Bleed into Me

June 27, 2005
Jones paints a bleak picture in this collection about Native American men struggling to break the circle of violence, alcoholism and broken families that circumscribes their lives. "Halloween," the opening short short, sets the tone: a brutal father initiates his six-, nine- and 12-year-old sons into manhood by teaching them to smoke cigarettes and drink beer on national holidays. "Bile" revisits an all-too-familiar Native American tragedy, as a young man and his family wait helplessly while his hospitalized father succumbs to the ravages of cirrhosis. Jones concludes the collection of 17 stories with "Discovering America," a terse, furious summary of discrimination against Native Americans narrated by a young drifter who fumes inside as he encounters stereotyping and racism across the country. The constant threat or fact of violence in these stories combined with Jones's idiosyncratic, staccato prose makes for gripping and visceral reading, but these oblique, barely sketched pieces can also be difficult and disorienting. Still, in his evocation of young men grasping for hope while ruled by anger and helplessness, Jones shows talent. Agent, Kate Garrick.

September 1, 2005
Jones, an English professor and Blackfoot author with three novels to his credit, here brings his stinging commentary to 16 stories, each one illuminating a small part of what it's like to be an Indian in contemporary America. In one bittersweet tale, two white kids mistake an Indian's red pickup for their uncle's as they hop in for the trip to school. Not-so-subtle prejudice runs high as everyone he encounters in his role as unwilling abductor presumes his guilt. Drugs and alcohol infuse many stories, some ending tragically in their portrayal of the harsh realities of life on and just off the reservation. The concluding story, "Discovering America," brilliantly encapsulates the whole collection, as a young man writing a play travels from Florida to Arkansas, Texas, and New Mexico. Guilty of "Driving While Indian," he is greeted with suspicious glances, called "Chief," and asked if he has "scalped anybody today." Jones' sardonic tale reveals the sort of casual stereotyping and prejudice that never seems to disappear.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)