Growing Up Ethnic: Nationalism and the Bildungsroman in African American and Jewish American Fiction (review)
More problematically, Michael does not address the fact that by choosing Kingsolver, she omits any Native writers from her study of racially-inflected concepts of community. While her discussion of the two novels is interesting, I'm not convinced that these books are so relevant as to merit the total omission of Native writers. Furthermore, Michael sidesteps entirely the possibility of productively discussing how the distinct strain of nationalism and separatism that is discernible in some Native writings might complicate her argument, although I strongly disagree with Michael's starting assertion that Hogan is, if not quite separatist, too negative towards hybridity. Rather than examine two novels by Kingsolver, it might have been interesting to see a comparison that examines how Natives and non-Natives approach issues of community and sovereignty and to offer a Native critique of hybrid communities. Despite its omission of Native writers, Michael's study has much to offer scholars of contemporary American women's fiction as well as scholars of community. Her readings of the novels are richly nuanced and contribute significantly to a body of research that has grown greatly over the last decade. Her analysis of political collectives not divorced from local communities and families that simultaneously retains the significance of individual action and agency is useful and fascinating.