Review: The Rez: An American Love Story by G. Michael Madison

Author G. Michael Madison offers an authentically deep plunge into reservation life in the 1960s and 1970s with his powerful novel The Rez: An American Love Story. The first in a trilogy of books, this is a profound examination of an oft-overlooked culture during a historically tumultuous time.

The most notable thing about this novel is the patience and care that has gone into its construction. It sets an immediate tone of intimacy in the storytelling, followed by a gradual introduction to the fraternal pair at the heart of this story: Jonny and Caj. The former – younger, introverted, and quiet – will soon learn the dangers of walking too softly in a hard world, while Caj is in danger of even bigger hopes being dashed against the rocks of reservation life, and the limitations it cruelly imposes.

Nikki-D moves to Puget Sound with a family nearing the breaking point of violence and collapse, and must also overcome the stigma of her difference, her Chinese-American heritage, and navigate a new world, protecting both herself and her mother. When these characters’ lives overlap, strong bonds are formed, and Nikki-D’s link with Jonny is a powerful undercurrent of this story, one that fuels many of the most valuable revelations. These are young people trying to comprehend the instability of America in the 1960s, while also holding their own fragile universes together. From youthful innocence to the pain of watching love torn apart by war, this book runs the gamut of growing up.

The characters and readers quickly come face to face with death and assassination, dreams deferred and destroyed, substance abuse, physical violence, trauma, poverty, and the ever-present racism that looms so large from the white world surrounding any outsider. The issues being discussed become even more poignant with young people as protagonists – their early lives are played out in these chapters in poetic and painful detail. The inclusion of the storyteller, hearkening back to Native American fables and origin stories, gives this story a gentle but powerful through-line, grounding readers with a breath of fresh air between increasingly emotional narration.

Wielding imagery in beautiful ways, building tension with quick cut-scenes and dramatic prose, and penning dialogue that feels authentic in its imperfection, Madison knows how to engage a reader from the very beginning. While the sentence structure is often simple and short, the pacing of the narration feels true to life, akin to a documentary, at times, while the symbolic moments appear organically, without feeling heavy-handed. There are few wasted words, despite the book’s moderate size, and most of the plot’s loose ends feel well in hand by this author’s clear skills as a storyteller.

All in all, this is a highly impactful read, as the divisions and existential struggles from 50 years ago are resurgent once more. Delicately dissecting the issues of racism, family, ambition and the American Way, The Rez is a humanistic peek into another world. With vivid dialogue and a sincere respect for his three-dimensional characters, Madison has laid the foundation for a deeply affecting series that feels contemporary and relevant.