The Sun Is Not Merciful

Library Journal

The eight simple, moving tales collected here portray contemporary Native American life. The stark reality of a contemporary insular society is skillfully blended with the centuries-old culture that is a backdrop for the stories told by Walters's memorable people. ``The Resurrection of John Stink'' tells of an apparently epileptic man who's tended by 19-year-old Effie, who falls in love with him. After a seizure, John Stink stops breathing, and the white doctor Effie's fetched declares him dead. But when he's buried in a mound, his dogs won't leave him, so Effie digs him outaliveand he lives to be a very old man. At times, the narrative tends towards self-consciousness in its replication of a rich oral tradition, but this is a clear ethnic voice that deserves a wide audience. Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va.