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This Town Sleeps
“Elegant and gritty, angry and funny. Staples’s work is emotional without being sentimental. Dennis unmakes something in us, then remakes it, a quilt of characters that embody this town, this place, which sleeps but doesn’t dream, or it is all a dream we want to wake up from with its characters.� —Tommy Orange, author of There, There
On an Ojibwe reservation called Languille Lake, within the small town of Geshig at the hub of the rez, two men enter into a secret romance. Marion Lafournier, a midtwenties gay Ojibwe man, begins a relationship with his former classmate Shannon, a heavily closeted white man. While Marion is far more open about his sexuality, neither is immune to the realities of the lives of gay men in small towns and closed societies.
Then one night, while roaming the dark streets of Geshig, Marion unknowingly brings to life the spirit of a dog from beneath the elementary school playground. The mysterious revenant leads him to the grave of Kayden Kelliher, an Ojibwe basketball star who was murdered at the age of seventeen and whose presence still lingers in the memories of the townsfolk. While investigating the fallen hero’s death, Marion discovers family connections and an old Ojibwe legend that may be the secret to unraveling the mystery he has found himself in.
Set on a reservation in far northern Minnesota, This Town Sleeps explores the many ways history, culture, landscape, and lineage shape our lives, our understanding of the world we inhabit, and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of it all.
On an Ojibwe reservation called Languille Lake, within the small town of Geshig at the hub of the rez, two men enter into a secret romance. Marion Lafournier, a midtwenties gay Ojibwe man, begins a relationship with his former classmate Shannon, a heavily closeted white man. While Marion is far more open about his sexuality, neither is immune to the realities of the lives of gay men in small towns and closed societies.
Then one night, while roaming the dark streets of Geshig, Marion unknowingly brings to life the spirit of a dog from beneath the elementary school playground. The mysterious revenant leads him to the grave of Kayden Kelliher, an Ojibwe basketball star who was murdered at the age of seventeen and whose presence still lingers in the memories of the townsfolk. While investigating the fallen hero’s death, Marion discovers family connections and an old Ojibwe legend that may be the secret to unraveling the mystery he has found himself in.
Set on a reservation in far northern Minnesota, This Town Sleeps explores the many ways history, culture, landscape, and lineage shape our lives, our understanding of the world we inhabit, and the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of it all.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2020
94 people are currently reading
7,703 people want to read
About the author
Dennis E. Staples
4books82followersDENNIS E. STAPLES is an Ojibwe writer from Bemidji, Minnesota. He graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with an MFA in fiction. He is a graduate of the 2018 Clarion West Writers Workshop and a recipient of the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship. His work has appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction and Nightmare magazine. He is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Nation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews
April 20, 2020
Feeling frustrated and unsure about this book, so I'm going with 3/5 overall.
Here's the thing: this book was pitched to me as a story about Marion. And all the stuff going on with Marion, that whole storyline? Brilliant. But I think the narrative got lost with the addition of so many points of view as the book went on. About halfway through the book seems to forget that Marion is our central focus and shifts to backstory and extraneous narrators that don't add as much to the overall story. The book is only 200 pages long and the fact that there are so many narrators was really a mark against a cohesive plot, in my opinion. If I had experienced this solely as Marion's storyline, his life as a gay Ojibwe man, his relationship with a white man, his connection to his mother, etc. then this would have easily been a 4 star read, but all the added content that strayed from that point brought this down to a 3.
I'M SO SAD. I WAS SO READY TO LOVE THIS.
Here's the thing: this book was pitched to me as a story about Marion. And all the stuff going on with Marion, that whole storyline? Brilliant. But I think the narrative got lost with the addition of so many points of view as the book went on. About halfway through the book seems to forget that Marion is our central focus and shifts to backstory and extraneous narrators that don't add as much to the overall story. The book is only 200 pages long and the fact that there are so many narrators was really a mark against a cohesive plot, in my opinion. If I had experienced this solely as Marion's storyline, his life as a gay Ojibwe man, his relationship with a white man, his connection to his mother, etc. then this would have easily been a 4 star read, but all the added content that strayed from that point brought this down to a 3.
I'M SO SAD. I WAS SO READY TO LOVE THIS.
January 19, 2020
Call me picky, but gay people of color deserve better than a shameful struggle love story.
Dennis E. Staples� This Town Sleeps tells the story of an openly gay Ojibwe man in his mid-twenties named Marion who finds himself back in his native rez town of Geshig where he begins a secret, sexual relationship with one of his former classmates, a closeted white man named Shannon. Although Geshig doesn’t give off the obvious threat of homophobia, Marion and Shannon understand the unspoken confidentiality of their rendezvous must remain just that.
Then, one night while roaming Geshig, Marion unknowingly awakens a revenant beast that precipitates memories of a tragic legend concerning the death of a teenage Ojibwe basketball star who was murdered in cold blood. As the spirit continues to pursue him, the Revenant sets Marion off on a spiritual quest of reconciliation, both of patching old wounds with estranged family members and discovering new familial ties along the way, but more importantly, one that involves the many rumors of Geshig that has long secreted the killing of Kayden Kelliher, whose spirit becomes a looming presence over Marion’s life everywhere he turns.
This was a fairly quick, suspenseful story to read, which is something I always like to see in an author’s first novel. Staples works beautifully with Ojibwe oral tradition � from the “jawbone� myth to the way he weaves familial ties in and out of the book � and one can sense this is where he feels most confident and comfortable as a storyteller. As he should.
