Little

By David Treuer

Book Overview

Back in print, with a new introduction, the memorable debut by the author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

The grave we dug for my brother Little remained empty even after we filled it back in. And nobody was going to admit it.

So begins Little, first published by Graywolf Press in 1995 when David Treuer was just twenty-four. The narrative unfolds to reveal the deeply entwined stories of the three generations of Little's family, including Stan, a veteran of the Vietnam War who believes Little is his son; Duke and Ellis, the twins who built the first house in Poverty after losing their community to smallpox and influenza; Jeannette, the matriarch who loved both Duke and Ellis and who walked hundreds of miles to reunite with them. Each of these characters carries a piece of the mystery of Little's short life.

With rhythmic and unadorned prose, Treuer uncovers in even the most frost-hardened ground the resilience and humor of life in Poverty. From the unbearable cruelty of the institutions that systematically unraveled Native communities at the turn of the century, to the hard and hollow emptiness of a child's grave, Treuer has orchestrated a moving account of kinship and survival.

In his new introduction, Treuer, now among the foremost writers of his generation, reflects on the germ of this novel and how it fits into his lasting body of work centered on Native life. More than a quarter of a century later, Little proves as vital and moving as ever.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1644452073
• ISBN13: 9781644452073
• Release Date: November 2022
• Publisher: Graywolf Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A Housing Tract Called Poverty

In a housing tract called Poverty, population seven, a grave is dug, then filled, even though eight year old Little's body is missing. This unsentimental first novel revolves around the seven people who knew the nearly silent Little and who scratch out a difficult life on a Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota. They lend their voices and perspectives, some contradictory, to this bleak story of how Little came to "be in everything." The heart of this novel is not Little, however, but the people who knew him. Even though Little is not a major character the way his brother Donovan is, he represents the deformity in the others that must be overcome to survive. Treuer has structured his novel in individual stories that are connected more through the association of the characters than any solid narrative drive. His writing is stark - sometimes poetic and others ordinary, but always fitting the mood of the moment. If this novel suffers from anything, it's obtuseness. The reader knows when he is supposed to read more into dialogue or a description, but the connections aren't always clear. The author's talents far outweigh this flaw, as Poverty and its residents are memorable, complex creations. LITTLE is not an uplifting novel, nor is it an easy read, so readers looking for these qualities should look elsewhere. For those interested in literary fiction or in issues facing contemporary Native Americans, you will find much offered here by the author of a later work, THE HIAWATHA.