Coyote Blue

This is partly the tale of a Crow Indian who is forced to leave the reservation after committing a crime. He subsequently turns himself into buttoned-up insurance salesman Sam Hunter. But mostly it's the story of his unraveling at the hands of Indian spirit guide Coyote. All is hilariously presented by James Jenner. He voices Sam with earnest seriousness and gob-struck incredulity, making him a wonderfully droll character. He creates a Coyote of mischievousness and glee, at the same time giving Sam's would-be girlfriend, Calliope, the perfect flower child innocence. Great fun for fans of this master of whimsical fables. D.G. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

February 28, 1994
Sam Hunter, the hero of Moore's raucous new novel, is the perfect insurance salesman: a complete chameleon who can be all things to all people, sizing up the ideal pitch to close any deal or make any woman. Living on the beach in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sam has all the accoutrements of the successful yuppie. His true identity--as Samson Hunts Alone, a full-blooded Crow Indian who fled his reservation and his heritage at age 15 after killing a policeman--is hidden and all but forgotten. Then one day, the Native American trickster figure Coyote enters Sam's life, with the apparent intention of destroying it piece by piece. Coyote's arrival coincides with Sam's involvement with Calliope Kincaid, an uneducated single mother whose hippie lifestyle is a throwback to the 1960s. When Calliope's biker ex-boyfriend kidnaps their baby, Coyote and Sam--against Sam's better judgment--set out in pursuit. The farther Sam travels from his life in the city, the closer he comes to finding himself. As in his previous novel, Practical De mon keep ing , Moore plays the supernatural and numinous for laughs, making even the most ludicrous events somehow believable with his breezy writing style. Only a consistent strain of misogyny mars this otherwise funny and entertaining romp. 50,000 first printing.