Runner in the Sun

A society under stress must change or be destroyed. A pre-columbian Native American village in the Southwest has endured many years of drought and has reached its breaking point. Will the external forces of nature or the internal strife of the people be the hammer that shatters the village? This question is explored through the eyes of a boy, named Salt in the language of his people. Salt survives the machinations of a powerful member of his tribe, then begins a quest to find salvation for his people. Ostensibly a novel for young adults, Runner in the Sun presents a complex metaphor to explore the forces of societal change within a familiar hero-quest plot. The story seems simple but has rich soil in which anthropological and linguistic fruit may grow. Even the boy's name, Salt, carries metaphorical depth. As the village's water evaporates in drought, what is left is the people's true essence--the minerals the water carried. D'Arcy McNickle's lifelong focus on the shape of Indian society and its relationship to its surrounding world are expressed in the mythic context of Runner in the Sun (which is also a plain good read, too).