Point of View

Weiden’s novel is narrated in the first person past tense by Virgil Wounded Horse, who recounts his version of events beginning with his encounter outside a bar with Guv Yellowhawk, a gym teacher known for sexually abusing his students, and ending after a drug investigation in which Virgil and his nephew, Nathan, have become embroiled. The reader is privy to Virgil’s memories, which include the deaths of members of his immediate family and his relationships with other characters on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where most of the novel takes place. Through this style of narration, Weiden gradually reveals Virgil’s past as the novel progresses, along with his perspectives regarding life on the reservation and Lakota tradition.

Virgil is a strongly opinionated and emotional character, but he is self-reflective in how he portrays and processes his feelings, which allows his...