Review: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

I’ve been waiting a few days to write my review for this book. It left me with an odd feeling that I’m still not quite sure how to translate into words. Did I like it, how did it make me feel, what did I learn? I’ve been asking myself these questions but Alexie doesn’t make them easy for me to answer. There’s a lot to digest.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a short story collection by Native American author Sherman Alexie. The text revolves around several characters living around the Spokane Indian Reservation but focuses primarily on Victor, Thomas and Norma. There are several themes explored in the text but the main thrust seems to be a quest to present what it means to be Native American in the 20th century (the text was published in 1993).

My first and lingering impression of this text is that it marks Alexie’s early writing career. There’s a lot of angst coming through the words. It seems as if he had much to express, much that he wanted the world to hear and there’s fingers pointing every which way which left me feeling dizzy. And it comes across rather loud and in your face. I think Alexie’s later works reflect similar messages but with a lot more skill. That isn’t to say this work isn’t skillful. No, Alexie’s got skill by the bucket loads. Rather, his later works show a honed skill.

These stories are powerful in their representation of Indian life. There’s a lot of conflict – between father and son, between urban and reservation Indians, between white culture and reservation culture. Alexie confronts the stereotype of alcoholic Indians. I thought it was interesting how Victor is shown before he begins drinking as full of promise and hope and after he begins drinking his hopefulness and positive outlook disappears. Most of the men on the reservation succumb to alcohol. Victor and his friends seem to lose their cultural identity when they become alcoholic, or in other words, they take on a new cultural identity – one that feeds stereotypes and doesn’t reflect Native American traditions. In one story, Victor is involved in a car accident and the white authorities are shocked he isn’t drunk. It is the small victories like these that offer hope.

I’m still not sure how to answer my initial questions. It was a worthwhile read. I recommend it to people interested in or unfamiliar with Native American life, cultural studies or a general interest in anthropology. 
Publisher: Harper, 1994    Pages: 223   
Rating: 3.5 Stars                 Source: used bookstore.

Flight by Sherman Alexie

Put on your seatbelts, you’re in for a ride. Flight takes the reader through time and space on a journey of reflection. Prepare to be transported, living brief moments in the bodies of other people. Encounter the famous and forgotten of the past. Struggle with the choices you are faced with as the character is. While body-swapping, you’ll experience the memories and emotions of white men and Indian men – feeling their rage, grief, fears and loves. When thrown in the middle of a battle, how do you decide who the good guys are? What would you kill for? Flight offers pause in a world of Hollywood violence. None of this reflection, however, slows down the plot. It moves along swiftly with the humor I’ve come to expect from this author. Once again, Alexie makes me laugh and cry on the same page. I think you will too.
Rating: 4 stars                                        
Publisher: Black Cat, copyright 2007     Pages: 181
Source: Iowa City Public Library            More on this author at: http://www.fallsapart.com/

War Dances by Sherman Alexie

A collection of short stories and poems, War Dances regards serious subjects (like death, race, sex and marriage) in a humorous light. This is the second Alexie book I’ve read and I appreciate his clairvoyance and directness. He is not afraid to offend in jest or for real and I actually enjoy authors who don’t beat around the bush but lay things out in the open, even if I don’t agree with (what I think is) “the message.” In War Dances, Alexie captures the multifaceted culture of the U.S. like no author I've read so far. Alexie fans will like War Dances and if you’re new to Alexie jump in and read this. He's one of today's authors you need to try out.

Favorites: “The Limited,” Breaking and Entering, War Dances, “Roman Catholic Haiku.”
Disliked: The Senator’s Son and The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless
                              
Publisher: Grove Press, 2009    Pages: 209
Rating: 4 stars     Source: Personal Copy
Other Alexie Reads: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian: 5 stars, YA Novel