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A review by amslersf
Flight by Sherman Alexie
2.0
Zits, the narrator, is a great vehicle for Alexie's humor and style. However on several levels the book either falls short of its ambition or uncomfortably strengthens stereotypes and cliched answers to teenage alienation and transformation.
Zits is certainly a likable self deprecating and insightful teenager. His struggles with self image, abuse, identity, family, criminalization, and the foster care system would be great opportunities for my students to reflect and examine their own lives. And to Alexie's credit he mines these areas to try to understand a bit of what is happening in America when a teenager decides to walk into a public space and shoot as many people as possible. Unfortunately the answers seem pat and easy. Geez, kids need loving homes and affirmation.
What is most disconcerting however is the portrayal of characters that easily fit into established archetypes. We have the Indian father who abandons his child, retreats into alcohol because of his own abusive father. The white liberal public servants will eventually create the safety for Zits to claim his own identity. I'm confused why Alexie would structure it this way. Just as his answers to teenage alienation seem pre-packaged in our culture, so do his racial portrayals. And these portrayals reinforce the racism that Zits struggles against... and incredulously it is in this context that Zits finds the secure footing he needs to heal himself.
I'm not ready to completely discount the book, or its potential to be carefully used with teenagers. However, in Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, a character says, "I haven't laughed like that in 500 years." Nothing in Flight helps us laugh since Columbus' arrival.
Zits is certainly a likable self deprecating and insightful teenager. His struggles with self image, abuse, identity, family, criminalization, and the foster care system would be great opportunities for my students to reflect and examine their own lives. And to Alexie's credit he mines these areas to try to understand a bit of what is happening in America when a teenager decides to walk into a public space and shoot as many people as possible. Unfortunately the answers seem pat and easy. Geez, kids need loving homes and affirmation.
What is most disconcerting however is the portrayal of characters that easily fit into established archetypes. We have the Indian father who abandons his child, retreats into alcohol because of his own abusive father. The white liberal public servants will eventually create the safety for Zits to claim his own identity. I'm confused why Alexie would structure it this way. Just as his answers to teenage alienation seem pre-packaged in our culture, so do his racial portrayals. And these portrayals reinforce the racism that Zits struggles against... and incredulously it is in this context that Zits finds the secure footing he needs to heal himself.
I'm not ready to completely discount the book, or its potential to be carefully used with teenagers. However, in Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, a character says, "I haven't laughed like that in 500 years." Nothing in Flight helps us laugh since Columbus' arrival.