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When My Brother Was an Aztec

af Natalie Diaz

Medlemmer	Anmeldelser	Popularitet	Gennemsnitlig vurdering	Omtaler
273	10	97,109	(4.21)	27
Fiction. Poetry. HTML: A fast-paced debut that draws upon reservation folklore, pop culture, fractured gospels, and her brother's addiction to methamphetamine\| "I write hungry sentences," Natalie Diaz once explained in an interview, "because they want more and more lyricism and imagery to satisfy them." This debut collection is a fast-paced tour of Mojave life and family narrative: A sister fights for or against a brother on meth, and everyone from Antigone, Houdini, Huitzilopochtli, and Jesus is invoked and invited to hash it out. These darkly humorous poems illuminate far corners of the heart, revealing teeth, tails, and more than a few dreams. I watched a lion eat a man like a piece of fruit, peel tendons from fascia like pith from rind, then lick the sweet meat from its hard core of bones. The man had earned this feast and his own deliciousness by ringing a stick against the lion's cage, calling out Here, Kitty Kitty, Meow! With one swipe of a paw much like a catcher's mitt with fangs, the lion pulled the man into the cage, rattling his skeleton against the metal bars. The lion didn't want to do it�?? He didn't want to eat the man like a piece of fruit and he told the crowd this: I only wanted some goddamn sleep . . . Natalie Diaz was born and raised on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation in Needles, California. After playing professional basketball for four years in Europe and Asia, Diaz returned to the states to complete her MFA at Old Dominion University. She lives in Surprise, Arizona, and is working to preserve the Mojave language.… (mere)

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Viser 1-5 af 10 (næste | vis alle)

A rich and delicious collection, unafraid to get uncomfortable or strange or painful, but attuned to the beauty and humor in such discomfort, absurdity, pain. (

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localgayangel | Mar 5, 2024 |

Excellent, just excellent. Couldn't have chosen a better 1,000th listing.
(

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Kiramke | Jun 27, 2023 |

Like Diaz's more recent collection, this one also focuses on being Native, her brother and his addiction, and love. More of this collection focuses on her brother. Her and especially her parents' fear, frustration, and helplessness with the situation is palpable and heartbreaking. (

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Dreesie | Feb 9, 2021 |

When My Brother Was An Aztec/he lived in our basement and sacrificed my parents/every morning. It was awful.

Natalie Diaz’s When My Brother Was An Aztec is a legit masterpiece. Go read it, now. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Books of poetry are sometimes navel-gazing, self-absorbed bores but this one is simply amazing. I slurped it down in two short commutes and a stolen hour in a cafe after work because these poems are absolutely mesmerizing. I can’t praise them highly enough.

I love writing that makes me feel like I’ve stepped into another life for a moment and these poems belong to a life heavily lived. There’s such a strong sense of place, character and narrative here, based in Diaz’ Mojave heritage and personal family challenges–specifically her brother’s cycles of addiction and the difficulties that creates within the family. The language, English seasoned liberally with Spanish and Mojave, is absolutely gorgeous. I alternated between being near-tears and making a stank face and saying “Girl you wrote this!” in my head.

I think what I love most about this collection is that there is a balance between the beauty of the language, the technical precision of the craft, and a sense of narrative that places its poems solidly within a very real life and emotions. It reminded me a lot of Yrsa Daley-Ward’s bone or Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous–like those books, Diaz’s collection is really in a class of its own.

This was one of my favorite reads of 2019, and I can’t recommend it enough. *whew* 5 out of 5 stars. .

If you liked this review, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or check out my blog. Peace, fellow readers!

EQReader | Dec 1, 2020 |

What I enjoyed most about this collection is Díaz's ability to imbue the mythic onto the realism of her poetry. This amplifies the power of the imagery of the poems, many unrelenting in their bleak assessments of interpersonal relationships. In particular, "No More Cake Here," is a poem steeped in ritual, while also being a black comedy in which life turns more tragic than death.

b.masonjudy | Apr 3, 2020 |

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American Book Award (2013)

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Natalie Diaz

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Fiction. Poetry. HTML:

A fast-paced debut that draws upon reservation folklore, pop culture, fractured gospels, and her brother's addiction to methamphetamine|

"I write hungry sentences," Natalie Diaz once explained in an interview, "because they want more and more lyricism and imagery to satisfy them." This debut collection is a fast-paced tour of Mojave life and family narrative: A sister fights for or against a brother on meth, and everyone from Antigone, Houdini, Huitzilopochtli, and Jesus is invoked and invited to hash it out. These darkly humorous poems illuminate far corners of the heart, revealing teeth, tails, and more than a few dreams.

I watched a lion eat a man like a piece of fruit, peel tendons from fascia
like pith from rind, then lick the sweet meat from its hard core of bones.
The man had earned this feast and his own deliciousness by ringing a stick
against the lion's cage, calling out Here, Kitty Kitty, Meow!

With one swipe of a paw much like a catcher's mitt with fangs, the lion
pulled the man into the cage, rattling his skeleton against the metal bars.

The lion didn't want to do it�??
He didn't want to eat the man like a piece of fruit and he told the crowd
this: I only wanted some goddamn sleep . . .

Natalie Diaz was born and raised on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation in Needles, California. After playing professional basketball for four years in Europe and Asia, Diaz returned to the states to complete her MFA at Old Dominion University. She lives in Surprise, Arizona, and is working to preserve the Mojave language.

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