Sadly, where Staples shines in narration he falls flat in other areas that were equally crucial to the comprehensibility of the story. For instance, my greatest issue with This Town Sleeps was the overabundance of speakers needed to tell what seemingly could have been a three- or four-person polyphonic tale. Because of this, it was difficult at times to follow who was speaking, because the chapter titles themselves didn’t always give clues that would otherwise make the voice apparent. Sometimes the following chapter would open with a speaker introduced toward the end of the one before, but this method of character acquaintance wasn’t always consistent which was especially confusing considering at least 10 or more characters speak in this book. Even so, I think the story would benefit greatly from a family tree for easy reference, thus alleviating the reader of any confusion on names and lineage. There were just too many things � to many people’s stories � happening within such short chapters for me to completely engage with them all the same.
Speaking of characters, I don’t think � of everyone in this book � there was a single person I felt connected to, not even the apparent protagonist, Marion, whose own story gets diluted through everyone else’s narrative. It felt strangely convoluted, to squeeze so many narratives in that way, and this seemed to render Marion a desperate, monotonous side character who grows attached to someone who explicitly exploits him for sexual pleasure and nothing more. Not only that, I found Shannon’s closing chapter really exposed him as the bigoted, homophobic, sexually conflicted white man a lot of us expected him to be. Yet, somehow he comes around to profess his love for Marion, a man whose culture and customs he doesn’t even respect?
thank u, next.
(With all due respect, thank you Counterpoint Press for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.)
If you liked my review, feel free to follow me on Instagram.
Dennis E. Staples� This Town Sleeps tells the story of an openly gay Ojibwe man in his mid-twenties named Marion who finds himself back in his native rez town of Geshig where he begins a secret, sexual relationship with one of his former classmates, a closeted white man named Shannon. Although Geshig doesn’t give off the obvious threat of homophobia, Marion and Shannon understand the unspoken confidentiality of their rendezvous must remain just that.
Then, one night while roaming Geshig, Marion unknowingly awakens a revenant beast that precipitates memories of a tragic legend concerning the death of a teenage Ojibwe basketball star who was murdered in cold blood. As the spirit continues to pursue him, the Revenant sets Marion off on a spiritual quest of reconciliation, both of patching old wounds with estranged family members and discovering new familial ties along the way, but more importantly, one that involves the many rumors of Geshig that has long secreted the killing of Kayden Kelliher, whose spirit becomes a looming presence over Marion’s life everywhere he turns.
This was a fairly quick, suspenseful story to read, which is something I always like to see in an author’s first novel. Staples works beautifully with Ojibwe oral tradition � from the “jawbone� myth to the way he weaves familial ties in and out of the book � and one can sense this is where he feels most confident and comfortable as a storyteller. As he should.
Sadly, where Staples shines in narration he falls flat in other areas that were equally crucial to the comprehensibility of the story. For instance, my greatest issue with This Town Sleeps was the overabundance of speakers needed to tell what seemingly could have been a three- or four-person polyphonic tale. Because of this, it was difficult at times to follow who was speaking, because the chapter titles themselves didn’t always give clues that would otherwise make the voice apparent. Sometimes the following chapter would open with a speaker introduced toward the end of the one before, but this method of character acquaintance wasn’t always consistent which was especially confusing considering at least 10 or more characters speak in this book. Even so, I think the story would benefit greatly from a family tree for easy reference, thus alleviating the reader of any confusion on names and lineage. There were just too many things � to many people’s stories � happening within such short chapters for me to completely engage with them all the same.
Speaking of characters, I don’t think � of everyone in this book � there was a single person I felt connected to, not even the apparent protagonist, Marion, whose own story gets diluted through everyone else’s narrative. It felt strangely convoluted, to squeeze so many narratives in that way, and this seemed to render Marion a desperate, monotonous side character who grows attached to someone who explicitly exploits him for sexual pleasure and nothing more. Not only that, I found Shannon’s closing chapter really exposed him as the bigoted, homophobic, sexually conflicted white man a lot of us expected him to be. Yet, somehow he comes around to profess his love for Marion, a man whose culture and customs he doesn’t even respect?
thank u, next.
(With all due respect, thank you Counterpoint Press for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.)
If you liked my review, feel free to follow me on Instagram.
July 9, 2024
I really enjoyed this book in general. It being a queer book with an exploration of family ties/being of a place and of the nature of ghosts/what haunts us reminded me a little of my longtime favorite; , even the pacing and multiple POVs were kind of similar so I was really into it for most of it. Unfortunately for me, the ending felt very rushed and almost like it was written by a completely different person and I didn't care for it as much as I did for the road leading up to it.
3.5 rounded up.
3.5 rounded up.
January 17, 2020
Books by native American authors about their interconnected experience in today's world are always revelatory, and this one maybe more than most. Dennis Staples recounts the story of Marion Lafournier, who is out and at ease in his skin but searching for love on the internet. When an old still closeted classmate appears for a date, old rumors and family histories come to light. Set on and near an Obijwe reservation in Minnesota, tribal traditions clash with modern day challenges, and Marion follows spirits to answer mysteries and reach his own redemption. Beautifully told and skillfully executed, this introduces a writer of promise.
December 13, 2020
Marion is a gay Ojibwe man living outside of the reservation where he grew up in northern Minnesota, close enough where he's not really gone. He hooks up with a childhood classmate and encounters what seems like a ghost dog, and the story unfolds from there.
I enjoyed this debut novel. There is some mystery but it isn't a mystery. The majority of the story comes from Marion's point of view but it also jumps to other characters, once or twice even jumping back a generation or two in a way I hadn't seen before. It is a strong depiction of modern rez life, which for these characters is modern yet rural.
