Rites: Stories

by Savannah Johnston

In this collection of short stories that focuses on the modern-day experiences of Indigenous people living in Oklahoma, Johnston documents the quiet sorrow of everyday life as her characters traverse the normalized, heartbreaking rites of passage such as burying your grandfather, mother, or husband, becoming a sex worker, or reconnecting with your family after prison; the effects are subtle, yet loud, and always enduring. Whether Johnston's characters are coming of age and/or grappling with complex family dynamics, Johnston delivers the economy of loss and resilience that marks this post-colonial collection with biting, captivating prose that demands to be read from start to finish.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2021

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut collection of twelve short stories focuses on the lives of Indigenous people in present-day, rural Oklahoma. Author Savannah Johnston (see author interview), an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, roots all her stories “in at least one truth,” with many of her characters experiencing struggles, defeats, and small victories that Johnston herself has lived through.

In the title story, “Rites,” which opens the collection, the twelve-year-old main character narrates the rituals, both familiar and distinct, as her family gathers for the funeral of her grandfather. The deceased Papa Tushka and his role in this family come vividly into focus with small, ordinary details:

“I sat next to Mama on the couch when she called our relatives. She had Papa’s rolodex on her lap and was flicking quickly through the cards, running the tip of her finger over each number as she swung the dial on the old rotary phone. Papa filed Aunt Judy under U, penciling in ungrateful. Mama choked when she saw it, smiled a little, and began to cry again.”

The language is spare, delivering what is necessary in compressed prose that reads like poetry.
“Papa’s grave was beside a plum tree. Our house, a split-level clapboard heap, sat slightly askew on top of Digger’s Hill, next to the cemetery.”

In “Carrion,” a young boy finds himself hungry and alone in the wild with his dog and her pups after his father breaks a bone and dies from infection. The boy attempts to navigate the impossible situation with help from stories his father has told him. The lines of advice are spaced throughout the story, but even taken out of context, they portray a harsh way of life, while reading like a song:

“Don’t carry what you don’t need, Pop said. …
The bobwhite is the man in the long coat’s messenger, Pop said. …
Crying is a waste of resources, Pop said. …
Hunters hung the heads of their kills on walls in painted lodges, Pop said. They killed for the sake of the kill. We are not like them.”

The entire collection is filled with hard, brutal truths. “You already know it’s no use crying around here, huh?” a father whispers to his infant son in a breathtakingly executed story called “Shells I.” These are the rites we go through in life, the rites we perform in the hopes of getting through them. Savannah Johnston’s stories speak to these realities, focusing closely on details then opening the lens wide, opening a path to maybe — just maybe — coming out the other side. Rites is not only the right book for right now. It’s meant to endure.

Read the review at the museum of americana and my interview with the author at Interview with Savannah Johnston.

[Muffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m biased because the author is a friend.
I thought this was just terrific. Some of these stories are big turning points for the characters, but some have the qualities of persistent memories, things we can’t get over and can’t articulate why. They are, for the most part, distressing, but the prose makes you feel like the author is carefully watching over her creations. Highly recommend. A lot of the images that end these stories will stay with me.

[Michael Dutchak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally rated this book with three stars, more influenced by the lack of an ability to grasp hold of and embrace and journey with the main characters of a book, which usually provides an escape for me from the every day routine and tensions of life.

However, as I reflected and began to write my review I realized that the author, as other critics commented, accomplished her objective in her short stories, bringing us neglected and marginalized characters struggling to survive against all odds. There are no great victories or newly found paths to a better life, just the hard smack of reality.

The book makes you uncomfortable by sharing the stark existence of lives many people lead, while some of us are more privileged and able to enjoy more comfortable lives.

[Leo Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection. The prose at times could have been polished a bit more, I thought--sometimes it reminded me of the better work I saw in some of my late-undergrad creative writing courses. But that's a kind of compliment, too.

Spareness of language can be a powerful tool. I suspect the author's next collection will be stronger.

As for the storytelling itself--I'm biased, being from Oklahoma, but the mostly-character driven plots were of interest and often affecting.

[Shannon McClatchey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I randomly picked up this book of short stories and am so glad I did because the writing and storytelling are fantastic. Dark, gritty and a focus on people who are often forgotten or overlooked. I look forward to more work from Savannah Johnston.

[H.V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unflinching, beautiful prose. My favorite stories were "Carrion", "Shells II", and "Hold Tight".

[Elizabeth Grubgeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous writing--intense and disturbing subject matter but aren't we grownups? I will never forget these characters, especially the family in the motel.