ABSTRACT
In his 1990 essay, “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial,” Thomas King identifies a number of storytelling approaches within Native Literature. On the face of it, “associational literature” seems to contain features opposite to those of detective fiction: no heroes or villains, no climaxes or resolutions, and no judgments. This chapter reads King’s Thumps DreadfulWater series (2002–present) as effectively melding associational and detective conventions largely through the use of First Nations humor, which disrupts oppression, builds community, and uses repetition to create memorable characters—including Thumps’ cat Freeway—in the storytelling of a “hopeful optimist,” as King describes himself.
