Reviews for Crazy Dave

The average rating for Crazy Dave based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-12-25 00:00:00 Craig Breakiron Crazy Dave is a memoir of David McLeod, an Anishinaabe living on a reservation in Ontario during the 1920s to 1950s. Written by David's nephew, Basil Johnston, the book's sources are largely accounts from family members including Johnston himself, who lived nearby when he was a child. Significantly, David had Down Syndrome (then called "Mongolism") which substantially affected his mental and physical development. Throughout his life, he was unable to speak clearly or read. Although he held odd-jobs, he relied on his mother and siblings for support. Johnston views David as an embodiment of the "place and situation of the North American Indian in Canadian society," someone who "didn't know much about anything," who "stayed where he belonged," a person who could be "put up with" as long as he "kept the peace and didn't rock the boat" (pg. 11). However, David and other Cape Croker residents resisted such pigeonholing. Not only did he exhibit eagerness to do everything that other young men do, but his neighbors saught economic opportunities off the reservation, while continuing to speak Native language and practice traditional healing methods. Particularly after World War II, Anishinaabe asserted greater authority in local government, as well. Johnston's prose is best when describing David's efforts to participate in everyday activities. Here we see the complex dynamics of living with a person who has significant limitations in the early 20th century. Mother Rosa was very protective, perhaps not only because of his Down Syndrome but also because he was her youngest child. Stanley, the sibling who was closest to David in age, was often confined and frustrated -- on his shoulders fell much of the burden of caring for David during his earliest and later years. Nonetheless, brothers Stanley, Walter, and John were loving and inclusive. In fact, they saw his frequent chatter with imaginary people as a special ability to commune with "little people," spirits that others are unable to hear or see. Thus they did not hold him back. David's brothers introduced him to toilet-training, smoking, horseshoes, splitting wood, and even the atrocities happening a continent away during World War II. I would have rated Crazy Dave as five stars, but I felt it could have benefited from better editing -- particularly to ensure that each page connects to David's life story, underscores the link between disability and Native lives during the Assimilation Era. There are many paragraphs in the book that may be important to the Johnston family story or Cape Croker's history but do not seem to advance a memoir about David himself. For example, given the personal details we are given about Indian Agent Fred Tuffnell and the build-up of tension between him and Chief Tom Jones, readers might expect a dramatic confrontation between them when they plead for David's release from jail. However, this does not happen. Also, we read perhaps too much about Johnston's father Rufus, an older brother of David's who abandoned Johnston's mother and was scarcely home during David's lifetime. The drift in focus makes for an odd ending. Rather than concluding with David's death and some kind of reminder of what his experiences tell us about people with disabilities or about American Indian lives, Crazy Dave finishes with Johnston's move back to the reservation and his disappointment with pollution of the natural landscape and the loss of language skills among its residents. Still, Crazy Dave is an engrossing and immensely valuable book. Although I am fairly well-read in terms of American Indian biography, I don't recall many (if any) other accounts of a Native person with Down Syndrome. While it is probably too long to assign in full, various chapters could be very helpful for anthologies, or for teaching units about the dual discrimination (and its resistance). Highly recommended.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-01-08 00:00:00 Rae Howry Johnston depicts the life of a man with Down's syndrome with compassion, humour, authenticity and love. Many of us will recognize Dave and be reminded of our own brother, sister, aunt, or uncle. Johnston also shows how, with support and tolerance, someone like Dave can contribute to a household or community, but he also shows the challenges and worry that can go with being the parent of a person who is different and who can be a target. In doing so, Johnston also shows us the struggles and issues of reservation life under the old Indian Agent system. I really liked the way Johnston used Dave's manner of speaking to create a character we could see and hear in our minds' eyes and ears. I also liked how Johnston allowed us to empathize with Dave, especially in his idolization of his brother, "Back-a-haw", who always took pains to include him and help him learn. We can all learn from Crazy Dave and his family.