Nasdijj

For just two bucks at a library sale, this book was a damn good deal. Despite the rather unwieldy title of THE BLOOD RUNS LIKE A RIVER THROUGH MY DREAMS (2000), the prose between the covers reads like music, like poetry. I had never heard of this author, Nasdijj, who claims to be a half-breed, or a 'mongrel,' son of a white cowboy father and a Navajo mother, who grew up all over the country, as his parents worked as migrant workers, following the harvests around the country. He tells us he was born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), and was beaten, neglected and abused by his parents, both alcoholics.

His story is presented as a non-chronological collection of essays, beginning with the moving story of his own son, an adopted FAS baby who succumbed to a fatal seizure at six. He moves on to stories of his own troubled childhood and adolescence, as well as his adult wanderings, a failed marriage, various short-lived jobs and spells of homelessness, leavened with tales of the various characters who pass in and our of his life. There are stories of Sings, Dances and Pow wows attended with his mother's people, often featuring images and visions of wild, runaway horses. In general, the writing is ethereal and beautiful, which pulled me along, savoring its music. But I was also puzzled by it, given that the author admits to struggling with both reading and writing his whole life, due to his background of FAS. And he also tells us he had always wanted to be a writer, and that many of his jobs had been with small newspapers, and he occasionally sold some pieces for publication.

So here's the kicker. After finishing this beautiful little book, just for grins I googled Nasdijj. Turns out he's a fraud. Not a Navajo. Not even half. His name is Tim Burrus and he grew up in Lansing, Michigan, with normal middle-class parents, and attended public schools there. So this 'memoir' is mostly fiction. But he got away with his Nasdijj gig for several years, winning numerous awards and accolades and writing two sequels to this book before he was found out and exposed. Remember that Frey guy whose 'memoir' fooled even Oprah? Yeah. Like that. Theres more to Burrus's story, but it's nor relevant, at least to me. Because I still think this is a beautiful book. So he made stuff up. So he lied. This guy can WRITE! My five-star rating stands. Great story.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (mehr)