I enjoyed this debut novel. There is some mystery but it isn't a mystery. The majority of the story comes from Marion's point of view but it also jumps to other characters, once or twice even jumping back a generation or two in a way I hadn't seen before. It is a strong depiction of modern rez life, which for these characters is modern yet rural.
June 3, 2020
3.5 stars. A literary ghost story/crime novel. I think this one appeals more to the lit fic set than the crime reader set. The structure is quite loose and the plot is not linear. Yes I know lots of crime novels have non-linear plots, but this also doesn't have a strong sense of momentum, either.
This book is about the long shadow of violence on those that it touches, especially familial legacies of loss. Set mostly on an Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota, we also see the push and pull of those who leave and those who stay. It may remind you of similar stories about small town life, but there are so many more layers when you add colonialism, racism, and negligence from white people plus the community and solidarity that can come from staying with the people and culture you came from. Marion's queerness doesn't separate him from his community, but his desire for a different life and his lack of belief in their faith and practices does.
This is not a queer suffering book, though Marion is involved with a man who is not out, so both external and internal homophobia are certainly a big part of the story.
This book is about the long shadow of violence on those that it touches, especially familial legacies of loss. Set mostly on an Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota, we also see the push and pull of those who leave and those who stay. It may remind you of similar stories about small town life, but there are so many more layers when you add colonialism, racism, and negligence from white people plus the community and solidarity that can come from staying with the people and culture you came from. Marion's queerness doesn't separate him from his community, but his desire for a different life and his lack of belief in their faith and practices does.
This is not a queer suffering book, though Marion is involved with a man who is not out, so both external and internal homophobia are certainly a big part of the story.
May 11, 2020
This Town Sleeps was an indie book store selection for April. I gave it a try because I read books about Indians (the term the author uses, so I will use it rather than Native Americans) It also had a component of spirits/the spirit world that I enjoy reading about. There is a curse, a human jaw bone, and a ghost dog! The main character, Marion, adopts a Res Dog, named Basil (my dad’s name!) at the onset of the narrative. This triggers his memory of a dog dying beneath a piece of playground equipment in the park. The kids think it is haunted. His buddy, Shannon, dares him to join him for a ride.
The ghost dog appears to Marion after adopting Basil. He questions if it the ghost is the spirit of the dog from beneath the playground equipment of his youth or the spirit of his murdered cousin (who he idolized growing up). Marion seeks answers in a sweat lodge ceremony as well as in the stories of friends and family.
Marion, who is gay, reconnects with Shannon. There is gay sex and affection in the book, but not �50 Shades�. To me it is no different than a man and a woman having sex. The sex and affection moves the story forward allowing the reader to see Marion’s and Shannon’s inner struggles and eventual growth. The story explores coming to terms with the past, who you are in the present, and the future you want to create.
The resolution of the murdered cousin’s (or his “spirit’s�) story line is very touching. I went with the audible version of this story. Excellent narration and he did a nice job altering his voice for different characters.
The ghost dog appears to Marion after adopting Basil. He questions if it the ghost is the spirit of the dog from beneath the playground equipment of his youth or the spirit of his murdered cousin (who he idolized growing up). Marion seeks answers in a sweat lodge ceremony as well as in the stories of friends and family.
Marion, who is gay, reconnects with Shannon. There is gay sex and affection in the book, but not �50 Shades�. To me it is no different than a man and a woman having sex. The sex and affection moves the story forward allowing the reader to see Marion’s and Shannon’s inner struggles and eventual growth. The story explores coming to terms with the past, who you are in the present, and the future you want to create.
The resolution of the murdered cousin’s (or his “spirit’s�) story line is very touching. I went with the audible version of this story. Excellent narration and he did a nice job altering his voice for different characters.
January 21, 2020
I so, so enjoyed this beautifully written, unique little novel about life on the Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota. It’s a mystery, a history, and a little bit of a love story, wrapped into one quiet, pensive book. The main character, Marion Lafournier, is a young gay Ojibwe man, not quite in touch with his Indian roots, but still wanting to live nearby the rez. Marion goes on a little journey of self-discovering, learning about his town’s past, his tribe, his culture, in small, meaningful ways. The perspective rotates constantly, giving you context, short picture-in-picture stories that resonate deeply in just a few paragraphs. As much as this book is a narrative about Marion, it is also a book about struggles on Indian reservations: alcoholism, drugs, gangs, isolation, unemployment, and an inability to move.
In the beginning, Marion starts a casual, secret relationship with Shannon Harstad, a deeply closeted white man from their shared rez-adjacent hometown of Geshig. While navigating the struggles of being in a relationship with a man who has internalized his homophobia so thoroughly, Marion stumbles upon a mystery. There’s was a legend while Marion was growing up in Geshig that a dog died underneath a merry-go-round in a kids� playground, and no one would go near it. Now, years and years later, Marion decides to go for a spin on the merry-go-round - and suddenly, he resurrects the dog of legend. He feels deeply that it must be connected to the spirit of Kayden Kelliher, a young Ojibwe man who was murdered by a fellow classmate in high school. Marion goes on a journey to find out what really happened to Kayden, in the end discovering much more than he intended.
Although this book is a fast read, the pages will stay with you for a long time. The writing is haunting, beautiful, at times more poetic than prosaic. If you’re unfamiliar with Indian culture and only know stereotypes and older history, this is a fascinating look at what life is like on many reservations - for young people and families, in the present day. It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s one that should be read. Staples layers in other complex elements to this already detailed story: being a semi-openly gay man, navigating levels of engagement and identification with Indian culture, gangs on reservations, etc. He is a brilliant new voice in the genre and I’m very much looking forward to what he does next. I highly, highly recommend picking up this beautiful book. Thank you to Counterpoint for the ARC via Netgalley.
