About the Book: Published in 1968, House Made of Dawn is N. Scott Momaday’s landmark debut novel and a defining work of Native American literature. The story follows Abel, a young Native American man who returns to his reservation in New Mexico after serving in World War II. Struggling with alienation, dislocation, and the clash between traditional life and modern America, Abel’s journey is one of trauma, survival, and the search for identity. Told in shifting voices and lyrical prose, the novel weaves together Native storytelling traditions, modernist techniques, and spiritual imagery. Its exploration of cultural loss, resilience, and belonging earned widespread acclaim, and in 1969 House Made of Dawn won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It remains a foundational text in what came to be known as the Native American Renaissance in literature.