SOURCE: "The Moment in Fiction When Truth Flees," in The Los Angeles Times Book Review, October 9, 1988, pp. 2, 15.

In the following review, Lomawaima faults The Place in Flowers Where Pollen Rests for its simplistic portrayal of Hopi life and accuses West of imposing his own meaning on Native American culture.

The title of this novel is also the surname of its protagonist. George The Place In Flowers Where Pollen Rests is a Hopi man who has lived his entire life among the majestic high mesas of northeastern Arizona. The Hopi people have lived here for more than a thousand years, and among their villages is the oldest settlement in all of North America.

The story that unfolds is not in all ways unique. It is about a small-scale society, a small village, a small family and small minds. The author could have selected from an infinite number of backdrops...