Scan barcode
A review by jackwwang
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
4.0
A memoir freed from the constraints of tedious personal accuracy, but one that seems to ring true to the wider sweep of history. In the updated intro, Alexie claims that the big theme, the overarching idea, the epicenter of the book is the sons in the book who really love and hate their fathers. That might be part of it, but to me it was about coming of age on the reservation, and all the associated meandering dreamy ennui, the tragic historical backdrop, the malevolent racism of the surrounding world, the poverty of hope and mobility, and the elegant beauty and simplicity that on good days look like happiness.
History is a big part of Alexie's prosaic style. Maybe it's more accurate to describe the interspersed dream-sequence passages with Custer and Columbus as Homeric epic similes, whole stories to make allegorical sense, but Alexie's similes coincides with real history much more often than Homer.
Love is strongly recurrent too. There is the pure and good and hale and true love between native men and native women in the thinly veiled story of Alexie's parents (Jimi Hendrix), and the beautiful and poignant not-quite-a-love-story "the approximate size of my favorite tumor." But then, there is the more troubled, but just as deeply longing love of Indian men for white women. Junior longs for the strong and made-for-a-liberal-arts-education Casey in college, his romance with her makes him wonder if "white people were happier than Indians." Victor shacks up with his white girlfriend in Seattle who watches him break lamps when they fight, and parted ways with a "I love you... and don't ever come back." The word "white" appears 113 times in this book, and it seems every white woman mentioned is a beautiful one.
Alexie's stories are vivid, the details don't paint vivid pictures with adjectives and descriptors, but the characters action convey pound for pound deeply felt emotions. These are deeply personal stories, I supposed that's why they had to be covered with the veil of fiction.
History is a big part of Alexie's prosaic style. Maybe it's more accurate to describe the interspersed dream-sequence passages with Custer and Columbus as Homeric epic similes, whole stories to make allegorical sense, but Alexie's similes coincides with real history much more often than Homer.
Love is strongly recurrent too. There is the pure and good and hale and true love between native men and native women in the thinly veiled story of Alexie's parents (Jimi Hendrix), and the beautiful and poignant not-quite-a-love-story "the approximate size of my favorite tumor." But then, there is the more troubled, but just as deeply longing love of Indian men for white women. Junior longs for the strong and made-for-a-liberal-arts-education Casey in college, his romance with her makes him wonder if "white people were happier than Indians." Victor shacks up with his white girlfriend in Seattle who watches him break lamps when they fight, and parted ways with a "I love you... and don't ever come back." The word "white" appears 113 times in this book, and it seems every white woman mentioned is a beautiful one.
Alexie's stories are vivid, the details don't paint vivid pictures with adjectives and descriptors, but the characters action convey pound for pound deeply felt emotions. These are deeply personal stories, I supposed that's why they had to be covered with the veil of fiction.