"The Turquoise Ledge" by Leslie Marmon Silko
#lesliemarmonsilko has been in my top 5 writers since "Ceremony" summarily flattened, awed, & convinced me to read everything I could get my hands on by her.
"Almanac of the Dead" proceeded to raise & demolish the bar, an opus-level, masterfully-composed, & poetry-infused nightmare almost incomparable to anything else I've read, twisting several knives for how well-grounded, historical, & long-standing its scope & depictions are in reality, & sadly continue to be. I don't think Bolaño's "2666" comes w/out it as a predecessor, & I can't give much stronger encouragement for people to read it than that, except to repeat that yes, please, go read it, everybody.
"Storyteller" demonstrates variety in abundance on Silko's part, taking a direction that delves into her personal background & remarkable character sketches, anedcotes, & riffs on photos she shares from her family history, another gem.
"The Turquoise Ledge: A Memoir" comes on like a diary freely shared & readily inhaled here, a delight to see as a talent on her level speaks to daily life at her home in the Sonoran desert, involving everything from waxing on dreams, her personal genealogy, local geology, heated frustrations w/ the indignities she witnesses to the land, & candid, fascinating bouts of painting she feels directed by extra-terrestrial and/or -spiritual and/or -dimensional beings.
There’s much, much more to “Ledge” than this, & to be plotless is no sin in my book, especially in a memoir by one of the best writers, of any age, in any medium, though occasional dips in structure & digressions that feel more than random can bend engagement.
Even so, these spots get more than redeemed by Silko’s generous helpings of sheer beauty, despair, shock, confession, hope, & joy, all making this a true gift for readers who love what she does.
“Ledge” is more than effective in bringing Silko’s artistry & character closer to us in ways braver than most seem willing to present to their readers, all with the caveat that it's relatively easy to lay everything out there, plenty do, but only one person we have can do it with the virtuosity & power we, w/ my deepest gratitude, have in Silko.