“Seldom Disappointed” by Tony Hillerman

Review #129

A memoir of Tony Hillerman, who has brought the Southwest and Navajo Nation culture alive for millions of readers through his mysteries starring Navajo Tribal Police Officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.

The most frequently asked question of Hillerman is this: How did an Anglo-Saxon man come to know so much about the Navajos? This compelling autobiography is Hillerman's answer to that question. It is also a testimony to a toughened optimism and resiliency. The title of this book comes from his mother's favorite saying: "Blessed are those who expect little. They are seldom disappointed."

As Hillerman looks over his years, from his growing up during the Great Depression/Great Dust Bowl in Oklahoma, through his tour in World War II, through wire-service journalism and academia and, finally, through his experiences as a novelist, he casts himself as a character whose many fiascoes have always contained hidden blessings. Perhaps the most terrifying moment in this whole memoir is when Hillerman's first agent tells him, in 1969, to "get rid of the Indian stuff" in his first novel.

This is an autobiography as clear-eyed and entertaining as any of the author's mysteries.

NOTE: I listened to the audio book read by the author himself. I love Tony Hillerman’s book writing…his book reading…not so much! I suggest YOU READ the book yourself.