NATIONAL BESTSELLER • BUZZFEED BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR "[An] entrancing new voice . . . Aaron John Curtis will be your new literary obsession." —Marion Winik, The Boston Globe "An inspired novel by an author whose voice absolutely sizzles on the page.” ―Nathan Hill, author of Wellness and The Nix “With amazing dexterity, Aaron John Curtis’s moving debut novel combines raucous humor with respect for ancestral traditions.” ―Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois “Chock-full of humor and grief, packed with intriguing family lore, and written with a tremendous amount of heart.”―Kristen Arnett, author of Mostly Dead Things There There meets All Fours in this irreverent coming-of-middle-age story about an Indigenous man’s hunger for intimacy, healing, and a second chance. Abe Jacobs is Kanien’kehá:ka from Ahkwesáhsne―or, as white people say, a Mohawk Indian from the Saint Regis Tribe. At eighteen, Abe left the reservation where he was raised and never looked back. He met the love of his life, started writing poetry, and began an open marriage. Now at forty-three, Abe is suffering from a rare disease―one his doctors in Miami believe will kill him. Running from his diagnosis and a marriage teetering on collapse, Abe returns to the Rez, where he’s persuaded to undergo a healing at the hands of his Great Uncle Budge. But Budge―a wry, recovered alcoholic prone to wearing punk T-shirts―isn’t all that convincing. And Abe’s time off the Rez has made him a thorough skeptic. To heal, Abe will undertake a revelatory journey, confronting the parts of himself he’s hidden ever since he left home and wrestling with the imprint left by his once-passionate marriage. Delivered with crackling wit and heart-wrenching tenderness, Old School Indian is a striking exploration of the power and secrets of family, the capacity for healing and intimacy, and the ripple effects of history and culture. "A novel of pure heart and mastery.” ―Morgan Talty, bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit A Kirkus Editor’s Pick • A Most Anticipated Book of 2025: Cowboys & Indians
Brit + Co
Debutiful "[An] entrancing new voice . . . Aaron John Curtis will be your new literary obsession." —Marion Winik, The Boston Globe “With amazing dexterity, Aaron John Curtis’s moving debut novel, Old School Indian , combines raucous humor with respect for ancestral traditions, revealing that home is not only where a heart resides. Home is a place in our spirits, in our histories, in our memories—home is a longing that never leaves us.” —Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois “ Old School Indian is an inspired novel by an author whose voice absolutely sizzles on the page. Aaron John Curtis has given us a moving story of self-discovery that journeys through the crucibles of sickness, history, identity, family, and loss—all told by one of the most inventive, funny, brash narrators you’ll ever find. A beautiful, dazzling debut.” ―Nathan Hill, New York Times bestselling author of Wellness and The Nix “Electrifying. . . . This astonishes.” — Publishers Weekly , starred review “An affecting tale of loss and healing that thrives through its seriocomic style.” — Kirkus , starred review “With its profound exploration of identity, language, and cultural survival, Old School Indian commands attention. Through the vivid and deeply human lives of a Mohawk family, Curtis weaves a narrative that insists we listen closely and engage deeply. The characters, grounded in both tradition and the challenges of modernity, speak with a voice that is both urgent and timeless, drawing us into a world where every word, every action, carries the weight of history and the hope for the future. Curtis strikingly balances humor and gravity, creating a story that forces us to confront our assumptions, demands to be heard, and ultimately reminds us of the enduring, sacred power of storytelling. Old School Indian joins the ranks of the finest fiction written by Indigenous peoples, past and present. This is a novel of pure heart and mastery.” ―Morgan Talty, national bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit “Exceptional... bestows meaning, power, and humor.” —BookPage, starred review “[A] sharply comic and touching debut.” — Booklist , starred review “Aaron John Curtis's audacious debut is not just a novel. It is personal and collective history dancing on the page to wake us to the world around us. By examining the colonization of a body and a people, Old School Indian addresses our festering wound of a need to heal, challenging us to use memory as a remedy and our purpose as a cure. You'll laugh, you'll think, you may even shed a few tears and sit in wonder at the ingenuity and sheer balls of this work and author. An instant classic that will continue to beat in readers' hearts for generations.”
Brit + Co
Debutiful "[An] entrancing new voice . . . Aaron John Curtis will be your new literary obsession." —Marion Winik, The Boston Globe “With amazing dexterity, Aaron John Curtis’s moving debut novel, Old School Indian , combines raucous humor with respect for ancestral traditions, revealing that home is not only where a heart resides. Home is a place in our spirits, in our histories, in our memories—home is a longing that never leaves us.” —Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois “ Old School Indian is an inspired novel by an author whose voice absolutely sizzles on the page. Aaron John Curtis has given us a moving story of self-discovery that journeys through the crucibles of sickness, history, identity, family, and loss—all told by one of the most inventive, funny, brash narrators you’ll ever find. A beautiful, dazzling debut.” ―Nathan Hill, New York Times bestselling author of Wellness and The Nix “Electrifying. . . . This astonishes.” — Publishers Weekly , starred review “An affecting tale of loss and healing that thrives through its seriocomic style.” — Kirkus , starred review “With its profound exploration of identity, language, and cultural survival, Old School Indian commands attention. Through the vivid and deeply human lives of a Mohawk family, Curtis weaves a narrative that insists we listen closely and engage deeply. The characters, grounded in both tradition and the challenges of modernity, speak with a voice that is both urgent and timeless, drawing us into a world where every word, every action, carries the weight of history and the hope for the future. Curtis strikingly balances humor and gravity, creating a story that forces us to confront our assumptions, demands to be heard, and ultimately reminds us of the enduring, sacred power of storytelling. Old School Indian joins the ranks of the finest fiction written by Indigenous peoples, past and present. This is a novel of pure heart and mastery.” ―Morgan Talty, national bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit “Exceptional... bestows meaning, power, and humor.” —BookPage, starred review “[A] sharply comic and touching debut.” — Booklist , starred review “Aaron John Curtis's audacious debut is not just a novel. It is personal and collective history dancing on the page to wake us to the world around us. By examining the colonization of a body and a people, Old School Indian addresses our festering wound of a need to heal, challenging us to use memory as a remedy and our purpose as a cure. You'll laugh, you'll think, you may even shed a few tears and sit in wonder at the ingenuity and sheer balls of this work and author. An instant classic that will continue to beat in readers' hearts for generations.”