Night of the Living Rez is fantastic! A big, beautiful and haunting series of 12 stories.

This debut collection by Morgan Talty, a Penobscot Native American, takes place in a Native American Community in Maine. The stories are funny, sad, and memorable as you meet a series of Penobscot Natives living in contemporary America in abject poverty. This is a true window into a community as Talty magically brings you inside and you feel a part of the choices (both good and bad) made by main character David and his friends and family.

Theses stories draw you in, hypnotise you really. I suspect this will be a pivotal work and Talty will be a name to know going forward. I am speechless that this is his first published work! If you like stories that connect, gritty dark humor, interested in learning more about our own Indigenous Americans, than run - don't walk - to get this fabulous work of art!
#NetGalley #NetGalleyReads #NighoftheLivingRez #TinHouse

My first book to read by this author but definitely not my last! Such a gripping novel that made it hard for me to put his book down once I started it. Highly recommend!!

This is an excellent short story collection, though since the stories are by and large interconnected, you could argue it's more novel-like than straight-up collection. All of them are memorable and have poignant, disturbing, and/or weird details that will stick with you long after reading

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. Sometimes I struggle when short stories feel too disjointed, but that wasn’t the case here. These stories felt connected to each other and as readers progress through the book, they get more of a glimpse into the characters’ lives and what it’s like to live on this reservation. This collection is haunting, humorous, and heartbreaking, and I would definitely recommend it.

First off thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is dark, gritty, and real. It says it's "stories" but don't expect a short story collection. This is a novel broken up between two stories that tie together.

Night of the Living Rez jumps back and fort in time and it can get confusing but by the end it all makes sense.

This is a sad story but not in the "cry your eyes out" sort of way but more of the lack of hope kind of sad.

This was well written and an important book to read but just make sure you're in the right mindset to read it first.

Let me start this out by saying - I genuinely feel like I could LOVE this, but it didn't come at the right time in my reading venture. Short stories can be pretty hit or miss for me, but these ones were well developed and gave the right amount of glimpse into their characters. That being said, the overall cadence and the way the stories linked together just didn't jive with me. I struggled to fully sink into each story because of the interconnectedness.

I will be giving this one another go in a couple of months (closer to pub date) to see if I can slip into the stories a bit more.

This is one of those books that feels less like reading and more like unfolding something intricate, slowly revealing the details of a life rather than being handed a guidebook.

David, the main character, is growing up on the Penobscot Reservation in Maine with his mother, sister, and mother's boyfriend. Through a series of short stories David's life is slowly revealed, events hinted and then revealed later through revelations during other events. Relationships built and broken down over time.

Through David's often surprising and sometimes horrific life Talty demonstrates how tragedy can simultaneously break us and heal us, and how loss can be survived through memories.

This is one of those books that will stay with you for a long time after you read it.

The short stories are interconnected and center on Penobscot rez life in Maine. There's some humor for sure, but also a lot of sadness and beauty. A lot of family and traditions. It feels like an important book and an important story to tell, and I'm very appreciative to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for letting me read an ARC of the book.