Big Chief
Jon Hickey. Simon & Schuster, $28.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-6680-4646-3
Hickey’s engrossing debut revolves around a tribal power struggle and a young political fixer’s reckoning with his identity. At 30, narrator Mitch Caddo is the youngest-ever operations director for the Passage Rouge Nation of Lake Superior Anishinaabe in Wisconsin. Due to his “white-passing face” and Cornell law degree, Mitch is derided as a “J. Crew Indian,” but his close friendship with tribal president Mack Beck, whom he helped get elected, affords him power and prestige. Now, however, Mack’s facing a tough reelection challenge from opponent Gloria Hawkins, whose campaign levels the same allegations of inaction and mismanagement against Mack that plagued his predecessor, and who happens to be backed by Mack’s adoptive father, Joe. As the campaign’s de facto fixer, Mitch launches a smear offensive against Hawkins, which dredges up evidence that Joe embezzled tribal funds. Though the prose can be clunky (Mack’s face is described as “ursine” six times), there’s a great deal of satisfaction in watching Hickey gradually peel back the layers of Mitch’s ambition, bravado, and questionable ethics to reveal his vulnerabilities, especially as the political machine begins to falter during the increasingly explosive election season. It’s a fresh take on the political novel. Agent: Michelle Brower, Trellis Literary. (Apr.)
Details
Reviewed on: 02/04/2025
Genre: Fiction
Compact Disc - 978-1-7971-8463-0
Downloadable Audio - 978-1-7971-8461-6
Downloadable Audio - 978-1-3985-3772-9
Hardcover - 978-1-3985-3422-3
Hardcover - 320 pages - 978-0-7710-1549-6
Other - 978-1-6680-4647-0
Other - 1 pages - 978-1-6680-4648-7
Paperback - 978-1-3985-3423-0