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Summary: Silko's Ceremony
Review: I just finished reading Ceremony for a book project in my AP English class. I really enjoyed the book and it definitely made me view some things differently. The language is easy to understand and quite blunt in places, which I feel adds to the power of the novel. I think that anyone with a remote interest in Native American culture should read it.
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Summary: Sheer timeless perfection
Review: A careful reading of Silko's masterpiece is a ceremony in itself. Its enduring power is testiment to Silko's ability as a poet and a storyteller in the oral tradition. It is best to know something about the Pueblo Indian cultures in general, or better yet, Laguna Pueblo culture specifically, before reading this, just to understand the nuances of the story. Mixedblood protagonist Tayo must come to terms with a world in which he is not accepted entirely as Indian, but where most whites would not even recognize his anglo half. Tayo's journey through many worlds speaks to human spiritual connectedness to the natural world, where interesting and unusual intersections occur, whether on an island in the South Pacific or within the protected space between the four sacred peaks of New Mexico. If any reader finds this book slow reading, the problem is in the reader's understanding, not in the storyteller's craft. For other versions of some of the poetry in _Ceremony_, read Silko's earlier book _Storyteller_, a collection of poems and stories, several of which appear in _Ceremony_.
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Summary: Take another look...
Review: When I first read Ceremony, I was a little surprised at the strong imagery and plain language. I got the impression that Silko was writing an accusation of white people in general, and the reviews I found here seemed to support that. It wasn't until I read the book again that I realized we are not so much being told a story as being allowed to share Tayo's mind with him as he went through a difficult period in his life. The words in this book are Tayo's thoughts, not a parable by Silko. Naturally he would see life from an extremely slanted point of view, having come in contact with the most opportunistic, prejudiced side of white society. What reason would he have to believe any of them were otherwise? Keeping this in mind, I rather enjoyed seeing Tayo's progression from confused ex-soldier to whole person, and though I don't agree with some of the sentiments expressed in the book, I believe it was definately worth a serious reader's time.
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Summary: Great form, weak function
Review: Although its inentions are strong and it presents an accurate picture of a group of people that literature and history have overlooked, Ceremony, unfortunately, is unforgivingly slow-moving.
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Summary: a mythic tale in a myth-deprived era
Review: Follow Tayo as he searches his traditions and his past for something missing from his life and vitally important to recover: a sense of ceremony. A study in how the rituals we do not live have a habit of living us.
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Summary: In writing of the American Indian Condition,
Review: Ms Silko paints a picture, not of historical wrongs, apologetically <yet easily> swept under faded carpets of days gone by, but of contemporary sufferings and injustices, hidden from white consciousness by the remoteness of the reservation system, and quietly tucked away behind white washed institutional walls. It is not a little ironic, that a people so quick to denounce the injustices of a Kosovo, or the horrors of the Holocaust, become so indignant when confronted with their own ongoing cultural/ethnic genocide. Yet Silko, herself of mixed ancestry, does not place the blame solely on the shoulders of the whites, she takes Native American peoples to task as well. She chastises those holding tightly to an improvident past, unable to accept changes that are necessary to Indian cultural survival. She is equally critical of those who abandon their identifies, embracing solutions offered by the white man, solutions leaving them in cultural limbo, no longer Indian, and perpetually at the mercy of white prejudice. The key to Native survival in Ms Silko's view, is adaptation, symbolized by the protagonist, Taio. Adaptation which involves accepting the white presence, acknowledging that it is neither good nor bad, simply an unwitting pawn of ancient forces way beyond its ken. Adaptation which at the same time celebrates one's Indianness, its unique way of relating to the land, to things both living, and non, and its special understanding of those forces which the collective white conscious has chosen to forget.
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Summary: Masterful Storytelling
Review: I remember reading a quote from M. Scott Momaday in which he states that we have too many words, and hence, and in this inflation, we are losing the power of the meaning (sorry for the corruption, Mr. Momaday). That power is here, though, in this novel. Ms. Silko has created a tale that is clearly a journey: of self-discovery for Tayo, of reclaiming the land, and of re-discovering the gift of ritual and storytelling. The flashbacks and quick changes kept for a lively reading. I thought it had a jazz-like tempo, with quick-slow, here-there pacing. I enjoyed the gradual unfolding of characterization. I could see the land and the blue sky, smell the sage, the dry dust, I could almost hear the drafting of the hawk in the sky, she is that good of a landscape writer. Watch out for the ending though, BAM! it happens fast. At first, I didn't like that, but upon reflection, I see that that is the only way she could have ended it. Oh, one more thing: read this novel for the the wonderful poem in the middle of the book about the beginnings of witchery. It is good enough to be used for a monologue in a speech competition. Good material.
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Summary: Sunrise, accept this offering, sunrise
Review: This book, the story of a Laguna Indian who returns home from World War II and finds himself estranged, confused, and sick, is a spiritual experience unto itself. The main character, Tayo, is caught between two worlds: the world of violence and drunkenness into which many young Nativa Americans plunged after the war; and the world of his ancestors, of stories and ceremonies. The book is not easy reading; I would hesitate to recommend it for children or students under 15. Although the language is simple, the frequent time shifts and metaphors demand something from the reader. This is not a book to be read passively. When read with the intent to savor every passage, however, this book will take the reader far beyond the blame game of red man versus white man, and into a world where a return to the ancient ways of indigenous people just might save us from destroying ourselves.
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Summary: Way too confusing
Review: This is an excellant book for all those book worms out there that love to take the time to analyze every single word that they read. For the average reader that enjoys books for fun and pleasure I would not recommend this confusing book. It continually skips to different time periods and settings all throughout the story. As soon as you start to understand what is going on, Silko tricks you by going back in time. I do believe that there is an interesting message to be found but I think Silko could have done a better job keeping her readers hooked.
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Summary: Where have all the decent works of literature gone?
Review: In an age of interactive television, virtual reality, and all other such technological advances, people have forgotten the transportive power of words. Reading Leslie Marmon Silko's CEREMONY is a stirring, mystical experience. Each time Tayo discovers something about the universe and about himself, the reader learns something, too. We are privelaged to be a part of the healing ceremony, to take part in the storytelling. Each time I walk through CEREMONY with my students I am reminded how massive and minute the world really is. To think such a spellbinding and visionary book was written over decade and a half ago!
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