The Trickster of Liberty: Tribal Heirs to a Wild Baronage

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816616302
• ISBN13: 9780816616305
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 158 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 8.0"

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.