Jamake Highwater, of Blackfeet/Cherokee heritage, calls himself the Indian Homer who has written in "Anpao" an American Indian Odyssey. He almost pulls it off.

Anpao, the main character in Highwater's novel, is, in his words, "a fabrication," but the adventures the boy completes on his way to becoming a man are borrowed from the folklore of many American Indian tribes. Indeed, Highwater annotates the novel so that each adventure is set in its originating culture as well as being part of the continuing narrative….

The novel is well written, smooth, pleasing to the eye and ear. But as a novel it is no more than the linking of old tales. The character of Anpao is never developed. His more interesting brother Oapna dies in the first section. Ko-ko-mik-e-is is simply a beautiful and faithful woman, a little like Penelope perhaps, but with none of Penelope's inventive dedication...