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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Messy and complex and totally, utterly readable from start to finish. Hard to say what it was, other than it being something I loved.
dark
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such an interesting book that kept you on yours in terms of its murder-mystery plot. I also really appreciated the writing. The omniscient third person narrator made use of dramatic irony in ways that I thought was clever. I also liked the radio show segments and the testimonies. I also appreciate the brutally honest ways that internal prejudice towards others was written
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Grief, Alcohol
The plot is very interesting, but the seething anger inherent in the book made it much less pleasant to read.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Alexie has been, and remains, one of my favorite authors, the fact that he is Native American is incidental (He was the author of the wonderful movie, Smoke Signals). His prose is always casual but substantive, showing me a different way of viewing things gently and often with humor. This is a very different book from the others of his I have read. It is a murder thriller presented from inside the maelstrom. Taking place in the racially charged environment of Seattle, the readers will find themselves with the enmity of both whites and Indians, and the Native Americans barely surviving on the streets. As always, Alexie doesn't proselytize, he reveals, he follows the action and seminal conversations wherever they are taking place. I think this is one of the better books for allowing the uninformed reader to realize both the blatant and subtle prejudice the Native American must endure in this society. The characters and scenes have remained strongly with me long after finishing the book. If you don't want to approach the storyline on that level, it is still a great thriller with fully realized participants and an unknown killer that may have you guessing even past the end.
3.5 stars
I found this book gripping, and once I really got into it, I couldn't put it down. I was ultimately disappointed, though. I know Sherman Alexie is not habitually a mystery writer, but I felt cheated by his reluctance to actually solve the mystery in this book. I found myself wishing it had been marketed as literary fiction, so that I would feel less cheated by the lack of resolution.
Things I loved: The insights into how American Indians form community in places like Seattle, where members of many tribes are thrown together. The weird, wonderful dream sequences. The hint of something possibly supernatural. The way Alexie treats orphans of all stripes.
Things I didn't like: The ambiguity of the ending -- all I really wanted was more of a clue as to who the Indian Killer was. It didn't have to be a "come out and reveal all," just some clearer sense. I also was sort of iffy on the characterization of Professor Mather. Lord knows we've all met individuals like him, but unlike the other characters, there was very little complexity, and he felt like a distillation of every stupidly insensitive, entitled white male professor in the world. I'm sure it was a hell of a good time writing him, but he was painted in such broad strokes in comparison to most of the other major players. Disappointing.
So now I've found myself with a book that I can't quite recommend to people, but that I also can't seem to stop talking about, which is very odd. I should give Alexie props for that, definitely.
I found this book gripping, and once I really got into it, I couldn't put it down. I was ultimately disappointed, though. I know Sherman Alexie is not habitually a mystery writer, but I felt cheated by his reluctance to actually solve the mystery in this book. I found myself wishing it had been marketed as literary fiction, so that I would feel less cheated by the lack of resolution.
Things I loved: The insights into how American Indians form community in places like Seattle, where members of many tribes are thrown together. The weird, wonderful dream sequences. The hint of something possibly supernatural. The way Alexie treats orphans of all stripes.
Things I didn't like: The ambiguity of the ending -- all I really wanted was more of a clue as to who the Indian Killer was. It didn't have to be a "come out and reveal all," just some clearer sense. I also was sort of iffy on the characterization of Professor Mather. Lord knows we've all met individuals like him, but unlike the other characters, there was very little complexity, and he felt like a distillation of every stupidly insensitive, entitled white male professor in the world. I'm sure it was a hell of a good time writing him, but he was painted in such broad strokes in comparison to most of the other major players. Disappointing.
So now I've found myself with a book that I can't quite recommend to people, but that I also can't seem to stop talking about, which is very odd. I should give Alexie props for that, definitely.
This is a full-length novel of Alexie's, as a modern Native American he has an honest perspective from which to write about these issues, and I think he does it really well. I wasn't thrilled by the end of this book, I had trouble keeping all the ends tied together and keeping track of the large cast of characters. I think he does a great job with complex multi-layered character development, it was just hard to keep my mind around all the ones in this book.