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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Sherman Alexie is such a good writer. There is so much honesty in his words, even if it's meant to be a collection of fiction short stories. I like how all the stories are connected as well. Looking forward to starting another one of his books.
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really looking forward to this one because Smoke Signals was my first exposure to Alexie’s writing and is loosely based off characters and events of these short stories. I think Alexie was raw and authentic in this, but I don’t think it captured the parallel joy and humor as well as others of his writings. Perhaps that’s where he was at and I can sit in that, but it just didn’t hold the same level of enjoyment as a book. It is fantastic as a first book, but in comparison to other books you can really see how Alexie grew as a writer.
really excellent short stories. powerful medicine for real.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
The stories, individually, are all good to great. Collectively, the stories are all too similar to make much distinction between them.
Alexie's prose is often beautiful (lyrical, as he jokes in the prologue to the 20th anniversary edition), but in every story, the lyrical prose is spent examining the same themes: poverty, love, identity, addiction. That makes it seems like there's some thematic breadth, but every story touches on all of them. Alexie returns to the same well over and over again and the water is good, but not too deep.
Alexie's prose is often beautiful (lyrical, as he jokes in the prologue to the 20th anniversary edition), but in every story, the lyrical prose is spent examining the same themes: poverty, love, identity, addiction. That makes it seems like there's some thematic breadth, but every story touches on all of them. Alexie returns to the same well over and over again and the water is good, but not too deep.
This book blew me away. I am so heartily thrilled by Alexie's writing. He writes with his poets heart and I am so glad. The characters and stories are haunting. I have been thinking about them long after I put the book down. Please read this!!
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Amazing collection of short stories. While the stories are often alcohol-soaked, Alexie's characters inspire a strange sort of empathy. The language is often poetic and awe-inspiring. Highly recommend.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced