Rating: 
Summary: Writing at its Best
Review: Momaday's first of two novels (so far!) shows any aspiring writer what to aim for. From his opening page to the last, we are treated with an amalgamation of myth, landscape, character and plot, clearly showing how 'author as mythmaker' can be accomplished without being ovedone. I have read this book several times and cannot get over how the land becomes more than setting; it becomes character. The intimate relationship that Momaday has with the southwest is obvious here, and should be a lesson to others who dare write about such sacred places in more superficial ways. Momaday is one of the countries leading writers, the first American Indian to win the Pulitzer prize, and a brilliant scholar. Anyone who has difficulty reading this book, as stated in other reviews here, clearly needs to reassess what one wants from literary fiction. This is not beach literature; he wants you to think and learn, besides understand. His novel structure is fantastic and asks the reader to go back, reread and comprehend. His descriptions of landscapes alone are worthy of many readings of this terrific novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Flowing like a river...
Review: Momadays' novel is often complex and overlapping, like waves upon a shoreline. The narrative jumps from one mild plot point to the next, eventually converging into the great sea of one man's restless existence as both a modern man and a tradition-bound Indian. Overall, it is a book which leaves impressions rather than coming out and whacking one in the head with statements.
Rating: 
Summary: for an experenced reader
Review: most multicultural books are hard to understand because of the amount of symbolizm but in the book. I found this once to be espetially hard. Because not only do you have the symbolizm but you have it told to you in the form of visions and dreams. Over all I enjoyed the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Severe
Review: N. Scott Momaday is one of my favorite authors, and I'm currently working on a semester project centered on his work. I must warn you, this book isn't the one to pick up for a reading assignment the weekend before it's due. The style and structure of all his novels, ESPECIALLY House Made of Dawn, can either create a transcendent experience where words become magic, if digested slowly, or a tedious skimming of very long passages.... His style is very original and does not set out to impress and entrap; it's beauty happening, and if you want to join it, you can, but don't expect it to stop and rest for you. I think this isn't always so true in Momaday's work, therefore I would recommend those new to him to check out The Ancient Child (my absolute favorite and his best work in my opinion) first. Don't expect to be completely done with this particular book after the first reading, though.For those very curious about Momaday, this should not be the starting point. For those familiar with him already,the style here is very different from things like The Way to Rainy Mountain and the Names, it's more severe. The book is divided in time sets, and it uses stream-of-consciousness in a massive way in certain parts...the main character, Abel, will not be a hero or somebody who stirs sympathy. The construction of the book is just as broken and stark as he is, but his New Mexican days are only some shards of the story; the time in Los Angeles is just as silent and inexplicable. Murder, sex, acculturation, and loss are just things that emerge and submerge without prediction and focus in this book, but not in a crass way; rather, in a very severe and hopeless (but not fatalistic or frantic) way. The book has many layers, and the one just described is not the one I chose to focus on. The Kiowa tradition is present in this book, as in all of Momaday's books, but this time it its deeper than it seems, even though it seems deep. And the blurred depictions of loosely interconnected characters, namely Tosamah, add a necessary comedy [OK, during the prayer meeting with the peyote and all the disciples' reflecting aloud, I almost choked laughing. "I want to give you something. These words. Listen." How anyone could not find this a riot is beyond me.] and consciousness to the fragmented life depicted here in blurs that creates a very complex novel.
Rating:
Summary: MY NEW PERSPECTIVE
Review: Often times, Americans neglect to notice the smaller details in life. However, the protagonist of 'House Made of Dawn' by N. Scott Momaday is fortunate enough to have the gift of noticing these unacknowledged details. Abel's Native American background growing up in a New Mexico Indian Reservation allow him to take special pride in the sounds of nature and the dawning sunrise. He has the ability to appreciate nature's beauty in a way that most Americans fail to do as they rush through life.His lifestyle and cultural beliefs drastically change when Abel returns from WW2, moving to Los Angeles. Alcohol and sheer laziness soon threaten the beliefs and understanding Abel had grown up with. His battle with LA life in comparison to Reservation life continues, establishing the novel's theme. He sleeps in, missing the sunrise...something he previously took such pride in, creating a bit of irony. He cannot hold a steady job, and life just seems to become worse and worse for Abel. "I knew something bad was going to happen." stated Ben, his Caucasian friend. As Momaday writes in 3rd person limited, the reader is fully able to understand Abel's struggles, although the reader may have to struggle to read through the novel himself, for it tends to lack action at times! But overall, this book exposed me to new insights and a greater appreciation for some of nature's beauty that I once found myself skipping over. I encourage everyone in any community to read this book, for it is a symbolic example of how we tend to neglect nature's beauty in both big city and small town life.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Native American Story
Review: The House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday is a well written novel that takes you on a journey through the eyes of a young Native American named Abel who is struggling with drug and alcohol problems, and issues with relationships.
