The Map of Who We Are: A Novel (American Indian Literature & Critical Studies Series) - Hardcover

Smith, Lawrence R.

9780806129563: The Map of Who We Are: A Novel (American Indian Literature & Critical Studies Series)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0806129565 ISBN 13: 9780806129563

Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr, 1997

The Map of Who We Are is Lawrence R. Smith's epic vision of the last one thousand years of American history. A work of astonishing breadth and imagination, the novel combines Native American myth and prophecy, Chinese alchemy, and European esotericism to depict a radical transformation in our sense of who we are and where we belong.
Central to the novel are the Travelers, who communicate across apparent divisions in time and space by means of the Network, a grid of interlocking energy vortices. Among the Travelers are Handsome Bear, a Chacoan who visits Kublai Khan's China in an attempt to restore vitality to his dying culture; Joey Malone, a Neanderthal healer; Walker Thompkins, a contemporary Lakota woman; Wong Fu Gee, a Chinese revolutionary posing as a fisherman in nineteenth-century Monterey; and the jazz pianist Thelonius Monk. These characters struggle to oppose the Death Squad, whose aim is to prevent the Great Millennial Shift, which will mark the end of racial, ethnic, and gender conflict in America.

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About the Author:

Lawrence R. Smith is Professor of English at Eastern Michigan University.

From Library Journal:

This unusual novel by the editor of the journal Caliban follows the adventures of a band of "travelers," independent thinkers who "run on memory." Travelers are related to one another by experience but are separated across time and space by geography, culture, and date of birth. The melting pot of characters includes an Italian anthropology student, a Chicano auto detailer, a Native American named Handsome Bear, a blues singer from Mississippi, and many more. Their stories are told in a stream-of-consciousness verbosity that is full of well-observed details. While the writing is engaging and often amusing, this variation on magic realism is sometimes difficult to follow as the author jumps from one reality to another as fast as the sentences fly. Ultimately, the author tries too hard to find a connection between all the characters and their diverse cultures. Anthropologists will enjoy picking out the many cultural illusions and literary references, but others will be overwhelmed.?Charlotte L. Glover, Ketchikan P.L., Alas.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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