Laughing Boy

By Oliver LaFarge

Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1930

Laughing Boy is a story of young love between a Navajo man, Laughing Boy, and a Navajo woman, Slim Girl. Laughing Boy is a passionate young warrior, he loves to gamble, race horses, and craft beautiful silver and turquoise jewelry. He is also very spiritual and tries to live a balanced and devout life in the Navajo way. Slim Girl, although also a Navajo, was taken away as a youngster and sent to school where she learned to live like a white woman. She learned to "walk the Jesus road" and became a Christian. But at the start of the novel, she has turned her back on all that and is now seeking to be a true Navajo. In Laughing Boy, she sees the Navajo man who can lead her back to her roots. Laughing Boy finds her to be appealing too and they are married, even though his family advises him not to marry her. They have heard some bad things about Slim Girl.
Turns out Laughing Boy should have listened to his family. Because Slim Girl has a "lover," a white man she does not intend to give up even though she is newly married. She doesn't love the man, in fact, she hates him deeply. But he gives her money and she wants money. She has a dream of using the money to build a new life for herself and Laughing Boy, way back in the wild Navajo country, far from the unwanted influence of the white people who are trying to change the Navajo culture.
At first Slim Girl and Laughing Boy are completely happy. But as time passes, Laughing Boy begins to understand that something is not right about his wife and their marriage.

I enjoyed this story. The spirituality of Laughing Boy is inspiring and touching. I felt sorry for Slim Girl and for the anger and resentment she had to the outsiders who tried to make her one of them. I sympathized with her struggle to learn the traditional skills of a Navajo woman. And, knowing 1930s morality, I was not surprised at the ending.
If you like reading about different cultures, you will probably enjoy Laughing Boy. I don't know how authentic the portrayal of Navajo society is, but it seemed to ring true to me. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.

Review by Drew Moody on The Pulitzer Project:   https://thepulitzerblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/entry-63-laughing-boy-by-oliver-lafarge-1930/.