Writing Tricksters: Mythic Gambols in American Ethnic Literature by Jeanne Rosier Smith

Abstract

320 WAL 33(3) Fa l l 1998 Southeast Alaskan panhandle and the Aleutian chain, but given this pro­ ject has been Kotzebue based, it is understandable why the primary focus is upon Native experiences in northern Alaska. Overall, this is an excellent addition to the growing body of Alaskan Native literatures; the text is a good choice for those looking for insight into Alaskan life. Writing Tricksters: Mythic Qambols in American Ethnic Literature. By Jeanne Rosier Smith. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. 196 pages, $45.00/$ 15.95. Reviewed by Barbara J. Cook University of Oregon Tricksters, both in folklore and American literature, exist on the bor­ ders of a community; however, in Writing Tricksters: Mythic Gambols in American Ethnic Literature, Jeanne Rosier Smith explores a “trickster aes­ thetic” emerging in contemporary ethnic literature that is simultaneously “marginal and central to [a] culture” (2). Smith finds a commonality in recent novels written by women of color— a focus on trickster characters and tricksterlike narrative forms which “play a crucial role in building and transforming culture” (3), a key element for ethnic women writers as they seek to combine “a feminist concern for challenging patriarchy with a cul­ tural interest in breaking racial stereotypes and exploring a mixed cultural heritage” (2). According to Smith, the trickster aesthetic is central to the novels of Maxine Hong Kingston, Toni Morrison, and Louise Erdrich— authors who focus on the trickster as integral to the survival of the community and the building of an identity. Although tricksters have traditionally been seen as shocking and morally bankrupt, in many cultures outside of the Western lit­ erary tradition (Native American, African, and Chinese traditions, for example) tricksters are central, sacred, and communal figures despite their apparent marginality and irrelevance. Smith sees this centrality as indis­ pensable in cultures with strong oral narrative traditions— narratives which are inherently narratives of community. Each author’s trickster character grows out of a distinct, historically specific, cultural landscape and tradition (Erdrich’s Chippewa trickster Nanabozho, Kingston’s Monkey King, and Morrison’s Br’er Rabbit), and each author permits “the trickster to remain a symbol of cultural survival, but at the same time they explicitly question the sexism of their male tricksters, thereby critiquing the sexism of their cul­ tures’ myths and asserting counterperspectives through the novel’s other voices” (22). Perhaps the greatest strength of Sm ith’s work is her discussion of how the authors become tricksters themselves, creating narrative forms that challenge the reader. They use a trickster aesthetic, storytelling, to shape Book Reviews 321 their novels and to set up dialogue between characters and the reader, thus giving “a sense of orality to the written text” (23). This invites and even demands reader involvement—the reader becomes one of the community of listeners. Additionally, Smith believes that the multiple voices and per­ spectives presented in these novels can effect change in the reader “as the trickster liberates the mind” (24). This results in reader involvement which expands the notion of the community to include cross-cultural connections. Smith contends that these works “suggest a trickster-based model of com­ munity that thrives on multivocality, connection, and exchange” (155). In Writing Tricksters, Smith suggests a new multicultural approach to the study of contemporary American literature—an approach that can be expanded to inform more than our study of the three authors included in her work. Although her emphasis is on women ethnic writers, Smith iden­ tifies the trickster’s “importance not only to theme but also to stylistic inno­ vation in the contemporary ethnic novel” (156)—ideas that can be applied to both male and female ethnic authors. She provides a model for ways to bridge and connect cultural themes, communities, and authors. Indian Nation: Native American Literature and Nineteenth-Century Nationalisms. By Cheryl Walker. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1997. 256 pages, $49.95/$16.95. Reviewed by Renée L. Bergland Dartmouth College Cheryl Walker begins Indian Nation by defining “the subject of America” as “a conversation, perhaps, or a set of stories” (1,2). The purpose of her book is to recover the Native American voices that contributed to American conversations about...