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Little Big Man
First published 2000 · 566 pages
A sprawling, tragicomic tall tale that dismantles the mythology of the American West through the eyes of its most resilient, cynical survivor.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting by a campfire listening to the ultimate unreliable narrator spin a yarn that is equal parts hilarious, brutal, and profoundly sad. The narrative meanders through the blood-soaked, dust-choked landscape of the nineteenth-century American West, adopting a picaresque rhythm that swings wildly between slapstick absurdity and devastating tragedy. The prose is steeped in a sharp, colloquial vernacular that brings the frontier to vivid, unromanticized life. It is a deeply satirical experience that strips away the glossy veneer of Western mythology to reveal the chaotic, violent reality underneath. This is a perfect match for readers who appreciate revisionist history, dark humor, and sprawling epics that explore the fluid nature of identity and the tragic costs of manifest destiny.
- Mood
- dust-choked
- absurd
- melancholic
- gritty
- Tone
- satirical
- wry
- irreverent
- tragicomic
- colloquial
- Pace
- meandering
- Themes
- myth of the American West · cultural collision · fluidity of identity · absurdity of history · survival and adaptation
- The writing
- Colloquial and sharply observant, steeped in the rhythmic, vernacular storytelling of a frontier tall tale.
- The arc
- Moves from rollicking, wide-eyed adventure through cynical disillusionment to a poignant, weary reflection on a vanished world.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sprawling picaresque adventures and dark, satirical deconstructions of American mythology.
Content notes
- graphic violence
- historical racism and slurs
- genocide and massacres
- animal cruelty
- sexual content
About the book
Believe it or not, Jack Crabb is 111 years old. He is also the son of two fathers, one white, the other a Cheyenne Indian chief who gave him the name Little Big Man. As a Cheyenne, Crabb feasted on dog, loved four wives, and saw his people butchered by horse-soldiers commanded by Custer. As a white man, he helped hunt the buffalo into extinction, tangled with Wyatt Earp, cheated Wild Bill Hickok--and lived through the showdown that followed. He also survivied the Battle of Little Bighorn, where he fought side by side with Custer himself--even though he'd sworn to kill him. The basis of a popular film, LITTLE BIG MAN, was hailed by "The Nation" as a "seminal event...the most significant cultural and literary trend of the [1960's]."
Description from Open Library.
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