--- description: Find out why "Night of the Living Rez" by Morgan Talty is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'Night of the Living Rez' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12d9193934c68253/698a37bbb21a9c3337506aa9/NightoftheLivingRez.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2022 # Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Morgan Talty’s debut short-story collection transports readers to the Panawahpskek (Penobscot) Nation of Maine. Each of the 12 stories is narrated by David, spanning his childhood on the reservation to a young adulthood defined by [opioid addiction](https://time.com/james-nachtwey-opioid-addiction-america/ "undefined"). Though _Night of the Living Rez_ probes dark themes—sexual assault, inherited trauma, mental illness—there’s also love and laughter, and hope and forgiveness. It delivers a complex and captivating look at what it’s like to be a young Native person. _—Angela Haupt_ **Buy Now**: _Night of the Living Rez_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781953534187 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3EdHKxw "undefined") **Contact us at** [letters@time.com](mailto:letters@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20Stay%20True&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fcollection-post%2F6228627%2Fstay-true%2F "undefined")**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228595/night-of-the-living-rez/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228595/night-of-the-living-rez/"},"headline":"Night of the Living Rez","datePublished":"2022-11-14T12:53:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:10:53.684Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228595/night-of-the-living-rez/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12d9193934c68253/698a37bbb21a9c3337506aa9/NightoftheLivingRez.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12d9193934c68253/698a37bbb21a9c3337506aa9/NightoftheLivingRez.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228595/night-of-the-living-rez/","name":"Night of the Living Rez"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The 100 Must-Read Books of 2022","description":"Gripping novels, transporting poetry, and timely nonfiction that asked us to look deeper.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EeIdKgaD/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-11-09T14:12:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EeIdKgaD.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228595/night-of-the-living-rez/","duration":"PT2M54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228595/night-of-the-living-rez/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```