Stephen Graham Jones' The Buffalo Hunter Hunter has been on my radar for quite some time. So when the digital edition went on sale recently, I decided to bite the bullet and buy it. I'm glad I did because it's a compelling, if not always pleasant, read.
Indeed, Jones is part of the Blackfeet Indian tribe and he doesn't pull any punches with the historical details that are at the heart of this novel. To say that Native Americans were mistreated as the USA expanded westward would be a gross understatement. What came to be known as the Marias Massacre and the fact that the buffalo were hunted down to the brink of extinction are two elements that impact this tale in a myriad of ways. American readers may well feel a great amount of shame in light of what took place all those years ago. Though The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a work of fiction, the events and themes found throughout the book are facts that lend additional gravitas to a work that is much more than a vampire story.
Here's the blurb:
This chilling historical novel is set in the nascent days of the state of Montana, following a Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab as he haunts the fields of the Blackfeet Nation looking for justice.
It begins when a diary written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall in 2012. What is unveiled is a slow massacre, a nearly forgotten chain of events that goes back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow, told in the transcribed interviews with Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar and unnaturally long life over a series of confessional visits.
This is an American Indian revenge story, captured in the vivid voices of the time, by one of the new masters of literary horror, Stephen Graham Jones.
The story begins when an old manuscript written by a Lutheran pastor named Arthur Beaucarne who disappeared in 1912 is discovered inside a wall during the renovation of a historical building in 2012. When the Special Collections librarian of Montana State University tracks down Etsy Beaucarne, last known descendant of the author of the manuscript, and sends her digitized pages of the document, reading her great-great-great-grandfather's manuscript will change her life in a profound way. What turns out to be the pastor's diary not only contains the story of his last days on this Earth, but also the tale of a Blackfeet man named Good Stab who visits the preacher because he needs to make a confession and whose words take us back to the 1870s.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter features three different perspectives. First, that of Etsy, who at the beginning only reacts to reading her ancestor's diary, but who will become part of the action in the last portion of the novel. The second is that of Arthur Beaucarne, whose diary records the events that characterized the last days before his disappearance in 1912. The preacher is a verbose pedant who will likely grate on your nerves more often than not, but his narrative hides a darker side of him that dates back to before he became a pastor. The third, and by far the most fascinating, is that of Good Stab, whose words are recorded by the preacher and whose story takes us back to a time of buffalo hunting and American never-ending expansion westward and the grave repercussions it had on Native American tribes across the land.
Stephen Graham Jones' The Buffalo Hunter Hunter reads more like a historical novel than a horror novel. The author's prose is atmospheric and creates an arresting imagery that leaps off the page. I loved the fact that the book is filled with Native American lore and culture, especially those of the Pikuni tribe, even if at times it can make things a bit confusing. Good Stab uses a lot of Pikuni words for which there is no glossary at the end of the book. It never really takes anything away from the overall reading experience, mind you, and it does lend an extra layer of authenticity to the plot. But some readers may find that a little off-putting, especially at first until you get used to it.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a bit of a slow burn. The plot moves forward ponderously in the Arthur Beaucarne sections of the diary, yet the rhythm is more fluid in the Good Stab portions. The story progresses slowly throughout the novel, but things are never dull. When the story reverts to Etsy's perspective towards the end, it does feel a little discordant at first. Still, the plot picks up steam and gathers its own momentum as Stephen Graham Jones takes us through the book's endgame and a finale that brings the whole thing full circle.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is not always an easy read. As mentioned, Stephen Graham Jones doesn't shy away from unveiling heinous historical details that confront readers at every turn. This is probably what I liked the most about this novel. Yes, it is an original vampire story, but the events that provide the backdrop of this tale have all occurred for real in a not-so-distant past.
Recommended.
The final verdict: 8/10
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