Facing Rushmore, by David Martin

David Martin is one of the finest writers that I’ve ever read. That he is not a household name is a crime. Perhaps it’s because Martin has never been pigeonholed into a single genre. His early career consisted of mainstream fiction that is as good as the works of, say, John Irving. Later on, Martin wrote some very potent suspense thrillers, like Lie To Me and Cul-de-Sac. Pelikan is a sly crime novel and Tap Tap is full blown horror; one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. Then there was David Marin’s previous novel, Crazy Love. Crazy Love is a romantic novel and not only is it a good novel; I put it in the top three favorite books of my life. The other two are McCammon’s Boy’s Life and Robert Cormier’s Other Bells For Us To Ring.

Therefore, expectations were very high for David Martin’s next novel. One called Home Invaders was announced, but later was changed to Facing Rushmore. I have no idea what ever happened with Home Invasion.

Facing Rushmore is an odd outing, even in consideration of David Martin’s schizophrenic career. It deals with American landmarks being targeted by Indians and an FBI agent who is given the unenviable task of getting to the bottom of it. There is a lot of wit in the narrative as we meet an Indian medicine dancer named John Brown Dog and his travels with a whore. The two peculiar traveling companions take a liking to the Fed, who they dub, “Listens to Indians”. Listens to Indians is torn between his own conceptions of right and wrong as he grapples with his own moral conscience and his duties as an American officer. The Nation is in an uproar as the next target appears to be that most proud monument, Mount Rushmore. Rushmore just happens to be one of the Indians most powerful and scared holy areas.

Facing Rushmore is a fantasy, but don’t let that sway you from reading it. There are no rings, quests, dwarfs or ogres in its pages. Instead, it deals with ancient Indian medicine and a balance of the wrongs done to Native Americans in our history’s past. The prose is fast moving and the characters are all likable and interesting. There are numerous surprises in the rather short (260 pages) novel and the final chapter is both disorienting and disquieting.

I didn’t find Facing Rushmore to be as satisfying as Crazy Love, but I didn’t expect to. Facing Rushmore is, however, one of Martin’s finest creations and should be read by any fans of his previous books, as well as lovers of fine literature. His voice has always been unique and Facing Rushmore is perhaps his most unusual to date. I can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeve next.