In the beginning, Marion starts a casual, secret relationship with Shannon Harstad, a deeply closeted white man from their shared rez-adjacent hometown of Geshig. While navigating the struggles of being in a relationship with a man who has internalized his homophobia so thoroughly, Marion stumbles upon a mystery. There’s was a legend while Marion was growing up in Geshig that a dog died underneath a merry-go-round in a kids� playground, and no one would go near it. Now, years and years later, Marion decides to go for a spin on the merry-go-round - and suddenly, he resurrects the dog of legend. He feels deeply that it must be connected to the spirit of Kayden Kelliher, a young Ojibwe man who was murdered by a fellow classmate in high school. Marion goes on a journey to find out what really happened to Kayden, in the end discovering much more than he intended.
Although this book is a fast read, the pages will stay with you for a long time. The writing is haunting, beautiful, at times more poetic than prosaic. If you’re unfamiliar with Indian culture and only know stereotypes and older history, this is a fascinating look at what life is like on many reservations - for young people and families, in the present day. It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s one that should be read. Staples layers in other complex elements to this already detailed story: being a semi-openly gay man, navigating levels of engagement and identification with Indian culture, gangs on reservations, etc. He is a brilliant new voice in the genre and I’m very much looking forward to what he does next. I highly, highly recommend picking up this beautiful book. Thank you to Counterpoint for the ARC via Netgalley.
March 10, 2022
An interesting book about small towns. It has a terrific mixture of characters. Unfortunately, the story can be a bit confusing because of these many people.
I enjoyed it but it was not a classic.
I enjoyed it but it was not a classic.
April 8, 2020
3.65 stars
Miigwech @counterpointpress for gifting me this copy to review.
This Town Sleeps by Dennis E. Staples is a work of fiction that I consumed in a few reading sessions over the course of 3 days. While this was common for me last year it isn’t now so believe me when I say this novel is incredibly readable.
It’s set on an Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota & surrounding areas and follows the story of Marion, a gay Ojibwe man, who is navigating complicated relationships with both the living, the dead and his reservation town that he just can’t seem to leave.
This was Staples� first novel and I felt this was sometimes apparent. I did enjoy many, many portions of this book but there were others that I felt didn’t flow quite as well or where the plot progressed rather unnaturally. However, I fully believe the chapters that were executed well were executed very, very, very well and Staples focus on Ojibwe traditions & stories were utilized skillfully and blended nicely with the novels current of how our community and our bloodlines determine who we are.
A thought I held with me while reading was how many books are written for Indigenous LGBTQ2S? Not enough. And moreover, how many of these Ojibwe narratives exist? Again, not enough. I say all of this to come to the conclusion that this is a good novel and an important novel. I hope Ojibwe LGBTQ2S folk feel seen when they read it.
Miigwech.
Miigwech @counterpointpress for gifting me this copy to review.
This Town Sleeps by Dennis E. Staples is a work of fiction that I consumed in a few reading sessions over the course of 3 days. While this was common for me last year it isn’t now so believe me when I say this novel is incredibly readable.
It’s set on an Ojibwe reservation in Minnesota & surrounding areas and follows the story of Marion, a gay Ojibwe man, who is navigating complicated relationships with both the living, the dead and his reservation town that he just can’t seem to leave.
This was Staples� first novel and I felt this was sometimes apparent. I did enjoy many, many portions of this book but there were others that I felt didn’t flow quite as well or where the plot progressed rather unnaturally. However, I fully believe the chapters that were executed well were executed very, very, very well and Staples focus on Ojibwe traditions & stories were utilized skillfully and blended nicely with the novels current of how our community and our bloodlines determine who we are.
A thought I held with me while reading was how many books are written for Indigenous LGBTQ2S? Not enough. And moreover, how many of these Ojibwe narratives exist? Again, not enough. I say all of this to come to the conclusion that this is a good novel and an important novel. I hope Ojibwe LGBTQ2S folk feel seen when they read it.
Miigwech.
March 5, 2020
Thank you to Counterpoint Press for reaching out and sending me a copy of this book, which has been one of my most anticipated 2020 debut novels.
This Town Sleeps is a book I gratefully went into having only skimmed the blurb, which alludes to the awakened spirit of a dead dog, the untangling of a long past murder, and a young gay Ojibwe man named Marion Lafournier as the throughline. There’s a lot going on in this slim novel, and I was immediately entranced by the writing and the exciting defiance of genre, eagerly flipping pages to put the pieces together and anxious for the next Marion chapter each time the narrative strayed away. The pacing of the many intertwined narratives was deftly handled, making this a novel I couldn’t stand to put down until I reached the end.�
�
Hard to describe but rewarding to read, this is a book I’m so looking forward to dipping back into again and again as I read others� reviews. The smush of genres here makes it a book I’d recommend quite broadly - fans of contemplative literary fiction, explorations of family legends and life in a stiflingly small town, or lovers of a story that dips into but doesn’t wholly linger on a murder mystery, plus anybody who likes a book with a splash of the speculative, I encourage you to add this book to your TBR!
This Town Sleeps is a book I gratefully went into having only skimmed the blurb, which alludes to the awakened spirit of a dead dog, the untangling of a long past murder, and a young gay Ojibwe man named Marion Lafournier as the throughline. There’s a lot going on in this slim novel, and I was immediately entranced by the writing and the exciting defiance of genre, eagerly flipping pages to put the pieces together and anxious for the next Marion chapter each time the narrative strayed away. The pacing of the many intertwined narratives was deftly handled, making this a novel I couldn’t stand to put down until I reached the end.�
�
Hard to describe but rewarding to read, this is a book I’m so looking forward to dipping back into again and again as I read others� reviews. The smush of genres here makes it a book I’d recommend quite broadly - fans of contemplative literary fiction, explorations of family legends and life in a stiflingly small town, or lovers of a story that dips into but doesn’t wholly linger on a murder mystery, plus anybody who likes a book with a splash of the speculative, I encourage you to add this book to your TBR!
