by Cynthia Light Brown
I have been re-reading some of my favorite books lately,
including mysteries by Tony Hillerman. Hillerman’s stories are almost all set
in the American Southwest. For Hillerman, setting really is a character. To get
there, he truly understands geography.
Geography is the interaction of people and the physical
setting. Everything from geology to topography to climate comes into play, and
it shapes human culture. In Hillerman’s setting, the dry, open landscapes are
never far from the action of the novel. But even more, it affects the main
characters, and particularly the Navajo culture that is central to the
mysteries.
In most Hillerman books, he establishes early on that
Leaphorn and Chee, two of the main characters and both Navajos, have a
different cadence of interaction than is typical in white culture. The pattern
of interaction between people is slow, depending on large amounts of listening
and small amounts of talking. It is rude to interrupt, and long pauses are both
common and comfortable. This pattern of conversation is then used throughout
the book to continually call the reader back to the different culture, without
banging us over the head.
Even more, this culture of conversation fits perfectly with
the American Southwest setting. The huge vistas, long distances between
people’s homes, the intense dryness with rare downpours—they all contribute to
a meditative presence in the region. I have spent much time there, including
long hours on a bicycle, and it does indeed engender quietness.
So Hillerman calls us back to his special setting not only
by describing the physical setting, but also in people’s interactions. There is
never a moment in his books where we could imagine ourselves anywhere else.
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