Reservation Blues Dangers That Native American People Face
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Reservation Blues is a 1995 novel by American writer Sherman Alexie (Spokane-Coeur d'Alene).
The novel follows the story of the rise and fall of a rock and blues band of Spokane Indians from the Spokane Reservation.
In 1995, Thomas Builds-The-Fire, Junior Polatkin, and Victor Joseph, who also appear in Sherman Alexie's short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, meet American blues musician Robert Johnson.
He sold his soul to the devil
Reservation Blues, Sherman AlexieReservation Blues is a 1995 novel by American writer Sherman Alexie (Spokane-Coeur d'Alene).
The novel follows the story of the rise and fall of a rock and blues band of Spokane Indians from the Spokane Reservation.
In 1995, Thomas Builds-The-Fire, Junior Polatkin, and Victor Joseph, who also appear in Sherman Alexie's short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, meet American blues musician Robert Johnson.
He sold his soul to the devil in 1931 and claims to have faked his death seven years later.
The three boys start a rock and blues band in Spokane using Johnson's enchanted guitar.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز سیزدهم از ماه اکتبر در سال2016میلادی
عنوان: آوازهای غمگین اردوگاه ؛ نویسنده: شرمن الکسی؛ مترجم: سعید توانایی؛ تهران، روزنه، سال1394؛ در360ص؛ شابک9789643345051؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 21م
بسیار خواندنی است، در آستین هر پاراگراف، قصه ای، و شعری سروده شده است؛ «رابرت جانسون»، مرد سیاهپوستی است که در معامله با شیطان (آقا)، به قدرتی بیهمتا، در نوازندگی گیتار (سبک بلوز) رسیده، او سر از اردوگاه سرخپوستان «اسپوکن»، درمیآورد، و با «توماس» آتش به پاکن، بدترین قصه گوی قبیله، برخورد میکند؛ او گیتار خودش را، هگامیکه با راهنمایی «توماس»، برای دیدار با «بزرگ مادر»، به پای کوه «ول پینیت» میرود، در ماشین او جا میگذارد، و همین بهانه ای میشود، تا «توماس» همراه با دو دوست دیگر خود، به نامهای «جونیور پولتکین»، و «ویکتور جوزف» («چس» و «چکرز»، دو دختر سرخپوست از قبیله «فلت هد» نیز، در ادامه به عنوان خواننده ی کر به گروه اضافه میشوند) گروه موسیقی راکی را، با نام «کایوت اسپرینگز» تشکیل میدهند؛ آنها برآنند، تا درد و رنجی را که در طول تاریخ پر فراز و نشیب بومیان، بر آنها رفته، به موسیقی بدل کنند؛ ...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 12/08/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 01/08/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
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I was first introduced to these characters when I saw the movie Smoke Signals, which was originally a book (that I didn't read). I liked the movie, in part because I think the actor Adam Beach is yummy. In this book, Thomas is given an enchanted guitar and forms a band with Victor and Junio
"They dreamed of fishing salmon but woke up as adults to shop at the Trading Post and stand in line for U.S.D.A. commodity food instead. They savagely opened cans of commodities and wept over the rancid meat."I was first introduced to these characters when I saw the movie Smoke Signals, which was originally a book (that I didn't read). I liked the movie, in part because I think the actor Adam Beach is yummy. In this book, Thomas is given an enchanted guitar and forms a band with Victor and Junior. The writing is beautiful, and the subject—life on the Spokane Indian reservation—can be sad owing to the alcoholism and poverty.
For more of my reviews, please visit: http://www.theresaalan.net/blog
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I grew up a stone's throw from the Southern Ute and Navajo reservations. I had friends from both tribes through most of my public school years.
I don't know what I was expecting when I picked this up. I had read some of Alexie's short fiction anthologies and enjoyed them. Upon moving to Seattle and finding out that he was a local, I picked this up at a used book store, figuring I'd give it a read. I did not expect Thomas-builds-the-fire to get under my skin and change my life. Yet somehow he did.I grew up a stone's throw from the Southern Ute and Navajo reservations. I had friends from both tribes through most of my public school years. Yet I had never understood what it was to be a Native American. "Reservation Blues" made me realize that I may never fully understand, but gave me new eyes to help me at least see.
Truly one of the best novels I've ever read - perhaps because it was the perfect time of my life to read it, perhaps for other reasons. But there are few books that compare in my experience for capturing a generous slice of humanity in a very true manner.