July 12, 2020
3.5 ⭐️
Though I was left feeling like this story deserved a better ending I was still grateful for the journey. I don't read many stories about the native American experience, this one being specifically centered around the Ojibwe reservation, but I hope to find more in the future. This is also more impactful coming from an ownvoices perspective.
The story is like a winding path. We get the perspective of many different characters who live on this reservation and were in some way connected to the life of a murdered boy. However we follow most closely the main character Marion who is a gay Ojibwe man. I really enjoyed Marion, who was unapologetically himself, but who also seemed cloaked in melancholy. Marion may not be hiding from his sexual identity, rather seems to be removed from his culture.
Seeing Marion's story interweave with the cast of characters with the overarching story of a murder unfolding was a fantastic reading experience. There was a real richness about the story that kept me intrigued. The end of the book is really what made me feel like everything was cut off too soon. I am left feeling so unsatisfied. Though I can guess why Marion does what he does, I wish we could have gotten a closer look into Marion's mind and why he made this decision. The ending line feels so melancholy, I started to wonder how you can fall in love with a place and the people and yet feel sad for it.
But it's better to wake up than fall back asleep in a town with no dreams.
That last line makes me question a lot, leaving me with a heavy heart. Though I am not one to shy away from sad books it makes me wonder what's the point of such a story without a little more hope for the people we have grown so invested in?
It's definitely a book that would be great to dissect and discuss in a group. For such a tiny book it packs a big punch.
Though I was left feeling like this story deserved a better ending I was still grateful for the journey. I don't read many stories about the native American experience, this one being specifically centered around the Ojibwe reservation, but I hope to find more in the future. This is also more impactful coming from an ownvoices perspective.
The story is like a winding path. We get the perspective of many different characters who live on this reservation and were in some way connected to the life of a murdered boy. However we follow most closely the main character Marion who is a gay Ojibwe man. I really enjoyed Marion, who was unapologetically himself, but who also seemed cloaked in melancholy. Marion may not be hiding from his sexual identity, rather seems to be removed from his culture.
Seeing Marion's story interweave with the cast of characters with the overarching story of a murder unfolding was a fantastic reading experience. There was a real richness about the story that kept me intrigued. The end of the book is really what made me feel like everything was cut off too soon. I am left feeling so unsatisfied. Though I can guess why Marion does what he does, I wish we could have gotten a closer look into Marion's mind and why he made this decision. The ending line feels so melancholy, I started to wonder how you can fall in love with a place and the people and yet feel sad for it.
But it's better to wake up than fall back asleep in a town with no dreams.
That last line makes me question a lot, leaving me with a heavy heart. Though I am not one to shy away from sad books it makes me wonder what's the point of such a story without a little more hope for the people we have grown so invested in?
It's definitely a book that would be great to dissect and discuss in a group. For such a tiny book it packs a big punch.
January 2, 2024
I enjoyed this! The perfect length for the plane flight I was just on haha. I have some minor quibbles about a few word choices, and idk if the ~murder investigation plot~ really deserves mention in the blurb - this is definitely a snapshot of a particular protagonist and of a particular community at one moment in time, not a plot-driven novel. But I liked it a lot, and I thought it had some interesting imagery and insight about the experience of living in a small town, and I loved the ending. Will definitely be looking out for more by this author.
September 24, 2020
...I did not like this book. Which sucks, because I really wanted to! The premise of a queer Native guy who somehow resurrects the spirit of a dog and tries to find out the details of a long-forgotten crime? 10/10. A fab concept. In execution though? ...Maybe a 3/10 from me.
Despite being only like 200 pages, this book came off as really unfocused for me. Though I appreciated how it was a quick and mysterious read, there's just too much going on to really appreciate any of the characters and plot Staples developed. I was under the impression this book was going to be about Marion and the people closest to him, but somehow we end up reading from the perspectives of like a dozen different people, none of whom really seem that integral to the narration. As a result, their narrations come off as underdeveloped and frustrating to get through.
My main beef with this book though? This sounds harsh, but I just don't think it was very well written. Like at all. Yikes. On a sentence level, the writing felt stilted and off. There's so many things at play here, like referring to Shannon's sections with the "you" pronoun, that whole "hey, lumberjack" thing at the end, the seemingly random subheadings, I could go on honestly. All of these artistic choices either made no sense to me or just made me cringe. And don't even get me started on the dialogue, which is some of the clunkiest, most unrealistic exchanges I've read in a long while. Unfortunately, this ruined most of the novel for me, because the bad writing completely seeped into the otherwise intriguing plot to the point where I couldn't take anything seriously.
This is not to completely shit all over Dennis Staples, as I'm sure he's a lovely dude and there are plenty of people out there who would appreciate this book and what he's setting out to do. His novel was just not to my personal literary tastes, and that's okay. Basically, I hope he keeps writing! This is very much a debut novel, but we could always use more Indigenous (esp Ojibwe) voices in our everyday literary consumption. His work already kind of reminds me of Craig Womack's "Drowning in Fire," or a (more poorly executed) version of Tommy Orange's "There There." He definitely has some potential, so I'd be interested to see what he does next.
