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the_enobee's review against another edition
5.0
I always forget how great Sherman Alexie is until I pick up another one of his books. War Dances is a concise powerhouse of hilarity, emotion, bitter truth, and even more bitter revelations about history and the American experience. Alexie proves to be a master of the short form here, featuring poems, essay-like meditations, and short stories. The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless (which is the inspiration for the red Pumas on the cover) might be the funniest, most intelligent heartbreaker I've read in years. I'm not sure I could enjoy a short story more. The rest of the collection is top notch as well, and would serve as an excellent intro to Alexie and is a must-read for his fans. Enjoy!
milktoast's review against another edition
4.0
Alexie is one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint. I saw him speak shortly before I read War Dances and he talked about wanting to create a new type of Native literature--one where the characters are film editors and lawyers, one where they have hardships and joys that are understandable in a modern world instead of only stories of genocide and reservation hardship.
This book does a good job of that. The stories are well-written and captivating; the poetry playful and sometimes sad. Overall, though, this book doesn't "pop" the way some of his previous works do. In getting less angry and more intellectual, Alexie's voice is not as well realized. Hopefully in future volumes he'll find a way to achieve his previous emotional highs with his new tempered mind.
This book does a good job of that. The stories are well-written and captivating; the poetry playful and sometimes sad. Overall, though, this book doesn't "pop" the way some of his previous works do. In getting less angry and more intellectual, Alexie's voice is not as well realized. Hopefully in future volumes he'll find a way to achieve his previous emotional highs with his new tempered mind.
sakeriver's review against another edition
I had a lot of trouble figuring out exactly what I thought of this book. On the one hand, it was very well written and the poems were consistently interesting to me. On the other hand, the short stories were somewhat... vexing. Most of them are stories about (and from the perspective of) men who are deeply flawed in very male ways, but who are at most only marginally self-aware, and who are often awful, sometimes completely reprehensible. Now, as a critique of masculinity, I think there's some value here, but these men are often rendered with enough detail and complexity that I feel you're invited to empathize with them. I'm not sure exactly what I think of that. Because I do feel like empathy is important, and empathy for a person needn't mean that you condone their bad beliefs or behaviors. But I also found it unpleasant to live in these men's heads, and I wondered at times whether these stories functioned more as critique or apologia. Maybe it's best to have a book that doesn't deliver pat conclusions, and which doesn't fully tip the author's hand about what he believes. But something still felt unsatisfying to me about many parts of this book.
dude_watchin_with_the_brontes's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this read by the author. Now I will read all of his books with his voice in my head.
pattydsf's review against another edition
4.0
I think I have fallen in love with Sherman Alexie's voice. I do not usually listen to talking books done by the author. Unfortunately the ability to write is not tied to the ability to narrate. However, this is the second book I have listened to by Alexie and I can't imagine going back to just reading his stories and poems. Last time I used a Playaway, this time I had the book in MP3CD format.
This book is a collection of over 20 stories and poems. I found most of them to be wonderful and many to be thought provoking. I especially liked "Bird Watching at Night" and "The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless". A couple of times I hit back track to hear a poem again. Also I found myself turning off the player so I could mull over the last story.
Which brings up my only complaint. I was very happy that the producer made each poem a separate track. That was helpful. However, there was not enough of a pause between stories. I am not sure how that would work, but I wished for about 45 seconds of blank space between each piece.
This book is a collection of over 20 stories and poems. I found most of them to be wonderful and many to be thought provoking. I especially liked "Bird Watching at Night" and "The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless". A couple of times I hit back track to hear a poem again. Also I found myself turning off the player so I could mull over the last story.
Which brings up my only complaint. I was very happy that the producer made each poem a separate track. That was helpful. However, there was not enough of a pause between stories. I am not sure how that would work, but I wished for about 45 seconds of blank space between each piece.
mnboyer's review against another edition
4.0
A fun collection of short stories and poems by Sherman Alexie. While not my favorite of Alexie's work, it is still a four-star read. The stories and poems deal with love, loss, sex, ethnicity and race, and the wars that we wage as countries, families, and individuals.
Of note, "Breaking and Entering," a short story about a Spokane Native American man that kills a young black man who has broken into his home to steal from him, has an entirely new outlook from the last time I read this book. It just goes to show, things in this collection end up being timeless even though you've set the book aside for years.
I agree with some readers that a few of the poems and short stories leave you wanting for more, perhaps because there are so many "better" moments that outshine some of these lesser moments, but overall still enjoy this work as a whole. Also of note, this is an inclusive American Indian text--you don't have to identify as AI or have a deep background knowledge to really enjoy this book.
Highly recommended. Everyone should at least skin through a few selections from this book. I doubt you'll be disappointed.
Of note, "Breaking and Entering," a short story about a Spokane Native American man that kills a young black man who has broken into his home to steal from him, has an entirely new outlook from the last time I read this book. It just goes to show, things in this collection end up being timeless even though you've set the book aside for years.
I agree with some readers that a few of the poems and short stories leave you wanting for more, perhaps because there are so many "better" moments that outshine some of these lesser moments, but overall still enjoy this work as a whole. Also of note, this is an inclusive American Indian text--you don't have to identify as AI or have a deep background knowledge to really enjoy this book.
Highly recommended. Everyone should at least skin through a few selections from this book. I doubt you'll be disappointed.
traciemasek's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this enough. It's hit or miss, but isn't that how collections of stories and poems go? I tended to like the poems more than most of the stories, but "War Dances" was great. And I liked that the poems were inserted between stories; otherwise I probably would never have read them because I am not one to pick up and read a book of poetry. There were a few times where I felt taken out of the story by the writing style; maybe it was a little too irreverent in parts? I don't necessary know how to explain what I mean, but there were a few places where I sort of rolled my eyes because it seemed like he was trying to be too trendy or post-modern or something. (Am I allowed to say things like post-modern?)
This made me want to go back and re-read Lone Ranger & Tonto. But I'm a little bit afraid I won't like as much as I did when I read it in high school.
This made me want to go back and re-read Lone Ranger & Tonto. But I'm a little bit afraid I won't like as much as I did when I read it in high school.
ive_colon's review against another edition
3.0
I don't read many poems/short stories so I might not know what to expect but the stories were ok. Not much really to them but some were entertaining more than others.
juntakinte1968's review against another edition
4.0
What am amazing collection. I've never read an author so able to walk a tightrope between humor, sadness, and pop culture references in my life. The man is a treasure.
abrswf's review against another edition
5.0
This was a fast, laugh out loud funny book. Having said that, it is also one of the more honest and thought provoking looks at how race plays out in our society these days. For example, it starts with a story that is both heartbreaking and -- somehow-- humorous -- about an encounter between the Spokane Indian narrator and an African American young man. Alexie spends more than a little time pointing out how awkward and even impossible it can be to navigate the competing narratives and claims of people from oppressed, but different cultures. I was a little less taken with his preoccupation with the romantic foibles and obsessions of aging men, as frankly some of his thinking is pretty darn sexist. The book is heavily if not entirely autobiographical, as is typical for Alexie.