DreadfulWater Shows Up by Hartley Goodweather (thoughts)
This is the first, and so far only, mystery novel of Thomas King, one of my favourite novelists. It’s written under quite a fun pseudonym, Hartley Goodweather, and features Cherokee Thump DreadfulWater, a former cop now turned photographer a small town on the west side of the Rockies. The small town, Chinook, is full of fun characters, both Native American and white, and King plays off of stereotypes and cliches in a delicious way (eta: in case I wasn’t clear, King himself is Native American, so the stereotype stuff is tongue-in-cheek and done for deliberate effect). The fun part is that he’s playing with both the genre tropes and the racial ones, with some gender stuff as the cherry on top! The whole plot has a tongue-in-cheek feel to it (particularly the ending), as Thump gets dragged in to investigating against his will thanks to Claire Merchant, a strong woman with whom he enjoys a kind of relationship. At the same time that King is playing with all of this gentle irony, he brings in what I’ve adored about his other two novels: a delicate and spot-on description of human relationships. Even while Thump and the rest of Chinook’s citizens have playful characteristics, the way that they all interact is pitch perfect. I think that element of realism is what balances the whole novel; King is a masterful writer and a masterful storyteller, and DreadfulWater Shows Up shows that to the fullest. I just hope he plans to continue Thump’s adventures into a series!
Suggested Companion Reads (linked to my thoughts)
- Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King (Another one of King’s books in which he plays with genre, in this case magical realism.)
- Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie (Another offering in Native American suspense fiction, this is a masterfully written thriller.)
- Witch of the Palo Duro by Mardi Oakley Medawar (Part of a historical mystery series by a Cherokee author; Medawar isn’t as good a writer as King, but her sleuth/narrator is as loveable as Thump.)
- Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartery (This is another ‘traditional’ (aka not hard-boiled) mystery with unusual locale, in this case Ghana; it’s not at the same literary level.)
- Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James (A marvelous, slim nonfiction look at the mystery genre; also a great resource if you’re looking for new-to-you mystery authors to try.)
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (More genre playing by an accomplished author, in this case sci-fi instead of mystery.)
- Orlando by Virginia Woolf (Another playful narrative that challenges conventions, albeit in a much less straight-forward manner than all the other books I’m talking about.)
- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Setterfield does a kind of homage to the gothic style here; her awareness of its tropes and the way she plays off that reminds me of King’s approach to mysteries.)
Wow, I love the companion list. I still haven’t read Orlando but it’s on my summer list. Thanks for this!
I’ve only read Truth and Bright Water, he’s not well represented over here which is a shame
Truth and Bright Water is the only one my library’s missing! But I plan to ILL it. :) And where are you: I thought you were North American!
heh heh no I’m from good ol’ Norn Iron (Northern Ireland)
also your post just reminded me I need to read some Sherman Alexie.
Good to know! And squee for Alexie. :D
Sounds interesting but not something I would choose on my own. Perhaps that is a good thing though, I really ought to read more types of fiction!
I think mystery lovers would get more out of this than non mystery lovers Amy. ;) But feel free to give it a go!
I wonder if this is accepted by the native american community if it stereotypes them ,I like mysterys but wonder if this is for me Eva ,I m not familiar with the writer what are the books he writes in his own name like I know Banville use his Black persona for crime fiction .so wonder if his other books were more literary fiction ,all the best stu
I’m sorry, did I not make it clear? Thomas King is a Native American. :) And that’s his name, so yep, his stuff under King is definitely literary. I think you’d enjoy Green Grass, Running Water!
This is great, Eva! I had no idea that he wrote under another name. I love Thomas King, so it is great there is another book I can enjoy by him. :)
Sounds lika a fun mystery! Unfortunately my library does not have any of his novels. We do have his The Truth about Stories, though, maybe I should take a look at it…
I second that you companion lists are great. From this one I’ve read Never Let Me Go (loved it:)), Orlando (well, loved it even more :)) and The Thirteenth Tale (simply hated that one!!).
I didn’t love The Thirteenth Tale as much as a lot of bloggers, but I liked it. I think you’re the first person I’ve heard of who hated it! ;)
I have had Green Grass, Running Water on my list ever since you reviewed it at least a year ago but have NOT been able to find it ANYWHERE that I look for books. I want to read him very badly, but alas, he doesn’t seem to get the distribution that I want hm to have. This book sounds fantastic! I love the playing with stereotypes, though I think it’s kind of funny that you excuse him for doing so because he’s Native American and therefore that makes it ok ;-)
I added King’s ethnicity because of Stu’s comment! ;) I think there is a difference between playing off the stereotypes of a group you belong to v a group you don’t belong to, though. I know I cut women authors more slack than men authors when it comes to gender stuff. That’s too frustrating re: not being able to find Green Grass, Running Water. If I owned a copy, I’d send it to you. Maybe ILL?