Despite being only like 200 pages, this book came off as really unfocused for me. Though I appreciated how it was a quick and mysterious read, there's just too much going on to really appreciate any of the characters and plot Staples developed. I was under the impression this book was going to be about Marion and the people closest to him, but somehow we end up reading from the perspectives of like a dozen different people, none of whom really seem that integral to the narration. As a result, their narrations come off as underdeveloped and frustrating to get through.
My main beef with this book though? This sounds harsh, but I just don't think it was very well written. Like at all. Yikes. On a sentence level, the writing felt stilted and off. There's so many things at play here, like referring to Shannon's sections with the "you" pronoun, that whole "hey, lumberjack" thing at the end, the seemingly random subheadings, I could go on honestly. All of these artistic choices either made no sense to me or just made me cringe. And don't even get me started on the dialogue, which is some of the clunkiest, most unrealistic exchanges I've read in a long while. Unfortunately, this ruined most of the novel for me, because the bad writing completely seeped into the otherwise intriguing plot to the point where I couldn't take anything seriously.
This is not to completely shit all over Dennis Staples, as I'm sure he's a lovely dude and there are plenty of people out there who would appreciate this book and what he's setting out to do. His novel was just not to my personal literary tastes, and that's okay. Basically, I hope he keeps writing! This is very much a debut novel, but we could always use more Indigenous (esp Ojibwe) voices in our everyday literary consumption. His work already kind of reminds me of Craig Womack's "Drowning in Fire," or a (more poorly executed) version of Tommy Orange's "There There." He definitely has some potential, so I'd be interested to see what he does next.
March 23, 2021
Several years after Marion moved back to his hometown on an Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota he begins an affair with a former high school classmate, Shannon. They meet on an app and begin a relationship though Shannon is not out. After their encounter on an old playground, Marion sees a dog that allegedly died under the merry-go-round. As Marion struggles with his secret relationship he tries to uncover the mystery of the dog and learns secrets about his town and his family.
I loved this book. The first half of the book was so compelling and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the relationship between Marion and Shannon. They had a very sexy chemistry and I felt for both of the characters. The mystery was compelling at first, but I lost interest as the story progressed. This felt like two different books melded together. I think it lost some power by changing to the voices and points of view to different characters through the book. I loved the panorama of reservation life that this book presents. Even though I didn’t respond to every part of this book, I loved it and thought it was brilliant. The ending was great. The writing is excellent at times sexy, at others, heartbreaking. I love getting the perspective of a gay Native American which we don’t get enough of in American literature. I look forward to reading whatever Staples writes next.▪️
I loved this book. The first half of the book was so compelling and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the relationship between Marion and Shannon. They had a very sexy chemistry and I felt for both of the characters. The mystery was compelling at first, but I lost interest as the story progressed. This felt like two different books melded together. I think it lost some power by changing to the voices and points of view to different characters through the book. I loved the panorama of reservation life that this book presents. Even though I didn’t respond to every part of this book, I loved it and thought it was brilliant. The ending was great. The writing is excellent at times sexy, at others, heartbreaking. I love getting the perspective of a gay Native American which we don’t get enough of in American literature. I look forward to reading whatever Staples writes next.▪️
February 3, 2020
Dennis Staples debut novel about sexuality, spirituality, and community in a Native American community in Minnesota is overflowing with ethereal self-reflection and thoughtfulness.
Marion, a young, gay Obijwe man, has recently returned to the reservation he grew up on. Dealing with the sadness of aging and being alone while gay, he struggles to find peace surrounded by closeted men, Native beliefs, and a new dog. While trying to understand why a closeted man won't love him the way he deserves, Marion stumbles upon a community secret, a ghost from the past trying to communicate with a world that he left behind.
Unfortunately, many of the characters in the story were underdeveloped, making forming a connection with them a challenge. The story, though, is an important one - we need more stories about Native American queer people - and for that reason alone, this book is worth a read.
Marion, a young, gay Obijwe man, has recently returned to the reservation he grew up on. Dealing with the sadness of aging and being alone while gay, he struggles to find peace surrounded by closeted men, Native beliefs, and a new dog. While trying to understand why a closeted man won't love him the way he deserves, Marion stumbles upon a community secret, a ghost from the past trying to communicate with a world that he left behind.
Unfortunately, many of the characters in the story were underdeveloped, making forming a connection with them a challenge. The story, though, is an important one - we need more stories about Native American queer people - and for that reason alone, this book is worth a read.
March 13, 2020
"The world was always leaving Indians in the dust." (145)
Marion is a gay Ojibwe man who lives on the Languille Lake reservation near the town of Geshig where he grew up. He starts hooking up with a former high school football star, a white man named Shannon, who is closeted. The ghost of a dog under a playground merry-go-round appears, stirring up memories of the murder of Kayden Kelliher and the child and life he left behind. The story shifts perspectives through the eyes of multiple characters, but centers on Marion's return to the land where he came of age, and how he comes to understand how it shaped him and where he wants to go.
Marion is a gay Ojibwe man who lives on the Languille Lake reservation near the town of Geshig where he grew up. He starts hooking up with a former high school football star, a white man named Shannon, who is closeted. The ghost of a dog under a playground merry-go-round appears, stirring up memories of the murder of Kayden Kelliher and the child and life he left behind. The story shifts perspectives through the eyes of multiple characters, but centers on Marion's return to the land where he came of age, and how he comes to understand how it shaped him and where he wants to go.
April 16, 2021
3.5/5
One of the nicest things in reading is when one has the opportunity to find a book with good storytelling. This is the case for me and this is the case in this book by Dennis E. Staples.
