Ceremony by Leslie Silko

Tayo , the protagonist  suffers from estrangement and alienation , on his return from captivity to his native land Laguna Pueblo reservation in  America .He was released from the mental ward at the Veterans' Hospital in Los Angeles, having been a prisoner of the Japanese during the World War II.The search  for comfort and resolution of alienation  takes him to the past ,traditions and beliefs  of  Native  Indians in  America.He questions those beliefs and witchcraft and ancient stories and folklore.This search  itself becomes a ceremony which cures him of his despair.

              This is the first book  by Leslie Marmon Silko  , read by me .She took me into her world Laguna Pueblo Reservation , a world full of stories.

                        "  He was tired of fighting .If there was no one left to trust, then he had no more reason to live.(page 122).Nothing was ever lost as long as the love remained(page 220)."

    Ceremonies have always been changing."At one time , the ceremonies  as they had been performed were enough for the way the world was then .But after the white people came,elements in this world began to shift; and it became necessary to create new ceremonies.I have made changes in the rituals.The people mistrust this greatly , but only this growth keeps the ceremonies strong."(page126).But ceremonies need to be completed .                Was there some way to stop?It all depends how far you are willing to go.(page 230).Without friends , he didn't have a chance of completing the ceremony.(page 241).In an alien place , you doubt the ceremony.Ceremonies and stories are related.All stories fit together.The world as it always was , has no boundaries.(page 246).

."You don't have anything if you don't have the stories".The story behind each word must be told , and this demanded great patience and love.A world  is made of stories.We should feel stories happening to us.Some part of a story we have together, and some part we have alone.

 It takes a long time to tell  people the story.They ask questions about the location and the time of the day,the direction she had come from and the color of her eyes.

                   I enjoyed  reading this beautiful book.