All I See Is Violence by Angie Elita Newell
All I See is Violence releases January 16th, 2024.
Aptly named.
The novel follows the lives of Nancy and Little Wolf, 2 Sioux women of the same bloodline, past and present, as well as the pov of General Custer. All I See Is Violence is a historical fiction novel that lays bare a violent chapter in the history of the Sioux peoples, and of Indigenous history in North America/Turtle Island.
Broken treaties, dehumanization, forced displacement and brutal violence features prominently in this novel - past and present. The impact of the multiple narrators really drives home the point that those same attitudes didn’t fade away with new legislation.
I found it really shocking to read how bluntly the dialogue was written in regards to the blatant racism and intent of genocide. The novel forces you to reconcile that feeling with the knowledge that many of these disgusting comments are actually historically accurate. It’s shocking, and yes it’s fiction, but only slightly. It’s not a radical re-telling of history, it’s a humanizing novel to counter the Eurocentric histories that we have internalized even today.
All I See Is Violence is a beautiful story about motherhood, strength, power, and intergenerational pain. It’s blunt and brutal and full of love all at the same time.
There is so much power in this novel, and it will read so differently depending on your own positioning. For me, it boldly challenges the idea of “that’s just how things were done back then.” Violence was wrong then, just as it is wrong now. We look back and pretend as if people were unaware. It takes clear intention to cause the harm that Indigenous communities are still healing today. We knew better then, and we know better now.
📚 Publication date: January 16th, 2024
Are you adding this one to your tbr?
Reading Journal Questions
Do you know who General Custer is? Do some quick research if not.
Why is it important to space the story across two different timelines?
At what points in the novel did you feel the strongest connection between the two female characters? How did Newell's writing bring them together?
What do you know about the specific history of the land you live on?
This will be different for every reader - how did the emphasis on their interracial relationship feel to you?
