Remnants of the First Earth

Young Bear, Ray A.

ISBN 10: 0802135528 / ISBN 13: 9780802135520

Published by Grove Press, 1998

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Remnants of the First Earth
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802135528
• ISBN 13: 9780802135520
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Ray A. Young Bear's work has been called "magnificent" by The New York Times and "a national treasure" by Bloomsbury Review. Dazzlingly original, but with deep roots in his traditional Mesquakie culture, Young Bear is a master wordsmith poised with trickster-like aplomb between the ancient world of his forefathers and the ever-encroaching "blurred face of modernity".
Remnants of the First Earth continues the story of Edgar Bearchild -- Young Bear's fictionalized alter ego -- which began with Black Eagle Child, a New York Times Notable Book for 1992. Young Bear revisits the Black Eagle Child Settlement and its residents, including Ted Facepaint, Rose Grassleggings, Junior Pipestar, Lorna Bearcap, and Luciano Bearchild. At the center of the novel is a murder investigation involving a powerful shaman holding court at the local Ramada Inn, negligent white cops from nearby Why Cheer, and corrupt tribal authorities. This lyrical narrative swirls through the present and into the mysteries of the age-old stories and myths that still haunt, inform, and enlighten this uniquely American community.

Review

Ray A. Young Bear first introduced his fictional alter ego Edgar Bearchild in Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives. Now, in Remnants of the First Earth, he extends his protagonist's adventures, chronicling Edgar's difficult journey into manhood as he struggles to navigate between the traditions of his forefathers and the demands of the modern world. As the novel begins, Edgar is a child at the Black Eagle Child Settlement in the 1950s. His life is a mix of tribal pride and poverty, of white-run schools and Indian dances. As Edgar grows older, he experiences racism, the promise of love, the perils of a murder investigation, and visions.

Remnants of the First Earth moves back and forth between the novel's reality and the myths of the Black Eagle Child people, between present and the ancient past, and between the ordinary and the extraordinary. More a collage than a straightforward narrative, the novel requires patience and demands that attention be paid. Those who invest both in this remarkable book will find the return worth it.