Big Chief

At the surface, Big Chief is the tale of a tense reelection campaign for Tribal President, but underneath it’s the story of a man trying to understand where he belongs, within his community, his family, and even within himself.

Jon Hickey’s debut surprised me in the best way. I don’t usually enjoy politically focused novels, yet his writing pulled me in immediately. The prose is never showy, but it’s quietly powerful and commands your attention from the first pages.

Mitch Caddo, the protagonist, is in the middle of a profound period of self-discovery, confronting old wounds, tribal politics, personal loyalties, and the ghosts he’s avoided for far too long. Hickey brings you deep into Mitch’s internal world in a way that makes his guardedness feel earned, even empathetic. His voice is funny, cynical, bruised, and vulnerable all at once, creating a character you root for even when he’s pushing people away.

Hickey weaves humor and sharp sarcasm throughout the novel, balancing the darker themes with an ease that feels natural to Mitch’s perspective. Stylistically and emotionally, the book reminded me at times of Tommy Orange’s There There: a community under pressure, interwoven histories, and personal reckonings happening alongside political ones.

It impressed me how Hickey handles themes like sovereignty, corruption, activism, and belonging with nuance and without turning them into a lecture. The political backdrop raises the stakes, but the heart of the novel lies in the relationships. Their conflicts are intimate and deeply human, even as they unfold against protests, power plays, and a community on the brink of unraveling.

Hickey never loses sight of the characters’ inner lives. In the end, Big Chief becomes a story about trying to return to a people, to a home, and to a version of yourself you can actually live with.

Big Chief is one of the strongest works of literary fiction I’ve read from 2025 so far. I’ll be picking up whatever Hickey writes next, without a doubt!