R.A. Lafferty Devotional Page




The Works

This is a list of all known shortstories, that Lafferty wrote. I allowed myself the liberty to give a short critique to each story I've read. Excellent is a story that I'd recommend to anyone. OK is a story a Lafferty fan would like. Lame are short stories, that are either really boring or just lesser variations of a recurrent theme.

You can now add your own comments to each story if you like, or read what other readers wrote.

OKLA HANALI

Von Nat! am 22.10.03 1:05 | 2 Kommentare
This is not a science fiction, but rather an epic  narrative of actual indian history in Lafferty style.  Its the biography of a fictional character "Hannali Innominee" - chief of the Choctaws - that begins with the  around 1830 and ends together with the Civil War around 1870. The fascinating aspect of the book is, that you come in touch with a part of american history, that the populace hardly is aware of nor really likes to know of any better, but that in drama and outrageousness beats such familiar history highlights like the "Boston Tea Party".

I can't compare this with authentic indian literature, but it seems to me that Lafferty has captured the essence pretty well. Reading this book also clears up a lot of the mysteries about the other Stories. Why do so many people in Lafferty stories have strange names like "Fairfeather" or "Crabgrass". Why are Lafferty characters prone to kidding.

2 Comments

Excerpts of Okla Hanali | 2.11.03 12:45

Check the link (http://www.prairienet.org/~almahu/hannali.htm) for a lot of excerpts from Okla Hanali.

LafferMan | 13.05.04 20:02

EXCELLENT!!!

Has Lafferty's bent humor which goes well with the Life Story of Hannali- the Chuckling Choctaw Indian.

Very Entertaining & Sad as well, with the plight of what happened to the Indians and what happened to his Family duringhis Long Life.

Seems to have a lot of Historical data, dates & Significant events that happened during that time frame.

A must read says the LafferMan!!!

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