The Absence of Angels: A Novel Volume 14

By W.S. Penn

Book Overview

The narrator-protagonist of this magical novel about urban mixed-blood Indian life is Albert (Alley) Hummingbird, a self-conscious, shy college student who masks his feelings with humor and who longs to reconcile the two cultures that have formed him. Alley is not supposed to live at birth, but his grandfather, a Nez Perce, rescues him from Death (who reappears throughout the novel as a petty, mean, pathetic, and ultimately funny character). The grandfather's teachings to Alley, which come from the afterlife region known as the "absence of angels," connect Alley to his Indian heritage when he needs it. Otherwise his life is fragmented: a father who rejected his heritage, a mother who is slightly mad, and a friend, Sara, with whom Alley is in love.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806127147
• ISBN13: 9780806127149
• Release Date: February 1995
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

No Absence of Heart

This is a wonderful story. Calling all film makers -- especially native ones -- this would make a hell of a screenplay. But readers and writers will love the book. The tone of the story is superb, the author writes of painful things without selfconsciousness and explores the experience of growing up a mixed blood Indian in ways that make it real for any audience. The characters are memorable, the story of the love between Alley and Sara will touch your heart and the descriptions are poetic. Wise Grandfather will make you laugh. Get to know that special place known as "The Absence of Angels" -- you won't regret it. Penn is an award winning author also, whose other novel (Killing Time With Strangers) won the American Book Award and is also a must-read.

"This is a must buy"

As the pages fly by, your pulse begins to quicken, your heart starts to race, you wish you could be inside these wonderful pages.