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As a concept, I love American magical realism (see also: Swamplandia!, which coincidentally is about people who like to pretend they're Indian). The execution of the book I really, really liked too. Reservation Blues is full of nightmares and alcoholism, but also, funny digs at whi
This is some very American magical realism, what with its mash-up of the Robert Johnson crossroads legend with life on a Spokane Indian reservation and rock star ambitions. Perhaps even more American than apple pie?!??As a concept, I love American magical realism (see also: Swamplandia!, which coincidentally is about people who like to pretend they're Indian). The execution of the book I really, really liked too. Reservation Blues is full of nightmares and alcoholism, but also, funny digs at white people and corporeal encounters with God. Alexie's writing is charming and emotional, without being over the top on either account.
There is a lot going on here thematically too. Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil for his guitar skill (a blues legend which is taken for truth in the book) runs parallel to Thomas & Friends' quest to become rock stars, using the same guitar, ultimately hoping to escape the poverty of the reservation. To achieve this dream also involves the shirking of some essential part of themselves, their cultural "soul" too. Thomas's girlfriend Chess personifies the struggle. She resents certain traits of Indian men, but she also resents the white women who make tokens of them.
All of the mysticism and themes double back on each other in true fairy tale fashion. Alexie is a Storyteller, just like Thomas. As someone with ambitions to write but who always struggles with the damn telling a good story part of it all, I appreciate how intricately every part of this book loose-threads together. But I have to say that in the world of US magical realism, I do have a preference for the crunchy, lyrical wonders of Karen Russell.
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I love how Alexie weaves between various stories seamlessly and how the mythology and the reality of Native Americans blurs hazily together. Somehow this makes the reality starker and the mythology even more wistful. I a As my friend Karen said yesterday, Sherman Alexie has the ability to make you laugh and cry in the same sentence. I love how he touches on the irony of a situation that drives it deep into the loneliest part of your being instead of just staying cliched and clever on the surface.
I love how Alexie weaves between various stories seamlessly and how the mythology and the reality of Native Americans blurs hazily together. Somehow this makes the reality starker and the mythology even more wistful. I also love how Alexie always ties the present into the historical. In this book, a lot of the horror of the Native American genocide is relived through characters' dreams. It raises the question of how do we incorporate our cultures' histories into our own lives.... how do we grieve the past? How do we atone for it? How do we live our lives informed by it but not chained by it?
The movie "Smoke Signals" by Chris Eyre is based off of this book loosely. Thomas Builds-the-Fire and Victor are two of the main characters in the story. If you liked "Smoke Signals", you like this. I loved both. ...more
At first, I was disappointed in myself because I could not, did not, will not finish this book. I wanted to, believe me. Oh, there was internal struggle. I mean, I need to read this; it's this month's pick for the book club I'm in. I need to be able to discuss this. Plus, I loved--loved--Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. It's on my "guaranteed you'll love it too" list, for crying out loud. Speaking of which, Alexie's other YA nov
I am very disappointed as I write this review.At first, I was disappointed in myself because I could not, did not, will not finish this book. I wanted to, believe me. Oh, there was internal struggle. I mean, I need to read this; it's this month's pick for the book club I'm in. I need to be able to discuss this. Plus, I loved--loved--Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. It's on my "guaranteed you'll love it too" list, for crying out loud. Speaking of which, Alexie's other YA novel Flight made me cry out loud. The ending of that book was beautiful! So, yes, I went into reading Reservation Blues with high hopes.
RB did not pull me in right away as I wanted it to. I kept on. I tried. But Alexie glossed over certain parts and waxed poetic on others. As I tried to get into the story and failed, I felt awful knowing I was not going to finish the book. What a terrible reader I am, I thought. I have no discipline. I'm a lazy reader (my niece has told me so and she's right).
But then I started to get mad at Alexie. He'd go on and on about some dream sequence and then another dream. God, these characters dream a lot! And it was like he was going: Here's this for you to read and THIS, but that? Oh, you want to read about that? and he threw a couple adjectives at THAT and called that scene done. And I'm the one feeling lazy?!?
So I quit. One third of the way in and I'm moving on to another book. I won't be finishing RB although I may pick up another book by ol' Sherman in the future. But you can bet that I'll expect him to draw me in within the first chapter. Just as I expect the next novel I pick up to do.
Oh, it'll be formulaic drivel, but it'll describe THIS and THAT.
