‘I knew and felt for these people. Wanted to and knew I couldn’t help them, even as they did me. There is so much brutal, raw, and beautiful power in these stories. I kept wanting to read and know more about these peoples’ lives, how they ended up where they ended up, how they would get out, how they wouldn’t. It is difficult to be so honest, and funny, and sad, at once, in any kind of work. Reading this book, I literally laughed and cried.’
Tommy Orange, author of There There
‘Morgan Talty's Night of the Living Rez is a beautifully crafted, raw and intimate book about youth, friendship, and family on the reservation. These stories are profoundly moving and essential, rendered with precision and intimacy. Talty is a powerful new voice in Native American fiction.’
Brandon Hobson, National Book Award finalist and author of The Removed
‘I am not predicting literary success for Morgan Talty, I am guaranteeing it. He is a fascinating and powerful and singular writer.’
Rick Bass, author of For a Little While
‘I loved these sharply atmospheric, daring, and intensely moving stories, each one dense with peril and tenderness. Morgan Talty is a thrilling new talent.’
Laura van den Berg, author of I Hold a Wolf by the Ears
‘Night of the Living Rez is true storytelling. It’s a book so funny, so real, so spirited and vivid it brought me back to my own rez life and the people who made me.’
Terese Marie Mailhot, author of Heart Berries
‘Talty … inscribes his characters’ inner landscapes with the violence enacted upon their exterior landscapes, showing how difficult it is for them to flourish in such an environment … There’s a restrained tenderness in Talty’s writing, and in how his characters show compassion … Instead of relying on harmful tropes, Talty restyles them again and again, holding cultural assumptions up to a light box, then turning out the light.’
Kerry Arsenault, The New York Review of Books
‘Woven together with the care and intimacy of a family heirloom.’
Chicago Review of Books
‘Discerning, masterful … Haunting details capture the restlessness of David’s world … Night of the Living Rez is bleak and raw in depicting David’s experiences — but his brilliant, chiseled stories still demand attention, demonstrating the urgency of telling the truth.’
Foreword Reviews, starred review
‘Talty is adept at unearthing his characters’ emotions … these stories reveal the hardships facing a young Native American in contemporary America.’
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
‘What’s so impressive in this story collection — and ultimately what imbues the work with such poignancy — is Talty’s restraint, his refusal to opt for sensationalism over authenticity. There’s a graceful interplay between his stories here, with portraits of pronounced family tragedy bleeding beautifully into those of gentle childhood hijinks.’
Luke Gorham, Library Journal
‘The dozen stories of Morgan Talty’s vivid debut collection, Night of the Living Rez, certainly stand alone … To discover all 12 together, however, becomes a richly enhanced experience, their intertwining links creating a more sustained, rewarding read … Through David’s maturing eyes, Talty illuminates his narratives with empathy, vulnerability and, occasionally, unexpected humour … Strikingly successful.’
Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness
‘Smart and gritty … Talty brings an abundance of love and skill to his accounts of troubled lives. The ingenious structure and heartbreaking stories make this unforgettable.’
Publishers Weekly, starred review
‘A blazing new talent.’
Oprah Daily
‘Although each of the 12 linked tales in Morgan Talty’s debut collection captures a particular moment, relationship or experience, together they give Night of the Living Rez the heft, movement and complexity of a novel.’
Laura Sackton, BookPage
‘Unearths grace amid strife … Talty, with his ear for natural, almost musical dialogue, compels you to keep listening.’
Vulture
‘Emotionally pitch-perfect, immersive, and beautifully nuanced, Talty has gifted readers with a stunning debut that shows the interconnectedness of family, community, and ultimately who we are and what we can become … devastating, satisfying, and heart-stopping.’
Shondaland
