Mean Spirit
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Linda Hogan |
| Products | Murder mystery novel |
Mean Spirit is a murder mystery novel inspired by the Osage murders that occurred in the Osage Indian Territory of Oklahoma during the 1920s. This work marks the first novel by Chickasaw writer Linda Hogan and was a contender for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1991.
Plot
During the 1920s in Oklahoma, the discovery of oil on Osage Indian land brings significant wealth to the native community, but also leads to devastating consequences. The Osage people experience cultural erosion and become targets as white individuals marry into their tribe. Several affluent Osage members begin to die under mysterious illnesses or suspicious accidents.
The narrative follows Nola Blanket, an Osage girl who witnesses her mother’s murder. She is taken in by her cousins, the Greycloud family, who strive to shield her as more Osage individuals perish under questionable circumstances. Efforts to achieve justice are hindered by law enforcement and judicial authorities. Stace Red Hawk, a Lakota Sioux agent with the early U.S. Bureau of Investigation, arrives to conduct an inquiry. Throughout these challenges, Nola and others resist avarice and seek to restore their connection with their ancestral land.
Reception
The Literary Guild praised Mean Spirit as "extraordinary... If you read no other novel this year or next, this one will suffice to captivate, challenge, educate, and inspire you." The novel was also shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1991.
Barbara Kingsolver, writing for the LA Times, characterized it as "unrelentingly sorrowful" yet populated with authentic, multifaceted characters. She commended Hogan for fostering empathy and transforming a large-scale tragedy into a profoundly personal tale.
See also
Sources
- Warrior, Robert Allen, and Dennis Mcauliffe. Vol. 11, no. 1, 1995, pp. 52–55., doi:10.2307/1409043. Accessed 10 May 2019.