A review by booksaremysuperpower
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
4.0
(3.5 stars) This is a good short story collection, albeit one where you can definitely tell the writer was at the very beginning of his career (as Alexie also notes in his 10th anniversary edition prologue). There's a clear voice to these stories. I loved all the magical realism elements included here and the unique ways of storytelling from multiple recurring characters that show the heartbreaking and often hysterical snapshots of life on/off the Spokane Wellpinit Reservation.
His humor stands out in these pieces, even though several of them carry heavy themes. Some stories just didn't land as deftly as others, which I find is always the case with short story books, and I did skip through a few. But the pieces that struck me the most probably tended to be the most personal - stories about fathers/sons, mothers, women leaders in the community.
I don't know many American Indian authors. Only Louise Erdrich comes to mind, so getting to know more about life on the Rez, hardships and racial strife, and tribal culture was a highlight for me and why I would recommend this story collection to start with.
A fellow book clubber told me that his later novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a much richer and powerful book where Alexie really comes into his own as a writer and I can't wait to read it.
His humor stands out in these pieces, even though several of them carry heavy themes. Some stories just didn't land as deftly as others, which I find is always the case with short story books, and I did skip through a few. But the pieces that struck me the most probably tended to be the most personal - stories about fathers/sons, mothers, women leaders in the community.
I don't know many American Indian authors. Only Louise Erdrich comes to mind, so getting to know more about life on the Rez, hardships and racial strife, and tribal culture was a highlight for me and why I would recommend this story collection to start with.
A fellow book clubber told me that his later novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a much richer and powerful book where Alexie really comes into his own as a writer and I can't wait to read it.