Green Grass, Running Water (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas King
- First Published: 1993
- Type of Plot: Social criticism
- Time of Work: The 1960’s to the 1980’s
- Setting: Blossom, Alberta, Canada
- Principal Characters: Lionel Red Dog, Charlie Looking Bear, Alberta Frank, Norma, Eli Stands Alone, Karen, Bill Bursum, Latisha, Coyote, Robinson Crusoe, Ishmael, The Lone Ranger, Hawkeye, Dr. Hovaugh, Babo
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: Creation myth, Mythology or myths, Twentieth century, Mental illness, Native Americans or American Indians, Legends, Folklore, Canada or Canadians, Rites or ceremonies, Dams or reservoirs
- Locales: Canada, Alberta, Canada
The Novel
In Green Grass, Running Water, the line between reality and fantasy is blurred. The novel opens and closes with short sections devoted to Coyote, the trickster, who accounts for many of the book’s inexplicable incidents.
The story then turns briefly to four characters—Robinson Crusoe, Ishmael, the Lone Ranger, and Hawkeye—all presumably Blackfoot Indians who have escaped from the mental institution in which they were confined. Their mission, with the help of Coyote, is to fix the world. These five add considerable humor to the story, but they may...
[The entire page is 2646 words long]
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