Drowning in Fire: Volume 48

by Craig S. Womack

Book Overview

Josh Henneha has always been a traveler, drowning in dreams, burning with desires.

As a young boy growing up within the Muskogee Creek Nation in rural Oklahoma, Josh experiences a yearning for something he cannot tame. Quiet and skinny and shy, he feels out of place, at once inflamed and ashamed by his attraction to other boys. Driven by a need to understand himself and his history, Josh struggles to reconcile the conflicting voices...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816521689
• ISBN13: 9780816521685
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Engaging literature

Craig Womack's first fiction novel, "Drowning in Fire" reads at once like a familiar story told numerous times by your grandmother and like the exciting first experience with a new adventure. The writing is poetic and captivating, as are the inter-twined stories. Mr. Womack writes in a unique style combining stream-of-consciousness memory recall, brilliant use of local dialects and languages, and colorful characters lovingly described. The book reads like a first-hand account of personal history. It is a "can't put it down" page turner and a "I must re-read that page several times for the pure enjoyment of it" storytelling masterpiece. It is poetry and action adventure at the same time.The story is about the experiences of growing up Native American and gay in the straight, white world of Oklahoma. But, it is also about what it means to be Native American, gay or not; it is about what it means to be gay, Native or not; and it is about growing up as an outsider in this world, Oklahoma or not. It is a rare book that trancends time, setting and race to touch universal themes. "Drowning In Fire" accomplishes this.With this work, Craig Womack helps define modern Native literature. He has also written one hell of an entertaining, enjoyable, important book. Read this and you will not be sorry.