I'm not sure I can count the times I have read this book. We taught it in Junior English - so for however long that was, I read it every year - or every semester while we were on block schedule. Still, I haven't read it since that phase and that's been probably well over ten years. My sister got a book by Hillerman's daughter which is supposed to be a sequel to this book - and got this one as well because she hadn't read it in quite some time. I figured that a refresher couldn't hurt.
It was well worth the reread. I am definitely going back and reading these consecutively - specifically to watch the characters develop. I can't remember if this is the first one with both Leaphorn and Chee, I think not, but this one seriously develops the relationship between the two of them. We watch both of them struggle through personal crises - Leaphorn mourning the death of his wife, Emma, and Chee realizing that his relationship with Mary Landon, the bilagaana schoolteacher he loves, is doomed. Okay, so Janet Pete is already around, but they aren't (quite) an item yet, even if he does wreck her car for her.
In fact, it is possible that he resurrected the Mary Landon relationship for the purpose of a "literary" parallel - I had thought that the episode of the pregnant cat closed that chapter in Chee's life. And at the moment, I don't remember which book that was. I don't recall ever dealing with this particular parallel between the two when I was using the book for teaching, but it might be beyond the unsubtle mind of the sixteen-year-old reading under compulsion. What's sad is that I was so focused on that level and "what worked last year" that I never really appreciated it myself. I am afraid that that is probably a common thing among teachers, particularly high school teachers who teach the same book(s) year after year - because, after all, they are already on the shelves and it is not easy to persuade those who control the purse strings to loosen them when there are perfectly good "words in a row" sitting there. College instructors have a little more flexibility since students purchase their books.
The working relationship between the two is interesting. At the beginning, when they realize that their individual investigations overlap, they are decidedly leary of each other. Leaphorn considers Chee young, odd, and unpredictable; Chee is uncomfortable with the "legendary" lieutenant and expects him to take over. The pattern of their work is intriguing: each works his own line then they move ahead when they find those lines twisted together. They arrive at the final conclusion each from his own direction and it takes both of them to resolve it satisfactorily. The final acknowledgement of their appreciation of each other is Leaphorn's request that Chee perform Blessing Way for him.
I could go on and on about the significance of that action. Leaphorn accepts the traditional to the extent of seeking this method of cleansing himself of the death that has surrounded him - not just that of the series of murders, but also Emma's. He is moving on with life - and has awknowledged Chee's way as having value. From Chee's perspective, this is the first time that he has actual been contracted to perform a sing. And the fact that it is Leaphorn who has requested it validates his own decisions both as a cop and a singer.
On the other hand, when teaching Hillerman, I worried about reading too much into what was essentially pop fiction. I may be doing that now.
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