Marion Lafournier, our main character, is an Ojibwe young man, 23 years old, gay, and always wondering why he returned to Geshig in Minnesota, where he grew up, close to the rez his family comes from. One night, he hooks up with a strange in a deserted place, and to both of the men's surprise that they know each other, having been classmates in high school. At first, Shannon, a closet case from the white part of the town considers himself to be straight, tries to go away, ends up staying. They become lovers. But there is much more to the story, like the lives of some Ojibwe kids and women told sometimes in flashback, sometimes in present time, dogs, and even a ghost dog.
The story is told from both Marion's perspective using the first-person narrative, but also from a third-person perspective when it concerns all the other characters, which makes the development interesting, not to say that one, like me, ends up being pretty sympathetic with Marion, but also with all those strong-tempered women along with the story.
It is also about ghosts, not only of the spiritual kind but also the ghosts we carry along life called fears, disillusions, self-hatred, etc., those that prevent us from evolving satisfactorily. And in this case, they do not only hunt Marion, but also Shannon.
There are some supernatural events throughout the book but isn't it that all religions all over the world are based on them? Why then Ojibwe creeds, as well those of native Indians all over the Americas have to be considered fantasy or magical? I wonder if this isn't a western Christian way of considering things. Well, there are books that use fantasy, and there are also those who use the magic realism formulae, one just has to open some of Gabriel Garcia Marques books to know what it is all about. It is something very different from the Ojibwe creeds we find in this book. Let alone the supernatural in the story is also metaphorical in some ways.
All in all, even though it doesn't go as most people expect when the book is closed, I felt I was in very good hands, thanks to Staples's good storytelling!
One of the nicest things in reading is when one has the opportunity to find a book with good storytelling. This is the case for me and this is the case in this book by Dennis E. Staples.
Marion Lafournier, our main character, is an Ojibwe young man, 23 years old, gay, and always wondering why he returned to Geshig in Minnesota, where he grew up, close to the rez his family comes from. One night, he hooks up with a strange in a deserted place, and to both of the men's surprise that they know each other, having been classmates in high school. At first, Shannon, a closet case from the white part of the town considers himself to be straight, tries to go away, ends up staying. They become lovers. But there is much more to the story, like the lives of some Ojibwe kids and women told sometimes in flashback, sometimes in present time, dogs, and even a ghost dog.
The story is told from both Marion's perspective using the first-person narrative, but also from a third-person perspective when it concerns all the other characters, which makes the development interesting, not to say that one, like me, ends up being pretty sympathetic with Marion, but also with all those strong-tempered women along with the story.
It is also about ghosts, not only of the spiritual kind but also the ghosts we carry along life called fears, disillusions, self-hatred, etc., those that prevent us from evolving satisfactorily. And in this case, they do not only hunt Marion, but also Shannon.
There are some supernatural events throughout the book but isn't it that all religions all over the world are based on them? Why then Ojibwe creeds, as well those of native Indians all over the Americas have to be considered fantasy or magical? I wonder if this isn't a western Christian way of considering things. Well, there are books that use fantasy, and there are also those who use the magic realism formulae, one just has to open some of Gabriel Garcia Marques books to know what it is all about. It is something very different from the Ojibwe creeds we find in this book. Let alone the supernatural in the story is also metaphorical in some ways.
All in all, even though it doesn't go as most people expect when the book is closed, I felt I was in very good hands, thanks to Staples's good storytelling!
November 17, 2020
3.5 Stars
I really liked the central narrative around Marion, and I most enjoyed being in his head. Marion's desires and beliefs were often contradictory, but I think that made him a more relatable perspective to read from. I also thought his family history was really interesting, and I liked how there was an element of mystery surrounding it, especially where the jawbone was concerned. The fantastical elements are incorporated seamlessly, and I enjoyed how ambiguous they were. It didn't matter if the magic in the stories was "real" or not - their effects on the characters were real enough. This isn't the main point of the book, but I did end up learning a lot about Native life in small town and reservation town Northern Minnesota, so that was really nice. This novel did a really good job of showing how first impressions can be deceiving, even when it comes to narratives of our histories that we believe have always been true.
The structure of this novel was really unusual, and I'm not sure I loved it all that much. The rapid switching between perspectives did shed more light on the people and history of Geshig, but while reading I was always impatient to get back to Marion's perspective. For the sake of the story's plot, I get that it was necessary for us to get Kaeden and Jared's backstories, but I wish that could have been done through Marion's perspective instead.
I really liked the central narrative around Marion, and I most enjoyed being in his head. Marion's desires and beliefs were often contradictory, but I think that made him a more relatable perspective to read from. I also thought his family history was really interesting, and I liked how there was an element of mystery surrounding it, especially where the jawbone was concerned. The fantastical elements are incorporated seamlessly, and I enjoyed how ambiguous they were. It didn't matter if the magic in the stories was "real" or not - their effects on the characters were real enough. This isn't the main point of the book, but I did end up learning a lot about Native life in small town and reservation town Northern Minnesota, so that was really nice. This novel did a really good job of showing how first impressions can be deceiving, even when it comes to narratives of our histories that we believe have always been true.
The structure of this novel was really unusual, and I'm not sure I loved it all that much. The rapid switching between perspectives did shed more light on the people and history of Geshig, but while reading I was always impatient to get back to Marion's perspective. For the sake of the story's plot, I get that it was necessary for us to get Kaeden and Jared's backstories, but I wish that could have been done through Marion's perspective instead.
September 12, 2020
This was such a disappointment. I was expecting something completely different instead I was presented with a slow and boring contemporary with uninteresting characters. Definitely not my cup of tea. I give it 2 stars instead of 1 because it wasn't terrible, I just didn't care.
