Written in 1929, Laughing Boy in many ways foreshadowed the change in social consciousness about Native Americans that has occurred since. It may have been the first novel about Native Americans that did not assume white culture to be superior. This sympathetic account presents Navajo culture on its own terms and portrays the destructive influence of white culture on the Native American way of life. But La Farge skirts some issues by setting the story in an earlier time, before the widespread use of the automobile made the survival of Native American culture impossible.

The novel deals frankly with the problems of Native Americans in white society. Yet its heroine, Slim Girl, remains strong enough to escape from its corrupting influence and return to a simpler life. The novel presents prostitution, the dangers of alcoholism, and a few violent episodes, which La Farge handles with considerable tact...