Medicine River

Thomas King is a genius. Love his mixture of the practical and the mystical and the way he plays with time lines.

I really enjoyed this novel. Like a number of modern Native American authors, Thomas King tells of life among reservation Indians that's free of stereotypes and sentimentality. His central character, Will, a half-breed, lives and works as a photographer in a town called Medicine River, not far from Alberta's Blackfeet reservation. Somewhat passive and resigned to the lot he has chosen in life, his solitude is disrupted almost daily by Harlen Bigbear, a gregarious friend who knows the business of everyone in the Indian community and actively tries to act in everyone's best interest. In other words, he's a meddler. The novel is a series of loosely strung together incidents, involving Harlen's attempts to make things happen, not the least of which are his efforts to get Will to marry the unmarried mother of a little girl with the unlikely name of South Wing. The present day stories are intercut with flashbacks to Will's past, growing up with a younger brother, their father a white cowboy having long deserted the family. And there are flashbacks to a time in his adult life in Toronto, where he became involved unknowingly with a married woman. I loved the gentle and ironic humor of this novel, the many characters who spring to life from the pages, and the roundabout indirection of Indian dialogue, including the persistent way in which people seem not to listen to each other. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the North American West, modern day Indians, and a style of storytelling that speaks from heart.

This title was my second foray into the realm of King's writing, and I found it to be as rewarding as the first (his latest novel, Truth and Bright Water - another superb read).Medicine River is the story of Will and his best friend Harlen, and a cast of other lovable, hilarious characters as they go about their day-to-day life. There is intrigue and gossip, speculation and antics, all true to form for any typical nuclear community. The book's dialogue is superb - and laugh-out-loud funny. The reader will embrace Harlen's quirky views with glee and will sigh right along with Will, as he diligently works to get Harlen around to the punchline. Wonderful exchanges.King has an incredible gift - it's that of showcasing the heartbreak of life against the backdrop of humour, and he does it with style, class, and ingenuity. He continues this fine tradition in Medicine River. The plight and struggle of the Native community is seen through Will's recollections of growing up fatherless. He spells out the hardships his mother endured while trying to raise him and his younger brother on her own. The story of many souls across the land, and King - through Will - has done a class act job portraying the depths of experience. The healing balm in Thomas's writings is, of course, laughter and humour, and you'll get lots of that in this novel.The New York Times said of this book, "Precise and elegant... a most satisfying read." I'm in full agreement. An excellent book and worthy of a spot of your bookshelf. I highly recommend it.

This intricately woven novel is a modern masterpiece. Although I showed the movie (starring Graham Greene as Will) in my class this semester, most of my students clamored to read the book as well, and as a result got a fuller experience for having done so. King is able to say so very much about the nature of human beings while at the same time adds the touch of humor that seems to be so lacking in most modern novels with something to say. I have read this book at least five times, and have purchased more than six copies--I keep lending them to friends or giving them as gifts. Read Thomas King--a clear, welcome voice for the new millenium.

This book is one of the reasons that I never regret going to university, and why I'd like to thank Dr Laura Peters for including it on her Canadian Literature Course. It's brilliance lies in the fact that on the one hand it is easy to read, enjoyable and light fiction; whilst on the other hand it is a complex novel of modernity, identity and history. Bring what you will to the novel, and take what you want from it - but you will come away from the book feeling better for the experience of reading it

I've been fortunate to teach King's wonderful book to students at several American universities. His insights into Will's complex identity is compelling for my native and non-native students alike. If one can stop laughing long enough at the crazy antics of the characters, the depth of the author's feeling for this native community, and for the richness of their very human entanglements shines through. Very, very, highly recommended.