The Ancient Child
by N. Scott Momaday

HarperCollins (New York): September 1990. Trade paperback: xvi, 316 pages. ISBN-10: 0-06-097345-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-06-097345-2 Suggested retail price: $13.50 (US) Tags: Mainstream; Native Americans Tactical strength: [6/10]

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In The Ancient Child, Momaday again presents writing of the same caliber that won him the Pulitzer prize. Although Momaday demonstrates beautiful exposition, the text addresses problems relevant only to Native Americans.

As I see it, the text shows how the life of Locke Setman is changed because he was destined by his heritage to be the next Set -- the "mythic embodiment of wilderness" for the Kiowa tribe. Locke does question himself and his destiny, but the solution for him has no application to those who are not descendants of the Set's. The text makes a a good examination of the transformation/maturation of the two main characters, but beyond being a description of this one individual at this particular time, there is little that I found I cared about at the end of the book.

Momaday took Locke's mental breakdown too far. Locke spends six weeks in an institution, and Momaday covers this time with just two pages. I don't feel that Momaday has adequately shown that Locke was that unstable, and institutionalization seemed to serve as a clichéd representation of a man who had reached his lowest point. Locke's transformation would have been just as meaningful without having been institutionalized. The whole scene was reminiscent of the breakdown of the main character in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.