Reviewer: Alan Chin
Publisher: Grove Press
Pages: 355
At the turn of the twentieth century, Shed is an orphaned
half-Indian bisexual boy who lives and works at a hotel/brothel in the tiny
town of Excellent, Idaho. Despite being surrounded by a loving, if eccentric,
surrogate family at the hotel, Shed has a growing need to find an identity
among his mother’s Indian tribe. Setting
off alone across an unforgiving landscape, Shed encounters a procession of
extraordinary characters along the way. Although he learns a great deal about
the mysteries and traditions of his Indian heritage, it is not until Shed
returns to Excellent and witnesses a series of brutal tragedies that he attains
the wisdom that catapults him into manhood.
Author Tom Spanbauer creates a vision of the Old West unlike
anything seen before. The characters are unique, rebellious, and brimming with
life. He draws the reader into each scene with a distinctive voice, and each scene
becomes a single glowing strand that the author weaves into a beautifully
crafted web that is both uplifting and heartbreaking.
The story is an unsettling vision quest. It reads like
experiencing a dream that keeps getting more and more outlandish, yet more
evocative. It is a tale of turning knowledge into understanding, and one boy’s
march to manhood that all readers can relate to. I placed this book on my
“favorites shelf” and I will return to it again and again.
