- Publisher : Tin House Books (July 5, 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 296 pages
- ISBN-10 : 195353418X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1953534187
- Item Weight : 11 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
A New York Times, The Boston Globe, Vulture, Boston.com, Daily Beast, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, LitHub, Book Riot and WBUR Best Book of Summer
A Most Anticipated Book of the Year at LitHub, Book Riot, and Paste
“There is so much brutal, raw, and beautiful power in these stories. Reading this book, I literally laughed and cried.” ―Tommy Orange, author of There There
Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.
In twelve striking, luminescent stories, author Morgan Talty―with searing humor, abiding compassion, and deep insight―breathes life into tales of family and a community as they struggle with a painful past and an uncertain future. A boy unearths a jar that holds an old curse, which sets into motion his family’s unraveling; a man, while trying to swindle some pot from a dealer, discovers a friend passed out in the woods, his hair frozen into the snow; a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s projects the past onto her grandson; and two friends, inspired by Antiques Roadshow, attempt to rob the tribal museum for valuable root clubs.
A collection that examines the consequences and merits of inheritance, Night of the Living Rez is an unforgettable portrayal of an Indigenous community and marks the arrival of a standout talent in contemporary fiction.
Review
"Talty’s debut collection, full of surprising drama, offers a fresh view of the precarious lives of marginalized people in the 21st century."
― The New York Times
"These stories took me in the same way Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son did when I first read it. The comparison here is meant in every way to praise Talty as a writer, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one who says so, partially because of his emotional precision, his stark, unflinching, droll, intoxicating style, and also because of a certain drug/addiction element at play here. But as I got deeper into the work, into the book, and came to understand these lives and this community, the further away it felt from my initial comparison with Johnson, and the more familiar it felt―our Native communities being bound by countless common threads, strengths and afflictions both―and only then did I understand the distinct brilliance of Talty’s voice as its own, and ours. I knew and felt for these people. Wanted to and knew I couldn’t help them, even as they did me. There is so much brutal, raw, and beautiful power in these stories. I kept wanting to read and know more about these peoples’ lives, how they ended up where they ended up, how they would get out, how they wouldn’t. It is difficult to be so honest, and funny, and sad, at once, in any kind of work. Reading this book, I literally laughed and cried."
― Tommy Orange, author of There There
"Morgan Talty's Night of the Living Rez is a beautifully crafted, raw and intimate book about youth, friendship, and family on the reservation. These stories are profoundly moving and essential, rendered with precision and intimacy. Talty is a powerful new voice in Native American fiction."
― Brandon Hobson, National Book Award finalist and author of The Removed
"A perfect mix of funny, sad, timely, and intense, this one has something for everyone."
― The Boston Globe
"Ingenious. . . . Unforgettable."
― Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Talty is adept at unearthing his characters’ emotions. . . . these stories reveal the hardships facing a young Native American in contemporary America."
― Kirkus, Starred Review
"Masterful. . . . brilliant, chiseled stories."
― Foreword Reviews, Starred Review
"Astounding. . . . accomplished. . . . Night of the Living Rez is proof that Talty is an important new writer to watch."
― Esquire
"Unearths grace amid strife. . . . Talty, with his ear for natural, almost musical dialogue, compels you to keep listening."
― Vulture
"In these searing, devastating and often darkly funny stories, we come to know a community of Native people living on a Maine Penobscot reservation in all of their complexity and drive for survival. There's family tragedy, struggle with drugs and deep poverty, but there's also children with a plucky spirit, adults who grapple for purchase against all odds and an abiding love that will stay with you for a long time."
― Good Housekeeping
"A stunning debut. . . . These characters and their world shimmer with the precise details Talty so expertly showcases."
― LitHub
"Compassionate and insightful."
― WBUR, NPR Affiliate
"An important glimpse into the landscape of literary fiction involving a resilient Indigenous people. I found myself moved by their lives and how well Talty is able to capture a wide range of emotions. While the stories are tragic, sad, and at times even humorous, they are perhaps best described by the title of the final story, ‘The Name Means Thunder.’ Their unpredictability, like a thunderstorm, is what makes them extraordinary."
― Brandon Hobson, Poets & Writers
"Shouldn’t be missed."
― Boston.com
"An inspired debut."
― Daily Beast
"An impressive debut filled with brilliant stories. . . . that are masterfully rendered, demanding to be read, then read again."
― Fiction Writers Review
"Twelve incredible stories. . . . Haunting, insightful, and just plain excellent."
― Book Riot
"Devastating and witty. . . . Stories about people who will do anything to help one another."
― The Adroit Journal
"Talty’s Penobscot tribal community is eerily unique and tangibly universal. I can’t wait to dive into the pages of Night of the Living Rez to discover triumphs and failures akin to my own Indigenous communities. Moreover, Talty is sure to delight us with humor and mend our hearts with humanity."
― Paste
"Night of the Living Rez is a fiercely intelligent and beautifully written set of stories―a spectacularly visceral and moving account of the experience of a member of the Penobscot Nation in today’s America―as well as a wrenching meditation on family and familial dysfunction. Morgan Talty is a master of the way dependency and pain transition from one body to another; the way both separating and refusing to separate become modes of saving ourselves; and the way, for all of our failures, we never stop doing what we can to provide each other hope."
― Jim Shepard, author of Phase Six
"Night of the Living Rez is true storytelling. It's a book so funny, so real, so spirited and vivid it brought me back to my own rez life and the people who made me."
― Terese Marie Mailhot, author of Heart Berries
"While soaked in pain and broken promises, Night of The Living Rez delivers with a grace and dignity on par with the writings of Craig Lesley, Dawn Dumont, James Welch and Joseph Dandurand. Morgan Talty delivers on so many levels and proves that this is why Indigenous Literature continues to be its own unique and sacred blessing. I loved this book. Loved it. And I can't wait to see what Morgan Talty does next. I am a fan for life. Mahsi cho, Morgan!"
― Richard Van Camp, author of The Lesser Blessed
"Night of the Living Rez delivers stories that combine the otherworldly with the everyday in ways that startle and sing. Morgan Talty portrays Maine and his Penobscot characters in language and images both beautiful and inventive. With equal parts humor and haunting, this book will linger."
― Toni Jensen, author of Carry
"Night of the Living Rez is an indelible portrait of a family in crisis, and an incisive exploration of the myriad ways in which the past persists in haunting the present. I loved these sharply atmospheric, daring, and intensely moving stories, each one dense with peril and tenderness. Morgan Talty is a thrilling new talent."
― Laura van den Berg, author of I Hold a Wolf by the Ears
"There is so much beauty in these stories. . . . they build on themselves the way a life builds: messily, unpredictably, with love and heartache and never quite in the way you expect."
― BookPage
"Joining the ranks of Tommy Orange, Brandon Hobson and Terese Marie Mailhot, Talty's strikingly successful debut is poised to expand the growing circle of lauded Indigenous writers. Superb."
― Shelf Awareness
About the Author
Morgan Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation where he grew up. Named one of Narrative’s “30 Below 30,” Talty’s work has appeared in The Georgia Review, Shenandoah, TriQuarterly, Narrative Magazine, LitHub, and elsewhere. He lives in Levant, Maine.
