BRIGHT SUNSET: The Story of an Indian Girl

Bright Sunset's certainty that she will never be bold enough to perform the ceremonial dance required of girls at puberty, and her concern that she won't be brave enough to face the night alone on the owl-haunted mountain top that is offered as an alternative task, constitutes the only semblance of plot to tie together these fifteen episodes depicting the everyday life of an Indian gift of ten or eleven. The chapters, based on the childhood reminiscences of an Indian woman (her tribe is never specified) who told stories at Lassen Volcanic National Park, reads more like occasions contrived by the white author to illustrate Indian customs and lifestyles. Readers might be able to summon some interest in the details of family life and food preparation, but they won't feel compelled to share Bright Sunset's apprehension about going up the mountain or her relief on discovering -- when she makes a trial run a year or more ahead of time -- that owls are only birds who cannot harm or frighten her.