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iceangel9's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of poems and short stories by one of the most prolific Native American writers. Alexie has a way of weaving his Native American heritage into his work in a way that makes it relatable to all readers. His poetry is powerful and yet easy to understand.
milkamilka's review against another edition
4.0
Sherman Alexie's War Dances is a fairly short and extremely entertaining collection of short stories and poetry. It was also my first experience with Alexie's prose, since he was familiar to me only as a screenwriter of the brilliant film Smoke Signals (1998), a comedy/drama directed by Chris Eyre.
After taking a postcolonial theory and an ethnicity in North American film classes I have become increasingly interested in Native American voices and representation. I have seen my fair share of Westerns, but have never really liked them. These two courses ignited in me a desire to look for voices from within the Native American community and as a result I have found gems like Eyre's Smoke Signals and Skins, James Welch's Winter in the Blood and now this collection by Sherman Alexie. I will keep looking for more, and if you have any recommendations, please let me know.
From War Dances I especially found myself enjoying the poetry. There runs a certain kind of undercurrent of nostalgic within his poetic work - he writes about payphones and how it felt to run to the phone booth to call a college sweetheart, about the process of putting together mix tapes and the certain kind of simplicity of childhood that is not present anymore. I especially loved the mix tape poem because I am of that age that I can remember a time when I put together mix tapes to C-cassette - the careful process of recording songs from the radio, the time consuming wait for the perfect songs to record. Though I am only 25, I have noticed in myself this yearn for nostalgia, for the "old times", for a time when I wasn't so heavily reliant on technology. Don't get me wrong - I love my laptop, my phone and my iPad, but sometimes I just feel like taking a break from everything. The fact that these days your life is pretty much connected to all sorts of social media makes taking a break fairly difficult.
Alexie approaches topics related to the lives of Native Americans in North America poignantly, but also with humor. I have seen a documentary called Reel Injun about the representation of Native Americans in Hollywood for a few times now and I think what Alexie does with this collection can be connected fairly easily to that documentary. He for example addresses alcoholism within the Native communities and how that is treated - he for example asks the question of whether the death of a reservation raised Native American by alcoholism should be regarded as a death by natural causes (a horrific idea, but something that seems to dominate some American mainstream media). He also addresses relationships between members of different generations, religious believes, and so on.
I thoroughly enjoyed War Dances and definitely want to read more by Alexie at some point in time. I also ended up rewatching Smoke Signals and damn, that movie still delivers. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you add it to your to-watch list!
After taking a postcolonial theory and an ethnicity in North American film classes I have become increasingly interested in Native American voices and representation. I have seen my fair share of Westerns, but have never really liked them. These two courses ignited in me a desire to look for voices from within the Native American community and as a result I have found gems like Eyre's Smoke Signals and Skins, James Welch's Winter in the Blood and now this collection by Sherman Alexie. I will keep looking for more, and if you have any recommendations, please let me know.
From War Dances I especially found myself enjoying the poetry. There runs a certain kind of undercurrent of nostalgic within his poetic work - he writes about payphones and how it felt to run to the phone booth to call a college sweetheart, about the process of putting together mix tapes and the certain kind of simplicity of childhood that is not present anymore. I especially loved the mix tape poem because I am of that age that I can remember a time when I put together mix tapes to C-cassette - the careful process of recording songs from the radio, the time consuming wait for the perfect songs to record. Though I am only 25, I have noticed in myself this yearn for nostalgia, for the "old times", for a time when I wasn't so heavily reliant on technology. Don't get me wrong - I love my laptop, my phone and my iPad, but sometimes I just feel like taking a break from everything. The fact that these days your life is pretty much connected to all sorts of social media makes taking a break fairly difficult.
Alexie approaches topics related to the lives of Native Americans in North America poignantly, but also with humor. I have seen a documentary called Reel Injun about the representation of Native Americans in Hollywood for a few times now and I think what Alexie does with this collection can be connected fairly easily to that documentary. He for example addresses alcoholism within the Native communities and how that is treated - he for example asks the question of whether the death of a reservation raised Native American by alcoholism should be regarded as a death by natural causes (a horrific idea, but something that seems to dominate some American mainstream media). He also addresses relationships between members of different generations, religious believes, and so on.
