I pre-ordered Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty earlier in the year and it quickly became one of my most anticipated reads. From the moment I read the summary, I knew I would love it but didn't expect for it to crawl its way into the deepest parts of my heart and stay there.

The novel is told in short stories that  interconnect and span time periods on the Penobscot Reservation. You are introduced to life on the rez where you see the lasting effects of settler colonialism and its consequences. You have characters dealing with poverty, addiction, failing health, lack of resources, loss of a child, grief, domestic conflict, broken homes and becoming a caregiver. Talty gives you an unflinching view of what it means to be Penobscot in Maine and he shows you what is at the heart of his community.

These stories are full of tragedy, friendship, sadness and the mundane aspects of life on the rez. Each story gives you insight into the key players and some background into how they became who they are now. By the time the I got to the last story 'The Name Means Thunder' I was gutted completely as they all came full circle. 

What stays with me is the undying love Indigenous people have for each other. How they show up for each there, never abandon one another and continue to stay rooted to their ancestors and their ways is at the core of this novel. The Penobscot people continue to survive and cling to their community to anchor them. I love how Talty shows that the bonds of family are not defined by blood alone but rather that family can be your inheritance. Family can be redefined as how you push forward past tragedy. Familial responsibility takes different forms in the novel but at the center is always love even when it doesn't look like it. 

Talty brought these characters to life and by the end I just wanted them to be okay because of all the losses they continued to experience. This was storytelling at its finest. If I could sum this one up in one word it would be haunting. This one will one will stay pressed up against the pit of your stomach long after you finish. I am in awe of what Talty accomplished in these pages and I will be anxiously waiting for more.