Member Discussion for “Killers of the Flower Moon” – December 2023

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  1. Avatar photo
    Sheila M

    I really enjoyed the first part of the book, which I found compelling, but I'm coming to greatly dislike the author putting himself into the story part of these books. I happen to be reading another historical book with the same convention, and I think it distracts from the power of the book.

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  2. Tom M.

    Interesting and compelling read overall. Structure was somewhat odd and it took me a few chapters to really get into it. There were a lot of characters to keep track of and I found myself going back from time to time to refresh my memory on relationships. The depth of the corruption and murder was astounding. That it occurred so deep into the 20th century added even more perspective. I have not seen the movie yet, though I plan to.

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  3. Laurie

    I wouldn't recommend the movie unless you have read the book first. The acting is excellent, but I think the movie would be confusing without the details from the book. Also, Tom White is a heroic figure, with his own backstory covered in several chapters, but he is a minor character in the movie. I would have liked to have watched more scenes with him. I enjoyed both though and am glad for the recommendation here from the Dispatch.

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  4. Dave in Tenn

    I thought the movie was good, but I liked the book better because the book was able to cover much more of the background story and the investigation. I grew up in Oklahoma about 15 miles from Osage County in the 1950s and 60s and never heard anything about the murders. They were not mentioned in our Oklahoma history class in middle school, although we did discuss the oil boom and the wealth that came from it.

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  5. MLE

    Has anyone watched the movie yet? I haven't -- its run length is just too long for me at this stage in my life (young kids, perpetually tired).

    I agree that I wish I knew what happened tot he Osage people later on. Where did the money go? Dissipated from the fraud?

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  6. John Dixon

    All new information for me and an easy and interesting read. Somewhat odd structure of book with first part nice development of characters actually involved in the scam against the Osage along with a peek at the early years of J. Edgar Hoover at the FBI; then a second part documenting the author's own followup research. A little frustrating not learning if and when some of the politicians and bureaucrats who facilitated the fraud against the Osage people faced any comeuppance. Also the book left me a little hungry for info about the future lives of the Osage who survived the guardianship and fraud.

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    1. Sandra Reilly

      Agree, I was surprised I knew nothing about this information. I agree that the structure was weird. The story then the author's own research. Had family that moved out to Oklahoma back around the time of the Homestead Run and recognized Guthrie from family history. I was also frustrated that it seems that so many just got away with their crimes. I will now probably watch the movie and hope not to be disappointed like usual. I really didn't have any want to watch it to begin with, but this definitely made me interested to see how they handle it all.

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    Pat @ Tavi Hall

    While I found this an interesting moment in US history, I admit to enjoying The Wager much better. I think the storyline in this book was less clear and complicated by multiple plot lines while The Wager had was one through line.

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