Ceremony

Who it's for

Tayo comes home from the Second World War emptied out, blaming himself for his cousin Rocky's death and for the drought on the reservation, and nothing offered by the veterans' hospital reaches him.

Feelings it meets

• War
• Racism
• Grief

What it is

A 1977 novel by Leslie Marmon Silko, published by Viking. Tayo, a mixed Laguna Pueblo and white World War II veteran, returns from the Pacific struggling with the after-effects of war, grief and heavy drinking, haunted by the deaths of his cousin Rocky and his uncle Josiah. When the traditional healer Ku'oosh cannot help him, he turns to Betonie, a Navajo medicine man who brings modern elements into ceremony.

Where to find it

In print (Penguin Classics), in libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain.

Before you start

Heads up: War violence and torture.

Age: Ages 16+

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.Wilfred Owen, Poems, “Dulce et Decorum Est”