I thoroughly enjoyed War Dances and definitely want to read more by Alexie at some point in time. I also ended up rewatching Smoke Signals and damn, that movie still delivers. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you add it to your to-watch list!
pattydsf's review against another edition
4.0
I think I have fallen in love with Sherman Alexie's voice. I do not usually listen to talking books done by the author. Unfortunately the ability to write is not tied to the ability to narrate. However, this is the second book I have listened to by Alexie and I can't imagine going back to just reading his stories and poems. Last time I used a Playaway, this time I had the book in MP3CD format.
This book is a collection of over 20 stories and poems. I found most of them to be wonderful and many to be thought provoking. I especially liked "Bird Watching at Night" and "The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless". A couple of times I hit back track to hear a poem again. Also I found myself turning off the player so I could mull over the last story.
Which brings up my only complaint. I was very happy that the producer made each poem a separate track. That was helpful. However, there was not enough of a pause between stories. I am not sure how that would work, but I wished for about 45 seconds of blank space between each piece.
This book is a collection of over 20 stories and poems. I found most of them to be wonderful and many to be thought provoking. I especially liked "Bird Watching at Night" and "The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless". A couple of times I hit back track to hear a poem again. Also I found myself turning off the player so I could mull over the last story.
Which brings up my only complaint. I was very happy that the producer made each poem a separate track. That was helpful. However, there was not enough of a pause between stories. I am not sure how that would work, but I wished for about 45 seconds of blank space between each piece.
scotchneat's review against another edition
3.0
Alexie is highly regarded in some circles, and I enjoyed some of these stories very much. His authorial voice is simultaneously native and urban, and definitely ironic.
I think one of my favourite stories is one in which a young guy figures out life while writing obits for a local newspaper.
Some really great language, and a different point of view from the common.
I think one of my favourite stories is one in which a young guy figures out life while writing obits for a local newspaper.
Some really great language, and a different point of view from the common.
michaelnlibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
Well, this was a disappointment. I very much enjoyed "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" but these weren't very good stories - except for War Dances (the title story) that I realized I had read in the last few months in the New Yorker! Since I got this out of the library, I have no complaints on that score, but usually one can detect the possibility of this in the copyright statement where it will say, "the story blah-blah was published in XYZ" or some such. Here I guess he made a deal to publish the best story in the New Yorker after the book went to press. Good publicity for a not-so-great book.
Mr. Alexie in the New York Times commented that these stories were unusual for him since the central characters in several were not native Americans. Those two stories in particular are not very good.
Mr. Alexie in the New York Times commented that these stories were unusual for him since the central characters in several were not native Americans. Those two stories in particular are not very good.
caitmonster's review against another edition
5.0
Once I figured out the rhythm to the book, I thought it was brilliant. I think it would have been easier to figure out if I was reading it, pretty sure something (like formatting) was lost in the narration.
jenah's review against another edition
4.0
Great stories. As always, Sherman Alexie portrays the lives of people in a brutally honest way, that is not always pretty but still manages to create a connection between reader and subject.
lieslindi's review against another edition
Having recently seen Alexie during his book tour, I tried but could not evoke his voice while reading this. It's still good, of course, but better with his own narration.
I'm far down on the list at the library for new books by Margaret Atwood, Michael Chabon, Audrey Niffenegger, and Richard Russo. I'm a little sad that demand for Alexie should be so much less than theirs that I got it so quickly. But happy to have got it so quickly.
I'm far down on the list at the library for new books by Margaret Atwood, Michael Chabon, Audrey Niffenegger, and Richard Russo. I'm a little sad that demand for Alexie should be so much less than theirs that I got it so quickly. But happy to have got it so quickly.
noemi's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this read by the author. Now I will read all of his books with his voice in my head.
maddiewagner's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent collection of short stories/essays. Interesting range of plots and characters that deal with serious issues including homophobia, racism, death. The narration by Sherman Alexie is top notch.
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