Winter Counts (Weiden)

Winter Counts 
David Heska Hanbli Weiden, 2020
HarperCollins
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062968944


Summary
A groundbreaking thriller about a vigilante on a Native American reservation who embarks on a dangerous mission to track down the source of a heroin influx.

Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

When justice is denied by the American legal system or the tribal council, Virgil is hired to deliver his own punishment, the kind that’s hard to forget.

But when heroin makes its way into the reservation and finds Virgil’s nephew, his vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop.

They follow a lead to Denver and find that drug cartels are rapidly expanding and forming new and terrifying alliances. And back on the reservation, a new tribal council initiative raises uncomfortable questions about money and power.

As Virgil starts to link the pieces together, he must face his own demons and reclaim his Native identity. He realizes that being a Native American in the twenty-first century comes at an incredible cost.

Winter Counts is a tour-de-force of crime fiction, a bracingly honest look at a long-ignored part of American life, and a twisting, turning story that’s as deeply rendered as it is thrilling. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
David Heska Wanbli Weiden is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts. He's a MacDowell Colony Fellow, a Tin House Scholar, and the recipient of the PEN America Writing for Justice Fellowship. A lawyer and professor, he lives in Denver, Colorado, with his family. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Weiden is from a branch of the Lakota tribe himself, and his book relies on deep research into its history and traditions. Winter Counts is written with a light touch and a good deal of humor and sobering truths about Native American life.
Sarah Lyall - New York Times Book Review


You can zip through Winter Counts for the fast-paced thrills or the chance to learn about native culture, but slow down to enjoy the beauty of Weiden’s writing.
Washington Post


Winter Counts is a once-in-a-generation thriller, an unforgettable debut set in and around South Dakota’s Rosebud Indian Reservation that brims with complex characters, believable conflicts and an urgent message about Native culture, inequities and criminal justice.… Propulsive.
Los Angeles Times


[V]ivid and convincingly rendered… with fresh insight into the durable charms of the whodunit…. And while some readers may correctly suspect who the true bad guy is long before the reveal, there is plenty to enjoy in the journey to the novel’s satisfying conclusion…. [A] compelling read and an insightful perspective on identity and power in America.
USA Today


(Starred review) [G]orgeous…. The novel twists delicately around various personal conflicts while artfully addressing issues related to the politics of the reservation. Weiden combines funny, complex, and unforgettable characters with strong, poetic prose. This is crime fiction at its best.
Publishers Weekly


Weiden’s series launch sheds much-needed light on the legal and societal barriers facing Native Americans while also delivering a suspenseful thriller that builds to a bloody climax. A worthy addition to the burgeoning canon of indigenous literature. —Michael Pucci, South Orange P.L., NJ
Library Journal


[An] engrossing, and culturally revelatory debut crime novel…. Suspenseful, gritty, gruffly endearing, and resonant, Weiden’s thriller, with its illumination of Lakota spiritual traditions and hopes raised for Virgil’s evolution from thug to sleuth, launches a promising and meaningful series.
Booklist


Key characters have a way of fading from view, and things get talky just when the action is picking up.…Weiden is at his best allowing Native culture to curl naturally around the mystery plot.… A solid if inconsistent crime novel.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. What did you think about the setting of the book—the Rosebud Indian Reservation? If you’ve never visited a Native reservation, were you surprised by anything described in the book about reservation life?

2. What did you think about the main character, Virgil Wounded Horse? Did you like or dislike him? Did that change as you read further in the book?

3. Who was your favorite character in Winter Counts? Did you dislike any of the characters?

4. What are your feelings about the criminal justice system on reservations? Do you think the U.S. government should change the laws that prevent Native nations from prosecuting felony crimes that occur on their own lands?

5. At times, Virgil is troubled by his role as a hired enforcer. What are your thoughts about this issue? Is Virgil serving or harming justice?

6. There are other social issues discussed in Winter Counts: the problematic health care system on reservations and the lack of healthy food options. What do you think about these issues?

7. How did you feel about the relationship between Virgil and Marie? How about Virgil and his nephew Nathan? How do these relationships change over the course of the novel?

8. How do you feel about the conclusion of the novel? Were you satisfied with the ending? If not, what would you have changed?

9. Did anything surprise you in the book? What did you like most about the novel? What were your favorite scenes from the book?

10. If Winter Counts were turned into a television series or a film, which actors would you like to play Virgil and Marie? How about Nathan and Tommy?

11. What aspect of Native American life would you like to learn more about?
(Questions from the author's website.)

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