Some Kind of Power: Navajo Children Skinwalker Narratives

by Margaret K. Brady, Barre Toelken (Introduction)

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1984

Reviews

[Lindsey Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a dense, academic book - it was obviously someone's thesis or similar project, and little to no attempt was made to adjust it to a general audience. In particular, the children's narratives would have been much easier to follow with minor changes. Removing some of the repeated words ("the the the man") and using arbitrary paragraphs would have preserved the voice while increasing readability - making it easier to identify the nuances the author dissects. That said, I found the subjects absolutely fascinating. Under the umbrella of children's skinwalker stories, the book covers the social purpose of religion, the social purpose of storytelling, and how to gauge narrative competence in children ... all very intriguing to an SF/F writer.