.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This critical edition contains the same novel published separately under the same title, but this version includes an introduction by the author, Joseph Bruchac. Told in the form of a mystery that unfolds in the midst of a stand-off between Indians and U.S. Government forces, this compelling novel adds traditional stories that help move the action along while also allowing the reader a moment to reflect. There's also quite a bit of martial arts action! Something for everyone, and given the recent events in South Dakota near Standing Rock, something to give everyone pause.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not outstanding as a mystery, this book was fascinating on current Abenaki culture (as close as we have to a local tribe). Bruchac continually inserts little traditional tales into the story, with great effect. His modern Indian characters are reminiscent of Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexie. The plot, however, was extremely lame- barely deserving two stars - but the other elements still make the book worth reading.

[Katie Bruell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really funny, over and over again. I liked the characters a lot, and the story was brief, but fun.

[Jays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the humour, although the sexism and cultural appropriation (of "oriental" traditions) definitely got on my nerves. Also, referring to multiple characters using the wrong names is just sloppy.