Literary Fiction · MelancholicA veteran returns to a New Mexico pueblo and cannot settle
House Made of Dawn
A returning soldier tries to find his place between a pueblo and Los Angeles
Abel, a veteran of World War II, comes back to his home on a reservation in New Mexico and struggles to reconnect with his community and his Native traditions. His sense of displacement leads him into a series of troubling events, including a period in Los Angeles, that test his place in both his community and the wider world.
More about this book
Who
Abel, a World War II veteran; his grandfather Francisco; Angela St. John, a wealthy visitor; Father Olguin; and Reverend John Big Bluff Tosamah.
World
A reservation in New Mexico drawn from Jemez Pueblo, and Los Angeles, California.
What makes it different
Momaday based it largely on his own experience of life at Jemez Pueblo. It won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is widely seen as a landmark of Native American literature.
Feel
Spare and lyrical, told in short sections, and it asks for attention.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Behind the book
Momaday based the novel largely on his firsthand experience of life at Jemez Pueblo, and he has said Abel is a composite of boys he knew there.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- House Made of DawnWikipedia