Ceremony, the first novel by Native American author Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo), was met with substantial critical acclaim when published by Viking Press in 1977. Frank MacShane, in the New York Times Book Review, called it “one of the most realized works of fiction devoted to Indian life that has been written in this country” (15), whilst Native American scholar and author Simon Ortiz (Acoma) argues that it is a “special and most complete example” of “affirmation and what it means in terms of Indian resistance”, a novel which addresses the “very process by which story, whether in oral or written form, substantiates life, continues it, creates it” (11).

A circular narrative with the …

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Citation: Finnie, Graeme. "Ceremony". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 May 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6152, accessed 07 October 2024.]

6152 Ceremony 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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