Morgan Talty

Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.
 

In twelve striking, luminescent stories, author Morgan Talty―with searing humor, abiding compassion, and deep insight―breathes life into tales of family and a community as they struggle with a painful past and an uncertain future. A boy unearths a jar that holds an old curse, which sets into motion his family’s unraveling; a man, while trying to swindle some pot from a dealer, discovers a friend passed out in the woods, his hair frozen into the snow; a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s projects the past onto her grandson; and two friends, inspired by Antiques Roadshow, attempt to rob the tribal museum for valuable root clubs. 

A collection that examines the consequences and merits of inheritance, Night of the Living Rez is an unforgettable portrayal of an Indigenous community and marks the arrival of a standout talent in contemporary fiction.

Night of the Living Rez

Shona Tiger

This first appeared in The Sunday Long Read, July 17, 2022—Issue 350.

I went into this book with very few expectations, and am happy to report that this is one of the best books I have read so far this year. 


In a series of stories, Morgan Talty introduces us to life on a Penobscot Nation reservation, through the life of David, the central character, and his family—his mother, sister, grandmother, mother’s partner, and somewhat estranged father— and friends, including Fellis, who has a profound influence on David. David’s life is shared in a series of non-chronological vignettes: while looking for a lost toy below his family home, he finds a jar that contains bad medicine, which seems to set off a cascade of calamity for him and his family. He has to deal with his grandmother and her advancing Alzheimer’s; he becomes increasingly muddled in his life and mind, partly due to drug use; his sister gradually falls apart.


Throughout the book, it is clear that although individual choices and mistakes are being made, they happen within a context. David’s family life is ruptured by tragedy, both the slow-moving and the sudden kind; and the book is also, indirectly, about the profound loss and heartbreak of the greater community. An event in the book is shown from the perspective of David and his friends, and then later from the perspective of the (white) community outside and the media’s narrative, to great effect. The use of methadone to “treat” members of the community is interrogated. A film crew making a documentary on the reservation are shown for the interlopers they are. In another story, David asks how objects made by the community are worth so much more than the people making them.


I found this a very thoughtful and incisive book, and if you enjoy literary and topical fiction, this will be for you. 


Morgan Talty is a citizen of the Penobscot Indian Nation, and an award-winning writer.

Cindy Lieberman

Slices of life on and around the Rez where people have enemies and are, at times, their own worst enemies. A lot of drug use, idleness, unhealthy relationships. Tribal traditions vs local government. Generally depressing stories about prejudice and oppression and how it affects a community.

Night of the Living Rez

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