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A review by iffer
Flight by Sherman Alexie
3.0
For the most part, I liked this book, although, I do agree with others who have reviewed it that it is somewhat didactic, and that the happily-ever-after ending is rather sudden and ill-fitting with the rest of the work. Because Alexie spends the bulk of the work showing (and unfortunately sometimes telling) the reader that pain, suffering, fear, and revenge continue in a "circle inside of a circle inside of a circle," it is somewhat unbelievable and uncharacteristic of the work that the protagonist, Zits, not only comes to the epiphany that he shouldn't shoot the people in the bank, but also shrugs off his lifetime of emotional baggage to live in harmony with the hot white nurse sister-in-law to Zits' favorite arresting officer (p. 77). I do acknowledge that Alexie sprinkles the protagonist's time travels with a few "good" people, or people that have done "bad" things because they are hurting, but are, or try to be, "good" people in general, so I am not saying that it's completely out of the question for Zits to be redeemed, as he is in the end. Rather, it bothers me that the happy ending seems a foregone conclusion rather than something that will be an ongoing battle.
The narrative writing style of Flight was engaging and easy to read and this was both an asset and a downfall to the novel. At times, the stark descriptions and writing style aided in conveying Alexie's ideas, especially the brutality and fear, but at other times, the simple language fell short of expressing the complexity of the darkness of humanity and the uncertainty of the outcomes of human life and behavior, as happened with the ending, because Alexie did not fully express the impact of the main characters' journey through time and experience on his decision to change.
I liked the premise of this novel a lot, and I think that it motivated readers to attempt to think about life from the perspective of others. Although I don't know how well-researched the various persons and events in Zits' romp through time were (although I think that they could've researched in more detail), I do believe that Alexie succeeded in showing us the ways in which our pain, fear, and desire for revenge separate us and feed misunderstanding, separation, and violence, despite the fact that they are universal emotions. I also think that Alexie does a good job of not reducing the complex issues of history to "common human experience," because he shows readers that even though humans share common emotions and motivations, and may act them out in similar ways (oftentimes violence), that people are not the same; outcomes are not equal; and some stand to benefit more, or lose less than other groups.
The narrative writing style of Flight was engaging and easy to read and this was both an asset and a downfall to the novel. At times, the stark descriptions and writing style aided in conveying Alexie's ideas, especially the brutality and fear, but at other times, the simple language fell short of expressing the complexity of the darkness of humanity and the uncertainty of the outcomes of human life and behavior, as happened with the ending, because Alexie did not fully express the impact of the main characters' journey through time and experience on his decision to change.
I liked the premise of this novel a lot, and I think that it motivated readers to attempt to think about life from the perspective of others. Although I don't know how well-researched the various persons and events in Zits' romp through time were (although I think that they could've researched in more detail), I do believe that Alexie succeeded in showing us the ways in which our pain, fear, and desire for revenge separate us and feed misunderstanding, separation, and violence, despite the fact that they are universal emotions. I also think that Alexie does a good job of not reducing the complex issues of history to "common human experience," because he shows readers that even though humans share common emotions and motivations, and may act them out in similar ways (oftentimes violence), that people are not the same; outcomes are not equal; and some stand to benefit more, or lose less than other groups.