Edwin Black Character Analysis

Edwin Black is an isolated, frustrated, and confused half-Native young man who lives at home with his mother and spends most of his life getting lost on the internet. After earning a master’s degree in Native American literature and getting a promising start to his academic career, Edwin suddenly found himself floundering, unable to make a connection between the things he was studying and their reverberations in his own life. Edwin has never known who his father is, and, when readers first meet him, has just started to track down the man via Facebook, with help from his mother, Karen. Edwin has spent much of his life afraid to fully participate in the world, as he’s unsure of who he even is—but as the novel progresses, he begins making smarter choices in order to lose the weight he’s gained while living as a recluse and to involve himself more deeply in his community. As Edwin begins working as an intern on the powwow committee, he meets friends and allies in the community—and forms a close relationship with Blue, who turns out to be his half-sister. Edwin is ultimately able to reconnect with his father, Harvey, and though he’s wounded in the shootout at the powwow, the narrative suggests that Edwin will pull through his injuries.