The Blood Runs Like a River through My Dreams

This book was written by a guy going by the pen name of Nasdijj.  It was actually marketed as a memoir and apparently really wasn’t.  However, if one reads the book as though it were fiction, it’s a compelling read.  The author likes to string together similes and metaphors, but in spite of the fact that I agree with this article’s author about such writing (see in particular the Blood Meridian description), these strings did manage to provoke some very vibrant imagery in my head.

The book itself is about a half Indian (Native American to either be PC and/or to avoid confusion) who’s had a very different life than I.  He was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and as such has a very hard time reading and writing, he adopts a son who dies from the same condition, he went through childhood as part of a migrant family, he’s been homeless, he tells of life on the reservation, and gives a glimpse of what life might be like for those who leave the reservation.  It brings some awareness to the lost history that is generally not taught in public school, and the oppression and loss suffered by the Indians.

I obviously do not know the truth (or potential truth) behind the stories in this book, but in my opinion, if this book can enlighten folks who don’t know any better (like me), then it is worth the read despite the falsehood in marketing.  I’d guess the main issue in this case would be that “Nasdijj” made money this way, though not from me, as my copy was an ARC I picked up at a bookstore back in 2000!

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