Winter in the Blood by James Welch

During his life, James Welch came to be regarded as a master of American prose, and his first novel, Winter in the Blood, is one of his most enduring works. The narrator of this beautiful, often disquieting novel is a young Native American man living on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana. Sensitive and self-destructive, he searches for something that will bind him to the lands of his ancestors but is haunted by personal tragedy, the dissolution of his once proud heritage, and Montana's vast emptiness. Winter in the Blood is an evocative and unforgettable work of literature that will continue to move and inspire anyone who encounters it. (From Penguin Classics)

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Winter in the Blood, Welch's debut novel, tells the story of a nameless young man who is attempting to track down his girlfriend. He is led on an adventure filled with multiple encounters, one-night stands and improbable intrigues. When he eventually seeks the counsel of an old Indigenous man named Yellow Calf, he begins to grasp the truth of his origins and the deeper significance of his life.

James Welch was born in Browning, Montana, in 1940 and was raised on the Blackfeet and Fort Belknap reservations. His first book of poetry, Riding the Earthboy 40, was published in 1971 and was followed by a series of acclaimed novels, including Winter in the Blood, The Death of Jim Loney and Fools Crow. Welch was named a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 1995. He died in 2003.