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I'd like to write a linear review of Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues, but the story is only part of the story and a linear summary would miss it. Robert Johnson – the Robert Johnson – gives his guitar to Thomas Builds-the-Fire, who gave it to Victor Joseph. Under the guitar's tutelage, their musical skills grew and the friends began
"Mr. Builds-the-Fire, I sold my soul to the Gentleman so I could play this damn guitar better than anybody ever played guitar. I'm hopin' Big Mom can get it back"I'd like to write a linear review of Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues, but the story is only part of the story and a linear summary would miss it. Robert Johnson – the Robert Johnson – gives his guitar to Thomas Builds-the-Fire, who gave it to Victor Joseph. Under the guitar's tutelage, their musical skills grew and the friends began the band Coyote Springs. Coyote Springs was joined by two Flathead women and, briefly, two white women, Betty and Veronica (yeah, Betty and Veronica). Big Mom helped them become an epic band, then Coyote Springs went to New York City – where they lost touch with their roots – and fell apart.
Read Alexie's stories only partly for the larger plot. They are an opportunity to play with language: his words sounded like stones in his mouth and coals in his stomach. Or here: Some said [he was] Lakota Sioux because he had cheekbones so big that he knocked people over when he moved his head from side to side. Thomas Builds-the-Fire's stories – and Alexie's – climb into your clothes like sand, [and] gave you itches that could not be scratched.
Reservation Blues is in the style of reservation realism: both larger than life events – meeting the long-dead including Robert Johnson, working with the magical Big Mom – and realistic emotions. Alexie's metaphors, for example, while not strictly true, are more true than what might be captured in a video.
Reservation Blues acknowledged and considered oppression and privilege, reconsidering history. Alexie avoided easy stereotypes, calling out both Whites and Native Americans.
Thomas thought about all the dreams that were murdered here, and the bones buried quickly just inches below the surface, all waiting to break through the foundations of those government houses built by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.And:
[General George] Wright looked at Coyote Springs. He saw their Indian faces. He saw the faces of millions of Indians, beaten, scarred by smallpox and frostbite, split open by bayonets and bullets. He looked at his own white hands and saw the blood stains there.Reservation Blues sneaks in, under your awareness, seeming to be only a silly and a goofy Summer read – and some will read it that way – but Reservation Blues is still reverberating in my head, something I look for in a book.
The music rose past the hitchhiker up into the sky, banged into the Big Dipper, and bounced off the bright moon. That's exactly what happened. The music howled back into the blue van, kept howling until Coyote Springs became echoes.
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I picked up "Reservation Blues" because a few of my students were reading it for an English class, and I liked the idea of being able to discuss it in our adviser meetings. From
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I heard about Sherman Alexie for years before I finally picked up one of his books. Unfortunately, that book was "Flight," a short little tale that bored me in the telling and left me unimpressed. Surely, I thought, this is not the kind of writing that gave Alexie his literary stature?I picked up "Reservation Blues" because a few of my students were reading it for an English class, and I liked the idea of being able to discuss it in our adviser meetings. From the get-go, I was pulled into the story by Alexie's prose and his talent for dialog. The idea of Robert Johnson showing up in the modern world, still carrying his guitar, kicked my ass and got me excited for something weird and different.
Johnson ends up taking a back seat early on in the story, leaving the stage open for a handful of characters who put a band together and start playing gigs on their reservation. From here, Alexie tinkers with his fictional reality, imbuing his band with talent and popularity that accrue far faster than one might expect. In between rock-and-rolling, the band members talk about their lives on the reservation, and what they might be able to make for themselves outside of it. It was these latter conversations that were my favorite part of the book, especially when the female characters talk about how difficult it has been to find a dependable man in their community. I know little about life on reservations, and the depiction that Alexie paints in this book moved and disturbed me.
I understand, now, why Alexie attracted such a large following, and why people respect his books. "Reservation Blues" is an affecting read, one that recalls the emotions it evoked whenever I think about it. I'm glad that I gave Alexie another chance.
