128 reviews for:

Indian Killer

Sherman Alexie

3.78 AVERAGE

jco19's review against another edition

4.0

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Indians are dancing now, and I don't think they're going to stop

bristlecone's review against another edition

4.0

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I enjoyed this book very much. It provides an interesting dialogue about cultural identity, how groups identify other members of their gorup, and how/by whom stories can and should be told. It also is a powerful story about the interactions between the colonized and the colonizers --- the brutality, pain, and anger that that relationship creates --- and how its legacy affects communities and individuals for generations (or how even when it has "ended" it hasn't really ended). It is unsurprising that marginalized groups feel devalued. It is unsurprising that these groups are angered by the appropriation of their culture and the denial of their suffering. It is surprising that this cultural violence does not more frequently result in physical violence.

matildatc's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

dfculver's review against another edition

4.0

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Good storytelling, complex characters.

kaycee_king's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Excellent book. Very sharp political commentary delivered in a provocative manner.  

bikes_books_yarn's review against another edition

4.0

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Another book that haunts me.

I love it when an author can have a story line that is compelling and interesting and also weave a social commentary into the work in such a way that it just feels natural rather than forced down your throat. Maybe it was just where I was in my life when I read this - but I really enjoyed it.

emmamgregory's review against another edition

4.0

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Being a fan of Sherman Alexie's writing I was excited to read his new novel. Alexie is a native American writer who writes wry satirical novels about growing up on reservations in northern America. His new novel Indian Killer was a departure on his usual topic and featured an Indian Killer, was this a white killer who killed Indian's or an Indian who killed white men? A great novel that got me thinking about the place native americans hold in america today, racism and how sad this world is that everyday we still judge our friends by the lifestyles they adopt based on skin color.

lokroma's review against another edition

1.0

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Cliched writing, especially the dialogue, flat characters, obvious stereotypes, an over the top plot. When an author is making a point I prefer that he not use a sledge hammer. I didn't even really dislike this book...I simply didn't care about it. I'm reading House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday which deals with the same issue in a much more accomplished and nuanced way.

rbreade's review against another edition

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I happened to be listening to the audiobook of White Fragility while reading this story by Alexie; the two pair well. Alexie's omniscient narrator skillfully moves the reader among various strata of society, both indigenous and white, in Seattle, revealing numerous fault-lines in what is usually described as a liberal city. Along the way, we watch all the indicators of white fragility--the silence, denial, defensiveness, the request made by whites that people of color should assuage their guilt, as well as the more aggressive manifestations of anger--play out.

Remarkably, Alexie is expertly demonstrating the many degrees of white fragility in this book, published in 1996, a full 15 years before Robin DiAngelo would coin the term for this phenomenon. And while there is a serial killer loose in the story--the organizing principle around which other stories swirl--don't expect this to end neatly. That's not what interests Alexie here.

bahoulie's review against another edition

4.0

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We manage to so completely ignore Native American experience (at least in my part of the country). Getting many different points of view, along with so many different ways to be angry - some more legitimately than others - was truly interesting.