My Good Man
It’s a rare book that can make the tried-and-true genre of the coming-of-age story seem novel. There are the standard markers of the hero’s journey - the trials, the dark night of the soul, the lesson learned. From Printz honor author Eric Gansworth comes My Good Man, a literary tour-de-force sure to turn the genre on its head.
Brian, a 20-something reporter on the Niagara Cascade’s City Desk, is navigating life as the only Indigenous writer in the newsroom, being lumped into reporting on stereotypical stories that homogenize his community, the nearby Tuscarora reservation. But when a mysterious roadside assault lands Tim, the brother of Brian’s mother’s late boyfriend in the hospital, Brian must pick up the threads of a life that he’s abandoned.
The resulting narrative takes us through Brian’s childhood and slice of life stories on the reservation, in Gansworth’s signature blend of crystal sharp, heartfelt literary realist prose.
But perhaps more importantly, it takes us through Brian’s attempt to balance himself between Haudenosaunee and American life, between the version of his story that would prize the individual over all else and the version of himself that depends on the entire community’s survival.
Type: Young Adult Novel
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Publication: November 01, 2022
ISBN: 978-164614-183-8
Praise
BEST OF THE YEAR
Kirkus • Boston Globe
★ “Heartfelt. Lush. Perceptive. Gansworth candidly offers a complex look at Brian’s efforts to cultivate his own sense of self while navigating two seemingly separate identities: his life growing up in Tuscarora and his life after leaving the reservation.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
★ “A masterwork of historical fiction. Rich, luxuriant, densely layered prose immerses readers in heartbreaking scenes and poignant dialogue as complex characters explore the confines and joys of male friendship. Riveting, timeless, and indispensable.”
—Kirkus (starred)
★ “A novel about strong medicines and powerful treaties.”
—BCCB (starred)
“A sprawling work, part commentary and chorus, part excavation of generational trauma, circling back and starting over as his protagonist stumbles toward adulthood. Gansworth drops gems of sharp dialogue as his story lurches toward big truths.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A triumph of storytelling.”
—Buffalo News
About Eric Gansworth
Eric Gansworth, Sˑha-weñ na-saeˀ, (Onondaga, Eel Clan) is a writer and visual artist, born and raised at Tuscarora Nation. He’s been widely published and has had numerous solo and group exhibitions. Lowery Writer-in-Residence at Canisius College, he has also been an NEH Distinguished Visiting Professor at Colgate University. His work has received a Printz Honor Award, was Longlisted for the National Book Award and has received an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award, PEN Oakland Award and American Book Award. Gansworth’s work has also been supported by the Library of Congress, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Arne Nixon Center, the Saltonstall and Lannan Foundations.