The fashion in which the novel is written is very unique and powerful. The narration switches back and forth between several characters throughout the novel. This is very effective in catching the reader's attention and holding onto it tightly the duration of the novel. Although this is a successful way of writing, it can also put a limit on the number of readers that can understand and enjoy the true value of the novel. With the constant narration changes, the can be difficult to comprehend and the follow. The average reader may have trouble with this book.
The plot is interesting and also fairly diverse. As the novel goes on the plot thickens and the main character is involved in several relationships and altercations. Each individual happening that the main character experiences has purpose and ties in to a complex meaning to the characters struggles and life. This too can also be a weakness in the writing, because once again it may be hard for the average reader to keep up with the plot. The author does not paint the whole picture for the reader; he describes the facts and leaves the reader to interpret the rest. The reader has to think the put together the whole plot and ideas behind the story.
The setting has a huge impact on the novel and really almost becomes its' own character in the story. Throughout the book it becomes more and more descriptive and plays a large role in the plot; it really is crucial. The author paints such a vivid picture starting off on the first page, in the first paragraph; it almost feels like you are there in Walatowa with Abel seeing the sights, hearing the sounds, and smelling the smells.
The House Made of Dawn is strongly written and although it limits what kind of reader can read the book and really understand and enjoy it, the words are very powerful and have a lot of meaning. The novel effectively illustrates problems that Native Americans struggle with, and issues that they deal with to this day.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful prose that is difficult to follow
Review: The strategy with which this book is written is unique. You will not know the background of the story until the very end. You will bump into so many characters because the author switches narrations from time to time. *House Made of Dawn* tells you to a journey of a Native American named Abel who struggles with drug and alchol problems. He lives in two worlds in which he battles constantly for his true identity. The narration switches back and forth between several characters throughout the novel. The main story line, which is of Abel, intertwines with all these characters. From time to time, you would have to slow down and back trek to see if you have missed something. The first time I read I got lost in the midst of all the different characters, contending to piece the whole story together. Once you have surmounted the intricate relationships, the book is a charm. Beautiful prose. 3.5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Complex, symbolic, wonderful!!!
Review: The writing style is complex and heavily symbolic, but once one opens up and lets the words flow in - boom it hits you like a bomb!!! This is a beautiful book, full of the feelings, thoughts and reality of not only Native Americans but all those affected by the intrusion of a 'different' system. A system of thoughts, ideas and ways that fracture and destroy.It's also about the state in which one survives this intrusion.
Rating:
Summary: A frustrating story, but a good one
Review: There is a lot that can be said about 'House Made of Dawn.' It is a very powerful story about the problems of Native American Relocation, and about the horrors of alcoholism and other vices which torment the Native Americans as a result of US reservation policy and, later, of attempted integration. The story is compelling indeed, and leaves an impression. That having been said, there are a lot of things that make this book almost impossible to read. The narrative is broken and confused, and very frustrating (as has been mentioned by many other reviewers). The prose, for the most part, is very eloquent, and some of the descriptions of the landscape and of animals is very beautiful. Still, this novel remains a headache to read. The story really isn't even resolved, and mountains of loose ends are left. The story is very good, but plan on working to understand it. I recommend 'House Made of Dawn' only if Native American writing interests you greatly or if you enjoy modernist writing.
Rating:
Summary: A frustrating story, but a good one
Review: There is a lot that can be said about 'House Made of Dawn.' It is a very powerful story about the problems of Native American Relocation, and about the horrors of alcoholism and other vices which torment the Native Americans as a result of US reservation policy and, later, of attempted integration. The story is compelling indeed, and leaves an impression. That having been said, there are a lot of things that make this book almost impossible to read. The narrative is broken and confused, and very frustrating (as has been mentioned by many other reviewers). The prose, for the most part, is very eloquent, and some of the descriptions of the landscape and of animals is very beautiful. Still, this novel remains a headache to read. The story really isn't even resolved, and mountains of loose ends are left. The story is very good, but plan on working to understand it. I recommend 'House Made of Dawn' only if Native American writing interests you greatly or if you enjoy modernist writing.
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