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What a fantastic novel. Stronger than Alexie's debut collection, RESERVATION BLUES explores similar territory with an even greater scope as he takes his compelling, hilarious, and tragic characters (Thomas-Builds-a-Fire, Victor, and Junior) off of the reservation while also bringing outsiders onto it. The result is a convincing portrayal of the complex status his characters find themselves in: eroded conne
Thomas-Builds-a-Fire is one of the greatest characters in 20th century literature. Period.What a fantastic novel. Stronger than Alexie's debut collection, RESERVATION BLUES explores similar territory with an even greater scope as he takes his compelling, hilarious, and tragic characters (Thomas-Builds-a-Fire, Victor, and Junior) off of the reservation while also bringing outsiders onto it. The result is a convincing portrayal of the complex status his characters find themselves in: eroded connections to family (often fathers), white culture's simultaneous fetishizing and dismissing of Native American culture, the fine line between advancing the status of the nation and causing problems, as well as some great, subtle, connections linking the experience of Africans and Native Americans.
Overall, this novel should be the one people suggest when recommending Alexie to those who prefer novels (THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN is a great book but might not be as cohesive for people who already bristle at short stories, even though there's plenty of character overlap).
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I could feel the magic everywhere. I could feel the weight behind each word. I could feel the disappointment, the despair, the joy and the laughter. I could hear the music they played. The The whole story is kinda simple. 4 people trying to make a band and then they fail. That's it. But the whole story is not just this. Thousands of other stories are told between the lines. Stories that are filled with magic. Stories that have happened in the 19th century and stories that have happened yesterday.
I could feel the magic everywhere. I could feel the weight behind each word. I could feel the disappointment, the despair, the joy and the laughter. I could hear the music they played. The sound of the piano, the guitar and the drums. I could hear all the notes that big mom sang. And I mourned for their loss.
In a world of cruel realities a little bit of magic has to be cherished. I cherished all those little moments of magic that I felt while reading this book. Read it not just for the stories. Read it because of the magic.
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What I especially liked about this book it its view of music and its acknowledgement of the effects music have on one's soul. As I musician, I felt closely related to Robert Johnson. Music, characterized by his guitar, had captured his being to the point where it became hard to leave the instrument's side. And because of this dependency on music, the link between music and Satan is easily identifiable and understandable. As well, Reservation Blues gave the reader insight into the lives of modern day Native Americans. Often we are all too familiar with the noble Native American riding his brave horse across green planes. This image is not only cliché, but its out dated and inaccurate of the average Native American. According to www.jointogether.org, five of the top ten causes of death are relates to alcohol and alcohol dependence. These numbers are three to four times larger than the national average. This book, while flawed in its complexity and predictability, I liked its array of situations and emotions afflicting Native Americans, a minority group often forgotten.
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Alexie, Sherman (1995). Reservation Blues. New York: Warner Books. 306 pages.
I confess immediately that I am a huge fan of Sherman Alexie and I think this book is an artistic masterpiece. I acknowledge that most of my friends do not share my opinion. Okay, that's out of the way.
Each chapter opens with lyrics from a song. The first is from Alexie's imaginary (as far as I know) song, Reservation Blues: "Dancing all alone, feeling nothing good, It's been so long since s
The Indian Wars Today (2012)Alexie, Sherman (1995). Reservation Blues. New York: Warner Books. 306 pages.
I confess immediately that I am a huge fan of Sherman Alexie and I think this book is an artistic masterpiece. I acknowledge that most of my friends do not share my opinion. Okay, that's out of the way.
Each chapter opens with lyrics from a song. The first is from Alexie's imaginary (as far as I know) song, Reservation Blues: "Dancing all alone, feeling nothing good, It's been so long since someone understood." That summaries the theme, tone, and mood of the novel.
After the epigram lyrics, Chapter 1 starts with the line, "In the one hundred and eleven years since the creation of the Spokane Indian Reservation in 1881, not one person, Indian or otherwise, had ever arrived there by accident."
And those two lines neatly sum up the theme of Reservation Blues. It's a heartfelt confession of a reservation Indian boy and his comrades. Alexie is now very much an "urban Indian," of course, a world-renown and much-honored writer. But this book tries to show what life on the reservation was like, and still is like, for many people. Despite some shortcomings, it succeeds admirably.
The opening imagery is fantastic, and sets the tone. Robert Johnson, legendary blues guitarist, is standing at a crossroads on the reservation, waiting. The young protagonist and narrator, Thomas Builds-the-Fire finds him there. Johnson seems sick and hurt, and Thomas offers to help. He considers taking him to the Indian Health Service, but then remembers they just give out dental floss and condoms, which wouldn't be of any use. Instead he offers to take him to Big Mom, an enormous Indian woman who lives in a cabin atop a mountain. Johnson believes that would be a good idea because he has had dreams of such a woman, someone who could reverse the bargain he made with the devil, selling his soul in exchange for his otherwordly ability to play the guitar.
