The Old People (First American)

"In this deeply introspective book, A. J. Perry uses an unusual overarching symbol of a special knot to divulge an exceedingly beautiful indigenous worldview. Told in a manner that connects silence and sound as well as past and present, this compelling work has a rhythm all its own." - World Literature Today

"In three short sections -'The Knot', 'The Digging', and 'Fire'-the story gives voice to a traditional way of life that is now mostly invisible and perhaps forgotten by the modern world. The laborious, repetitive narrative echoes a story being told orally. In that voice one will also hear a sense of resistance, subtle though it may be, as the tale does not have the usual conventions of a plot structure of a novel, a genre that found its shape and form in the West. It has no exposition, no rising action nor climax, no falling action and no resolution. Instead it presents a simple narrative of a simple society but with complex interconnectedness." - Shahizah Ismail Hamdan, GEMA Online(R)Journal of Language Studies

"There is a meditative and almost hypnotic cadence to Perry's writing. One beat of life follows another patiently and dependably. Perry's prose style is spare and stripped of excess fat, eschewing linguistic acrobatics for raw simplicity. This is tightrope walk rather than a race to the finish line; a journey above the chaos, requiring stillness and presence of mind." - Cultural Survival

"Here is a rare look into the tangible nature of unseen coherence. This Indigenous novel matures epistemology-the philosophy of knowledge-into its function/form inspiring us to return, again, to the beauty of aina aloha. Our lands have always loved us. Our Hawaiian culture has always been present. Now is the time to practice what this means. This book has had an impact on me. The story, the remembering, the ideas, the hope it holds, the connection to all things. It is a small book with an infinite capacity. I see its impact on our peoples and Hawai'i." - Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer, author of Ho'oulu: Our Time of Becoming. Hawaiian Epistemology and Early Writings

"Frequently, the pace of events in the book slows to the point where there is almost a suspension of any clear concept of the passage of time. [...] In this indigenous world, time is treated differently, and there are occasions throughout the book which exemplify this. Often, what is happening is more important than how long it takes to happen. The distinction might appear slight, but Perry reveals how it has a bearing on a whole way of living-one that is largely lost in the modern world." - Te Kaharoa: The eJournal on Indigenous Pacific Issues

"Adhering neither to traditional modes of characterisation nor a linear chronology, The Old People is not a light read, yet at one hundred and twenty five pages, it is not intimidating either. Perry's choice to leave his characters nameless and the narrative's emphasis on the actions of a communal culture are subtly political. The Old People are not portrayed as individuals, but are known by their trade, and therefore their place (both literally and figuratively) in society. In our (post)modern world of watches and deadlines, quantifiable time is deliciously absent. The knot makers and hole diggers of the narrative span time in such a way that one stands for all, and the whole relies on the contributions of each. For the reader who chooses to relax into the meandering, spare, yet lyrical prose, Perry's message is clear: those who speak quickly, act unthinkingly and live only for the present are missing a wider connectedness with their world, their past and their future. As modern society is broken and its people are unmoored, Perry is offering a fictionalised portrait of a world that knows an alternative way of being." Emma Scanlan, Society of Indian Psychologists