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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Finally read this, which Ocean says is the BEST BOOK EVER. It was pretty dang good. It was strange having read Reservation Blues first, because the Lone Ranger book involves most of the same characters, and tells stories of their lives before and after the events in Reservation Blues occurred, but with no mention of these events. Like these dudes would just be in an awesome rock band and then never think about it or reference it later! It's like things don't quite all add up. However, this book can stand alone as an amazing collection of short stories. Thanks, Ocean, for the recommendation.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
Many years ago I worked in a hub for indigenous peoples and storytellers from all over the world, and I think they taught me a lot—most of it not through ordinary words. Whether they were Native Americans or African shamans or People of the South American Forests or Aboriginal Australians, the thing they had in common was an inclusive view of all life: everything is alive; there is no division between all that is life or between incarnate and spirit. In white people's terms: there is no difference between metaphor and common reality, dreamland or awake time, imagination and history; they are one, in one flow, and interchangeable.
Although The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is an uneven collection of short stories (some immaturely written, others mature), what I appreciate is that Sherman Alexie wrote "straight," sharing life on the reservation and his people and their point of view without explaining or in any way trying to package it for white culture. Some stories are pure expressions of despair; some are funny; some are like free-verse poetry, and all of them express what it is to live in white culture but to be made in and of a culture that has been assaulted for centuries, a culture that sees things differently so that one's experiences are different. This alone makes this book worth reading and learning from—even if you can't follow things like a man becoming a pony in the 1800s and then floating around in time.
Many years ago I worked in a hub for indigenous peoples and storytellers from all over the world, and I think they taught me a lot—most of it not through ordinary words. Whether they were Native Americans or African shamans or People of the South American Forests or Aboriginal Australians, the thing they had in common was an inclusive view of all life: everything is alive; there is no division between all that is life or between incarnate and spirit. In white people's terms: there is no difference between metaphor and common reality, dreamland or awake time, imagination and history; they are one, in one flow, and interchangeable.
Although The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is an uneven collection of short stories (some immaturely written, others mature), what I appreciate is that Sherman Alexie wrote "straight," sharing life on the reservation and his people and their point of view without explaining or in any way trying to package it for white culture. Some stories are pure expressions of despair; some are funny; some are like free-verse poetry, and all of them express what it is to live in white culture but to be made in and of a culture that has been assaulted for centuries, a culture that sees things differently so that one's experiences are different. This alone makes this book worth reading and learning from—even if you can't follow things like a man becoming a pony in the 1800s and then floating around in time.
The reservation doesn't sing anymore but the songs still hang in the air. Every molecule waits for a drumbeat; every element dreams lyrics. Today I am walking between water, two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen, and the energy expelled is named Forgiveness.
(p. 150, "Imagining the Reservation")
all short stories featuring the same characters but not sharing a timeline or plot. Some stories were too poetic, filled with metaphors or time/memory hopping for me to keep up with or really enjoy. But other stories were more linear and lyrical and beautiful. A lot about storytelling and reservation life, both of which I find very interesting.
Bittersweet, often funny, vignettes about the harsh realities of life on the res.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sherman alexie is something else.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
sad
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Racism
This is our last book club book; it's actually a book of short stories, so as usual it took me a while to slog through (there's no "what happens next??" with short stories, you know?). A lot of characters do recur, so the reader does get a pretty good feel for them, but a few of the more experimental stories were on the weaker side. Anyway, I had no idea this was only published in 1992. I guess I always thought Alexie was older, since he's been in the canon for so long. OK, I'll give this a B, jsut to grade it and wrap this up.
This is a fascinating, dreamlike series of short stories. Alexie is the master of mixing dreamlike, sometimes fantastical elements with cruel reality in a way that highlights the emotional state and situation of the characters in his stories. None of these stories are "nice," but bleak as they may be, they also hold a lot of wisdom, magic, and kindness.