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A review by greeniezona
War Dances by Sherman Alexie
4.0
I've been meaning to read this book for ages, I don't know why it's taken me so ridiculously long. But when I had a rare moment to actually step over into the adult fiction section in the library, in between talking Solomon down from putting every Go, Diego Go! DVD in the entire system on hold at once, this book jumped out at me.
I confess it took a bit for me to get into this collection. I prefer Alexie's poetry and longer stories, often finding his short stories a little dry. (Of course, I admit also to a long held prejudice against short stories themselves as a format.) Where Alexie won me over was with the story "War Dances," which somehow manages to be everything I associate with Alexie, and then again with "Fearful Symmetry," which is about so many things, but the part I especially loved was about the crazy Hollywood machine and how it treats screenwriters.
The very first story in the collection, "Breaking and Entering," didn't connect at first, but as time went on, I think I've thought about this story more than any other. About a man who accidentally kills a youth who he fins breaking into his home, it is just so relevant to everything that I think of it often.
I confess it took a bit for me to get into this collection. I prefer Alexie's poetry and longer stories, often finding his short stories a little dry. (Of course, I admit also to a long held prejudice against short stories themselves as a format.) Where Alexie won me over was with the story "War Dances," which somehow manages to be everything I associate with Alexie, and then again with "Fearful Symmetry," which is about so many things, but the part I especially loved was about the crazy Hollywood machine and how it treats screenwriters.
The very first story in the collection, "Breaking and Entering," didn't connect at first, but as time went on, I think I've thought about this story more than any other. About a man who accidentally kills a youth who he fins breaking into his home, it is just so relevant to everything that I think of it often.