Review – God’s Country

𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦. Percival Everett. 1994. 

Menippean satire. Anti-Western. Black comedy.

A racist and cowardly white rancher named Curt Marder hires an expert tracker—a Black man named Bubba—to rescue his kidnapped wife and avenge his dead dog after marauders burn down his farm.

The story, which is shaped like a traditional Western, is told from the perspective of the villain who steals the Black protagonist’s labour and betrays him in a fit of racial jealousy. The villain’s voice is exaggerated by the author in a satirical manner that invites the reader to be an insider to his authorial intent. 

𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦 is both a parody and a satire, which means it explores serious themes in a deliberately unserious way. The marauders who kick the story off, for example, are as comical as many of the characters in a Mark Twain story. While Colonel Custer—a man who is taken seriously by historians of the American West—is portrayed in 𝐺𝑜𝑑’𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦 as a cross-dressing fool. 

What is taken seriously here is the history of violence against Black and indigenous people on the Western frontier. But the only ones who appear to understand this while the story is unfolding are the Black and indigenous characters who are falling victim to the violence. 

AUTHORS – I write short book reviews that focus on voice and vibe. They are useful to querying authors searching for comp titles. There are more like this on my website.

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