The Indian Lawyer: A Novel

by James Welch

Overview

“At once a romance, a gripping suspense thriller, and a psychological portrait. . . .The Indian Lawyer is a triumph.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Sylvester Yellow Calf is a former reservation basketball star, a promising young lawyer, and a possible congressional candidate. But when a parolee ensnares him in a blackmail scheme, he'll have to decide just who he is, and what he wants.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393329384
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	02/17/2007
Pages:	350
Sales rank:	855,094
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

At the time of his death in 2003, James Welch was considered one of the most important authors of the American West. His books include Fool’s Crow and Winter in the Blood.

Editorial Reviews

"A brilliant and haunting book."

Los Angeles Times Book Review

A brilliant and haunting book.-- "Los Angeles Times Book Review"

From the Publisher

Following his poetic, gripping evocation of Native American culture in Fools no apostrophe sss Crow , set in the 1800s, Welch returns to the contemporary scene with the tale of a man whose ascent from a Montana reservation into upper-middle-class society has all the elements of a classic success story--including a fall from grace. By dint of talent and hard work, Sylvester Yellow Knife has escaped the fate of most of his fellow Blackfeet. A college basketball star and graduate of Stanford Law School, he is at 35 a highly regarded lawyer in a prestigious Helena firm, about to declare his candidacy for Congress, where he hopes to help his people and assuage his guilt over having abandoned their poverty-stricken world. But when the prison parole board of which he is a member denies parole to a wily man desperate to end his incarceration, Sylvester becomes the target of a blackmailing scheme. Welch underscores the ironies in his hero's rise from the reservation by counterpointing the ways in which the convict squandered his considerable opportunities and ran his life downhill. Sylvester's growing doubts about assimilation and his need to identify with his Native American roots are counterpoised to his realization that he may be deprived of the opportunity to make a contribution on a national scale. The thriller elements of the plot are developed with credibility, and while the narrative lacks the hallucinatory power of Fools Crow , it is a convincing story of a man who almost loses his values and his soul. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

YA-- Sylvester Yellow Calf, a Blackfeet Indian lawyer, is a nontraditional character whose past and present worlds collide and then threaten to destroy him. Elements of fear are introduced in this thoughtful, evenly paced novel, not in the form of blood or violence, but rather by virtue of wrong decisions, unforeseen consequences, and the dread of loss. Yellow Calf is a fully realized character, a complex, self-made man who overcomes the adversities of parentage and poverty. He is on the verge of an unplanned political success when his very human, normal behavior in a seemingly insignificant incident sets in motion a fall from grace. Welch shifts the story's focus back and forth between a state prison and Helena, where Yellow Calf has created his own version of the American dream. His relationships with several different women add to the rich texture of the novel and provide the seeds for his undoing. As events threaten Yellow Calf's security, a fascinating third world unfolds: the reservation childhood he has tried to leave behind. It is from his past that Yellow Calf eventually finds the truth about himself and the strength to do the right thing. An absorbing psychological tale that should fascinate mature readers.-- Carolyn E. Gecan, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Alexandria, VA

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