Ceremony: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

This is a wonderful book. It is a classic tale of Native American culture and New Mexico. The story unfolds on many levels. It follows the journey of a WWII veteran’s journey to recover from traumatic wartime experiences, what is know today as PTSD. On another level the book describes the impact of modern culture on traditional Native American values and lifestyle. Finally, the author provides a glimpse into Native American mythology and creation legends. In a unique touch, Silko intersperses the text with poetic fragments of creation stories to beautiful effect. I have lived in New Mexico for five decades and it is a remarkable place. The author vividly describes the natural world of the Land of Enchantment. This is not a light hearted story, there are tragic incidents and heart wrenching descriptions of the dismal conditions of some native people. However when I finished this book I felt that I had a much better understanding of New Mexico and its people. You may never get to visit this wonderful place but after you finish this book you will know a little about it.

Tayo is a wonderful, angsty character who is trying to reintegrate into Laguna reservation life after the trauma of WWII. I especially appreciate the poems telling origin stories & traditional stories interspersed throughout out the novel.

"She taught me this above all else: things which don't shift and grow are dead things."That has been around for four decades and speaks a deeper truth to our culture than almost all other texts is worthy of recognition, which Silko's novel has undoubtedly received. It is not only that Silko creates a vivid, substantive depiction of her main character--Tayo, an army veteran returning to his reservation but not finding open arms--but that she shines and refracts a light through this character to expose simultaneously the beauties and flaws of the surrounding world, particularly the larger white culture that has perniciously tainted much of the good.Getting to these truths, though, is a struggle--and I have a feeling this book will take several readings to fully digest. It has little semblance of plot, and at times you will feel lost reading it (much like the protagonist does). I would much rather have read this book with a professor guiding my thinking, or at least I should say that it would have been a much more accessible experience. But the inaccessibility probably says just as much about me and my own mindset as a reader than the text itself, and that is the beauty of Ceremony: it lends a mirror that is insightful--and incisive--no matter the context.Worth the struggle, I am 99% sure.

In Leslie Marmon Silko's novel Ceremony, originally published in 1977, the protagonist, Tayo is a World War II veteran who has returned to his Laguna Pueblo with what is today called post-traumatic stress syndrome. He has great difficulty integrating all he has seen in war with his former life. After little progress with the veteran's doctors, Tayo sees the medicine man Ku'oosh and through a prolonged ceremony he is able to regain some normalcy. Part of the telling of Tayo's story involves weaving the ancient tales of Ts'its'tsi'nako, Thought-Woman, the spider, Hummingbird, and Fly among others. Another part of Tayo's ceremony involves retrieving his late uncle's Mexican cattle that have wandered and have been stolen by a white rancher. Tayo's healing involves the protection of story to restore balance.In Tayo's search for, and finding the obstinate cattle, and bringing them back to their rightful home, he, like Hummingbird and Fly, bring the difficult to obtain tobacco so that the town can be purified in all four cardinal directions. Silko's telling is also a restoration of the earth, for when Tayo returns to his tribal land he finds it dry, barren, abused by mining, and atomic testing. The ceremony is both story and action; it is the weaving together that heals the land for there can be no action to find balance if the story does not work the magic to trap us in its web and move us to act.A web is strong, yet extremely delicate and fragile. A web is a trap, a nest, and a home. The weaving of a web is also like fate, and like the weaving of our stories. We are woven into a life of connections of multiple directions and depths. Like the light of the sun, we are entangled in roots, branches, and enmeshed in the filaments of the web. We can honor the stories, and the voices; we can walk, write, and dream ourselves back into the land.Like a web, a story is fragile. It must be held in reverence; its delicate thin silk, a quivering voice hanging for those who might appreciate its workmanship, its effort, and not break through unawares. The web is its own story. One connected to the spider, the earth, and the viewer who stops, with care, with patience and love to hear what is to be told. Silko's Ceremony, at times a difficult wandering story, like the wayward cattle, and Tayo himself, is also a web of good medicine, and well worth the ceremonial hogan story time. As old Ku'oosh said, "the story behind each word must be told so there could be no mistake in the meaning of what had been said; and this demanded great patience and love."Review by Carla M Paton

Good book about retrurning damaged veterans from World War 2 in the Pacific who were native american indians. It is about the power of native american culture and ancient traditions helping native american veterans returning form the Pacific to cope with mental illness, depression and post traumatic stress. It ia also a severe indictment of the way Native American Indians have been treated in the USA and the alchoholism and discrimination that they suffer from. It is a beautifully written book with large elements of poetry and the imaginative use of language and words. A difficult book to read with many levels and depth and considered to be one of the greatest novels written by a Native American author. Not an easy read but well worth the effort.

I loved this book and the central character, Tao, who is the product of a very mixed race background with his "light brown skin and hazel eyes". It lets you enter his world as he returns shattered by the experience of war. While he fights in an American Uniform he is a hero but on returning home without his army dress he is again a non-person. He suffers post-war traumatic stress but there is little or no help for him. He goes to his own native indian ancestors for help in overcoming his problems by their constant telling of native stories and remedies.The book is divided not by formal chapters but poems and wonderful prose passages which are a joy to read. I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.Christine Harris

At its simplest this is a tale about a young native American survivor of a Japanese death march being cured of his post-traumatic stress by an extended healing ceremony, which puts him back in touch with his roots. But it is more than that: Tayo's healing is in some ways a more general healing, his ceremony part of a wider ceremony for his people.I loved this book. It is a fine example of magic realism addressing real issues in a profound way and this is something I look for in a book.

I read this on my 2nd year uni course as part of an "Introduction to American Literature" course. I absolutely love this book as it is written in such a unique way that combines narrative with poetry and older myths. I had never read anything quite like and there is definitely something for everyone in this story.

The story is an interesting tale of Tayo's journey to reconnect with his Native American ancestry after experiencing the trauma of war, however the poem structure that runs throughout the text makes it difficult to follow. A challenging read.