Right Story, Wrong Story

I'm worried about Tyson Yunkaporta. I was exhilarated by his previous book, Sand Talk, which threw open doors of perception and ways of seeing the world that I found bewildering, exciting and challenging. This follow up, Right Story, Wrong Story, strikes a darker note than the playful energy of Sand Talk; Yunkaporta reveals some personal tragedy and struggles in Right Story, Wrong Story, which may go some way to explaining why.

In this book, we ('us-two') are imagined in a self-built canoe, paddling our way through the circles of hell, a journey that introduces us to many other interesting thinkers and to some bleak subject matter. Yunkaporta structures Right Story, Wrong Story as a series of interconnected thought experiments, a conversation between himself, the reader and the various contributors we meet along the way. We discuss violence, technology, power and story, always int he context of being in either 'right relationship' or 'wrong relationship.' In Indigenous thinking, relationships are everything; no individual stands alone, there are no superheroes to the rescue, and solutions are worked out through collective contributions, often over a long time. If only the modern world could turn to this kind of problem-solving! Perhaps this is one cause of the suppressed rage and despair that bubbles through these pages.

I might not have enjoyed the journey of Right Story, Wrong Story quite as much as Sand Talk but Yunkaporta is always stimulating to read.