The Trickster of Liberty: Native Heirs to a Wild Baronagevolume 50

by Gerald Vizenor

Book Overview

Inventive, provocative, and ultimately affirmative, The Trickster of Liberty has become a classic in the repertoire of celebrated author Gerald Vizenor. A series of related stories, the novel follows the lives of seven mixedblood trickster siblings who began their lives on a reservation in northern Minnesota. Behaving in unpredictable ways, these siblings defy any attempt to fit them within stereotypical notions of the Indian.

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806136774
• ISBN13: 9780806136776
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Very good, if unusual

This is a rather odd novel, broken down into a series of stories, vignettes and (mis)adventures involving various members of the Browne family, `mixedbloods' from an Indian reservation in northern Minnesota. As the title suggests, Vizenor is deeply interested in trickster themes, here borrowed from Native American and (to a lesser extent) Chinese oral traditions. Also, the concept of mixedbloods is the overriding leitmotiv of the entire book - often symobolized by mongrels. The style varies, and this is a very postmodern literary experience, but that shouldn't stop anyone from reading it. Generally this is a rewarding book: the narrative, if difficult to follow at times, is often humerous, yet behind this light-hearted veneer there is quite a bit of scathing commentary.