The episode refers to the Faustian "Crossroads Legend" around Johnson (who died in 1938 at age 27): He met the devil at a crossroads (in Mississippi), and made the deal. The devil tuned his guitar for him and Johnson became a great player.
Keying off this opening scene, Alexie develops a story in which Johnson gives Thomas his magical guitar, who gives it to his friend Victor, a drunken lout who suddenly, though intermittently, becomes able to play fantastic blues. They recruit another friend, Junior, and form a band, Coyote Springs. Thomas is the bass player and the "story-teller" (songwriter). They're a terrible band, but the Indians on the rez appreciate them when they play in an abandoned grocery store.
After a few local gigs, they get an audition with a record label in New York. Big Mom warns them not to go, but they have ambition and crave success. The talent scouts, Wright and Sheridan, buy the airline tickets for the band, which now includes two young Indian women (named Chess and Checkers), who were groupies but joined as backup singers.
It's worth noting that "Wright" is the name of the U.S. Cavalry officer who led the 1858 Indian Wars campaign that defeated the Spokane Indians, and "Sheridan" is the U.S. Army officer who famously declared that 'The only good Indian is a dead Indian.' Alexie is fond of inserting subtle cultural and historical references into his tale.
So Coyote Springs goes to the Big Apple, but the audition becomes a disaster when the magical guitar "turns" on Victor, attacking him. For trying to sell out to the whites, perhaps? The group returns to the rez, failures, but the tribe resents them for having left at all. Why did they try to sell their souls to the whites? Who did they think they were, attempting to have a successful life off the reservation? The mood turns dark.
Meanwhile, Robert Johnson is rehabilitated by Big Mom, although details are sparse. After that dramatic opening scene, the Robert Johnson story disappears into the background and the magic guitar is all that's left.
The story line explores and demonstrates these larger themes: What is the Indian soul? Why do Indians, even today, still see the white man as the devil? What are the roles of music and storytelling, and dreaming in the Indian cultural life? The novel tries to present a world view from the point of view of a young reservation Indian, Thomas, who seems educated, sensitive, and thoughtful, and who doesn't drink. Thomas is Alexie's alter-ego.
I enjoyed a couple of conversations with Alexie at the 2008 Port Townsend, WA film festival, which focused on films by and about Indians. I asked him about the sense of time (or lack of it) portrayed in the 1961 film, The Exiles, about urban Indians in Los Angeles, a film he had introduced to the audience ("as the festival's official Indian," he joked).
"Poverty is boring," he said. "I was poor, and when you're poor, it's the same shit every day. The same fears and worries and problems. It's like being in prison. There is no time." I was stunned by the honesty, force, and depth of his answer. It's what made the last line of the song, Reservation Blues, echo for me: "And if you ain't got choices, Ain't got much to lose."
I also asked him about the lack of ambition that seems to inhabit reservation culture and Indian life, as portrayed. He replied, "To have ambition means to accept the world of the people who destroyed you. Lack of ambition, even alcohol and drug addiction and suicide, are acts of rebellion against that." I was skeptical. "Are the people really thinking that way," I asked? "Subconsciously," he answered, "always."
I was still skeptical, but I believed him, because I believe him. I'm white; I'm the devil. I offer the magic guitar of opportunity that promises hope but will turn on you eventually. From my culture-centric point of view, it's hard to understand the racism and cultural and economic forces that keep the Indian wars going even today. This book successfully represents that and does it with engaging, likeable characters, stimulating imagery, original and sincere writing, and amazingly, with a light, humorous tone.
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I think the book surfaces a lot of issues concerning Native Americans (and American culture) that I liked more than the plot li
This is my second Sheman Alexie book (first was, of course, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian). I love the subject matter and writing style, so this was an easy buy for me. That said, it's been some time since I've read the former, so I didn't have much in terms of expectations. I might have expected a bit more humor, but otherwise it wasn't off in any way.I think the book surfaces a lot of issues concerning Native Americans (and American culture) that I liked more than the plot line itself. And it's not like any of the issues is a surprise: poverty, alcoholism, identity, colonization, mysticism, and cultural appropriation all have a strong presence throughout the book. But the inclusion of these elements is seamless, natural, and in no way overdone. What emerges is a fairly believable story with a few mystical tweaks (the lovely inclusion of Robert Johnson, the crossroads demon, and a strong Native American mother figure) that easily embodies the lived experience of a specific class of often-overlooked Americans.
