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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I saw this book on a shelf at my grandparents' house and gave an audible gasp of excitement. The only other book of Alexie's that I had read was The Absolutely True Diary... and so I couldn't wait to read something else.
This one is basically a series of vignettes, mostly connected, mostly about the same character, which I think is semi-autobiographical. There were a few details which also popped up in Absolutely True Diary...
The stories are both sad and happy. Alexie has a way of portraying the sadness of everyday life in a way that makes it beautiful.
Also he mentioned a few places on the Flathead reservation that I am familiar with so I thought that was kind of cool just because I love recognizing familiar things in books.
This is just the kind of book I think everyone should read because it reveals a part of American culture that is so unfamiliar and so uncared about by most people.
This one is basically a series of vignettes, mostly connected, mostly about the same character, which I think is semi-autobiographical. There were a few details which also popped up in Absolutely True Diary...
The stories are both sad and happy. Alexie has a way of portraying the sadness of everyday life in a way that makes it beautiful.
Also he mentioned a few places on the Flathead reservation that I am familiar with so I thought that was kind of cool just because I love recognizing familiar things in books.
This is just the kind of book I think everyone should read because it reveals a part of American culture that is so unfamiliar and so uncared about by most people.
Beautiful and painful as hell. Gets your mind going, not always in good ways, but that's good for you too.
I've read Sherman Alexie before, but this is going back in his writing history. It shows; the stories are more raw, which can be a good thing but also leaves plenty undone.
The pain of poverty and oppression of life on a reservation is more evident and his dry humour less so. Still, it's not one to miss.
The pain of poverty and oppression of life on a reservation is more evident and his dry humour less so. Still, it's not one to miss.
A really great collection of some inter-connected short stories. I had a little trouble following which narrator was which. It's all written in first person in a similar voice, so it was difficult to follow which character was which when the narrator became a secondary character and vice-versa. However over time the character's traits and voices got a little more distinct and kept me engaged through the end.
The excerpts that stood out most were;
The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore
This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona
The Trial of Thomas Builds-The-Fire
Jesus Christ's Half-Brother is Alive and Well on the Spokane Indian Reservation
The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor
Somebody Kept Saying Pow Wow
Witnesses Secret and Not
Things I didn't know about before;
HUD House- Slang Housing and Urban Development properties that were once foreclosed on.
BIA- Bureau of Indian Affairs
Fry Bread- Traditional bread often served with various other foods.
Ennit- "Isn't it." An expression of agreement
The excerpts that stood out most were;
The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore
This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona
The Trial of Thomas Builds-The-Fire
Jesus Christ's Half-Brother is Alive and Well on the Spokane Indian Reservation
The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor
Somebody Kept Saying Pow Wow
Witnesses Secret and Not
Things I didn't know about before;
HUD House- Slang Housing and Urban Development properties that were once foreclosed on.
BIA- Bureau of Indian Affairs
Fry Bread- Traditional bread often served with various other foods.
Ennit- "Isn't it." An expression of agreement
Sherman Alexie's record of inappropriate behavior made reading this book a non-starter
I think I rated this so low because I had much higher expectations for it. I hear so many people talking about great Alexie's writing is. I wasn't all that impressed. Some of the stories were good and I was interested in the characters but some of his metaphors fell flat and I couldn't stay invested as the stories tended to all mush together. At times, I didn't know whose stories I was reading and that kind of broke my attention.
I got halfway through and couldn't finish this one. I'm not a big fan of short stories in the first place, but there was a repetitiveness and lack of cohesion in these stories that just didn't work for me. I think I'll go for a full-length novel the next time I want to read more Sherman Alexie.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes