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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Halley's Gathering by William Overstreet is a historical literary novel set in early 20th-century America, where Julia Halley operates a trading post deep within the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico Territory. She has gathered a diverse circle of companions, including a Southern doctor who provides medical care without charge, a Navajo woman who survived forced displacement decades earlier, a former religious photographer, and a young surveyor with a penchant for indigenous ruins. Among them are Clement Yazzie, a man with a stern reputation and complicated heritage, and his silent sister Johanna. Marked by a time when the arrival of modern society challenges indigenous traditions, all these interactions, and many more, coincide with the anticipated appearance of the famous titular comet. “Above a final painterly stroke of gold at the western horizon, against a deepening blue, Halley’s Comet soared as if untethered, sunless, unto itself.”
Halley’s Gathering by William Overstreet is a thoughtfully written and artfully structured novel, offering strong, purposeful prose and well-paced scenes. The characters emerge across shifting timelines, allowing their pasts to inform present motivations. Julia’s reverence for nature and Harry’s contemplative demeanor contrast meaningfully with Pete’s sharp irreverence, while Matilda’s actions are shaped by fear and conformity. The narrative never overstates, and social hierarchies, gender roles, and settler–Indigenous relations are folded into tone and interaction rather than exposition. Owen’s quiet obsession with geological layers and ancient ruins echoes his need to unearth his own truths in a symbolic nod by Overstreet. The setting, particularly the remote trading post on Navajo land, reinforces individual choices while pointing to larger cultural and political structures. Overstreet's writing has a steady intelligence, with language and detail chosen carefully, in a unique book that rewards close attention and is well worth the time investment.