While I didn't particularly love the book, I'm glad I read it, and I'm likely to pick up more of Alexie's work. The characters are rich and heartbreaking. The flow of the book probably wouldn't work anywhere else, but now it just seems essential for this genre.
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I picked up Reservation Blues from the library because it was being displayed as a prominent book in Banned Book week. I'd read and listened to (even published at GBF) Sherman Alexie's work, but had never heard of this one. When I read the premise, that of famous blues musician Robert Johnson (who
There's magic in this book. Not the shimmering fairy dust of Disney, not the creeping shadows of Poe, but a magic of a different sort. An older magic, and a sadder one, probably because it's all true.I picked up Reservation Blues from the library because it was being displayed as a prominent book in Banned Book week. I'd read and listened to (even published at GBF) Sherman Alexie's work, but had never heard of this one. When I read the premise, that of famous blues musician Robert Johnson (who supposedly sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads to become the best guitar player ever), wandering on to a Spokane reservation and giving Thomas Builds-the-Fire his guitar, I was hooked.
Rock 'n roll. Pacific Northwest. An honest, heartbreaking look at life on a reservation. I loved this book. One of my favorite reads this year. The ending depressed the hell out of me while also making me smile.
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While I enjoyed this novel, I don't think it compares to Alexie's best. It's a bit disjointed: the story focuses on Thomas but then goes off into the dreams, nightmares, and memories of all the other characters, too.
3.5 stars.
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The book perpetuates stereotypes and seems to show that there is no end in sight for Native Americans, which just made me sad by the time I was done reading. Perhaps that is the point of the book?
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Yet....moving and Powerful story (sad/funny/sad/funny/sad/.......'wacky' much of the time!
I'm glad I read this book. (I don't think I would have picked it on my own). I have my book club to 'thank'! Its not my favorite 'cup-of-tea' (in style of 'types' of books) ---yet, this is a book I'll never forget. (THAT is worth something!!!)
I come away with a deeper-added appreciation for our Native Americans!
I loved
Quirky book! Funny names for the characters: (Chess/Checkers/Thomas-Builds-The-Fire)....Yet....moving and Powerful story (sad/funny/sad/funny/sad/.......'wacky' much of the time!
I'm glad I read this book. (I don't think I would have picked it on my own). I have my book club to 'thank'! Its not my favorite 'cup-of-tea' (in style of 'types' of books) ---yet, this is a book I'll never forget. (THAT is worth something!!!)
I come away with a deeper-added appreciation for our Native Americans!
I loved this line in the book: "The only things that will survive a nuclear war are cockroaches and my father". (too funny)!
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This novel begins with the blues musician Robert Johnson making his way onto the Spokane Indian reservation and finding a wa
This is the debut novel by Sherman Alexie, who had already put out a near perfect short story collection: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven a little earlier. I always think about Alexie as being a very talented writer, but it's interesting to consider that because his output is varied in terms of type, the over all collective oeuvre is a little harder to assess.This novel begins with the blues musician Robert Johnson making his way onto the Spokane Indian reservation and finding a way to more or less dump his cursed guitar. It's picked up by Thomas, a young man in his 20s, and as he strums (and becomes both enamored and clearly cursed) he decides that he and his friends, Victor and Junior (all of these names should sound familiar to Alexie readers) start up that band. They're terrible at first and less and less terrible as time passes, but they fall instantly and often hilariously into the trappings of rock life, as well as the same old trappings of their reservation life. In a series of mishaps, punctuated by song lyrics as they write, we see the band go through a number of adventures and misadventures.
As happens in all of Alexie's writings, but especially the early stories, there's a real capacity for a story or a moment within a story to say something both oddly funny and emotionally harrowing. So whether it's the three boys seeing an older drunk man on the side of the road and two of them thinking it might be their fathers before remembering their fathers are dead or having unfounded and unspecific suspicions about Flathead Indians, or any of the numerous other moments that flower in this novel.
...moreAlexie is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. Sherman's best known works in Sherman J. Alexie, Jr., was born in October 1966. A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane, WA. Alexie has published 18 books to date.
Alexie is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. Sherman's best known works include The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Smoke Signals, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
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