Play Book Tag discussion

Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson
3 Stars
Trim - December

Set in rural Oklahoma during the late 1980s, Where the Dead Sit Talking is a startling, authentically voiced and lyrically written Native American coming-of-age story.

With his single mother in jail, Sequoyah, a fifteen-year-old Cherokee boy, is placed in foster care. Literally and figuratively scarred by his mother’s years of substance abuse, Sequoyah keeps mostly to himself, living with his emotions pressed deep below the surface. At least until he meets seventeen-year-old Rosemary, a troubled artist who also lives with the family.

Sequoyah and Rosemary bond over their shared Native American background and tumultuous paths through the foster care system, but as Sequoyah’s feelings toward Rosemary deepen, the precariousness of their lives and the scars of their pasts threaten to undo them both.

I had really looked forward to this book as it had been on my list for almost a year when I picked it up. However, in reality the book failed in large part to live up to expectations and was just a moderate read for me to finish this year.

The book is billed as a Native American coming-of-age story, but for me it lacked any real sense of being connected to a Native American life. In fact, it truly did not have a plot or a purpose but was rather a meandering tale of despair.

Trying to construct a review of this book has been extremely difficult. I cannot seem to get my mind wrapped around how I feel. In some ways the book feels completely pointless but in other ways the book was insightful even if not necessarily enjoyable.

It was a disappointment for me too JW and a slog to get through. I think choosing the audio was a mistake.

Susie wrote: "It was a disappointment for me too JW and a slog to get through. I think choosing the audio was a mistake."

I would like to think it is better in print.