March 9, 2020
I found it a little too disjointed for an audiobook, was often confused at what, when, who and where if I lost one sentence...
May 10, 2020
3.5? Maybe? I don't know how I feel right now ask me in like four days
December 9, 2023
“Spirits can be bitches like that.�
3.5 stars. A beautifully written if sometimes confusingly written piece. I went into this thinking that it would be a mystery, and I guess by some stretch of the imagination and definition you could still call it that? In reality it sits somewhere between literary fiction and magical realism, and follows a young Ojibwe man looking into a murder that happened when he was a child, while he navigates a relationship with a deeply closeted former classmate of his. There are secrets, revelations, and a strange ghost dog. Marion's journey is a really interesting one, and I loved the deep dives into sexuality and culture and family lineage. His dynamic with Shannon is a painful and familiar one, and the writing really shines.
I didn't love all the stylistic decisions and POV decisions. But at the same time, I don't know how else it could have been written. For the most part we're in Marion's first person POV, and sometimes we get glimpses of Shannon's POV, in a searing second person, which was so interesting, and I loved it. But the nature of the story also necessitates us getting chapters and perspectives from a lot of side characters, people in Marion's past, people connected to this mystery, and after a while all of the different POVs made the book feel really cluttered and stifling. Again, I'm not sure how else the author would have achieved what he set out to do, but every time we would veer off into these different directions, I felt like the book lost a lot of its traction. But take that with a grain of salt; maybe this style would work better for others. I did sort of like how this allowed the author to reveal certain things to the reader, independently of Marion, but I have to admit I got lost a couple times.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Kaipo Schwab, and found it really enjoyable, if not the most polished when it came to dialogue and stuff. I liked the paths this took, and it ended in a really apt way. A fascinating, one-of-a-kind read.
April 27, 2024
Tough but dreamy read.
Both POV and content shifts
challenged this white girl.
Both POV and content shifts
challenged this white girl.
April 6, 2020
A cynical Native American man in his twenties, Marion, embarks upon a secret affair with a closeted white man named Shannon. Both live and work near an Ojibwe reservation in Northern Minnesota. One night, Marion's dog leads him to a ghost, and then to the grave of a promising Ojibwe teenager cut down far too early. Thus begins a sprawling, multi-faceted story of family, old legends, and being true to oneself.
The cast of characters is large and, admittedly, demands a lot of attention from the reader. Dennis E. Staples shifts perspectives and time a bit too often for my taste. However, Marion is a sympathetic protagonist who will make the reader root for him. His quest to understand what is going on with the ghost leads him to far more. The Ojibwe community and family legends are vividly drawn.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The cast of characters is large and, admittedly, demands a lot of attention from the reader. Dennis E. Staples shifts perspectives and time a bit too often for my taste. However, Marion is a sympathetic protagonist who will make the reader root for him. His quest to understand what is going on with the ghost leads him to far more. The Ojibwe community and family legends are vividly drawn.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
January 13, 2022
I feel so conflicted on how to rate this book.
The story was bizarre and meandering, and I am still not entirely sure what the plot was actually about. And yet, the atmosphere and characters felt so vibrant and alive that I am not entirely convinced if I took a drive over to North Minnesota I would not find Marion and Basil out for a walk through the woods.
4/5 stars for now I guess, though definitely looking forward to reading what Staples comes up with next.
The story was bizarre and meandering, and I am still not entirely sure what the plot was actually about. And yet, the atmosphere and characters felt so vibrant and alive that I am not entirely convinced if I took a drive over to North Minnesota I would not find Marion and Basil out for a walk through the woods.
4/5 stars for now I guess, though definitely looking forward to reading what Staples comes up with next.
December 19, 2020
dennis staples release the x years later epilogue thanks
Rep: Ojibwe gay mc, gay li, Ojibwe side characters
CWs: violence, murder, implied rape, internalised homophobia
Rep: Ojibwe gay mc, gay li, Ojibwe side characters
CWs: violence, murder, implied rape, internalised homophobia
April 4, 2020
Dennis E Staples� This Town Sleeps was a very readable mid-twenties struggle for meaning for a young Ojibwe man living back in his home town, looking for love with all the wrong dudes, and being led by a Manidoo to solve the murder of a high school basketball player 15 years ago. This book did some things very successfully. It captured a feeling in my 20’s of loneliness and accepting less than I deserved that I didn’t particularly want to revisit, although I appreciated the art in it. It gave the reader a lot of complex characters who were certainly troubled but also certainly lovable. It gave a story that I was invested in. There were some places where the story wasn’t as strong, largely due to the style of the narration I think. This was a debut novel, which was sometimes evident in how much the story jumped around, how lightly heavy topics were touched upon, and how many stories were crammed into one short book with a lot of quick resolutions. @thunderbirdwomanreads and I read this together and I have to say, despite some issues, I read this in three days and enjoyed all of it. I look forward to reading more from Staples in future. Thank you @counterpointpress for the review copy!
December 16, 2021
I didn’t love the experience of reading this book, but I did appreciate the book overall. I’d welcome the opportunity to read more by this author, and I appreciate the ways in which he pondered the experience of Marion’s intersectionality as both a Native American and a gay man and the ways in which the character challenges the limits of his life and pushes and prods perceived boundaries.
June 29, 2022
This Town Sleeps is an atmospheric journey more than it is a mystery. We follow Marion and are introduced to many other characters connected to him trying to learn a truth from his past. I wish the final chapter had focused more on Marion’s voice rather than his white LI Shannon, because I would have preferred Marion’s epiphany over his boyfriend’s. I pretty much devoured this story in two sittings, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author after this solid debut.
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