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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Known primarily as a poet, Alexie ( Old Shirts and New Skins ), a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, here offers 22 extremely fine short stories, all set on or around the Spokane reservation in Washington state. Characters flow from one tale to the next; many involve Victor, who grows from a small child watching relatives fight during a New Year's Eve party ("Every Little Hurricane") to a dissolute man sitting on his broken-down porch with a friend, watching life pass him by ("The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore"). The author depicts with fierce determination all the elements of modern Native American life, from basketball and alcoholism to powwows and the unexplained deaths of insignificant people. Humor and tragedy exist side by side, and stories often jump back and forth in time and space, recounting two narratives that ultimately prove to be skeins of the same tale. Alexie writes with simplicity and forthrightness, allowing the power in his stories to creep up slowly on the reader. He captures the reservation's strong sense of community and attitude of hope tinged with realism as its inhabitants determine to persevere despite the odds. In "Imagining the Reservation" (a title that evokes John Lennon's song "Imagine") he writes, "Survival = Anger Imagination. Imagination is the only weapon on the reservation"--a weapon this author wields with potent authority. First serial to Esquire.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
This work chronicles modern life on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Victor, through whose eyes we view the community, is strongly aware of Native American traditions but wonders whether his ancestors view today's Indians--mired in alcohol, violence, and an almost palpable sense of despair--with sympathy or disgust. In spite of the bleakness of reservation life, the text brims with humor and passion as it juxtaposes ancient customs with such contemporary artifacts as electric guitars and diet Pepsi. The author of two previous poetry collections, Alexie writes with grit and lyricism that perfectly capture the absurdity of a proud, dignified people living in the squalor, struggling to survive in a society they disdain. Highly recommended for all fiction collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/93.
- Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
My Review of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,
By Daniel Paushter (Oakley, Utah) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (Paperback)
There are relatively few books about modern Native American life, that is, life on reservations. There are also relatively less well-written books on the subject. However, I feel that Sherman Alexie has compiled a well-balanced volume of stories into what he titled The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The book is about an assemblage of short stories about a Native American boy named Victor who lives on a reservation in Washington. The reader indirectly learns about the character of Victor through his actions, thoughts, and speech throughout the book. His father is an alcoholic who leaves the family when Victor is young. Victor eventually falls into the same pattern as his father, and his only outlet in life is basketball. All of Victor's hardships are made unique by the setting that he is, living in a white man's world with a feeling of obligation to his native traditions. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a great piece of literature. Sherman Alexie wrote each individual story that makes up the book as though he had lived through it (and he very well might have). It is realistic fiction with great detail. The vividly described scenes are what make the book seem personal, and it gives the book a feeling of sentimentality. Alexie is a solid writer and wrote and laid out each story well. He created a compilation of many stories and placed them in an order that flows well from one to the next. He can state a point very clearly, and in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven he makes a lot of points. Through use of metaphor, and just by telling stories he writes about how fathers affect their children, how Native Americans are still being persecuted, Native American tradition, etc. I do not believe that there is an aspect of the book that I disliked, besides one or two stories I did not think were relevant. I wholly enjoyed reading The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. It is a fun and well-written book that has a lot to say about life, and a lot to teach about Native Americans. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys western literature.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
broken hearts and bent darts,
By sarah (Oakley, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (Paperback)
Winner of two Sundance Film Festival awards, writer of the screenplay for Smoke Signals, along with a few other books and collections of poetry, Sherman Alexie authored The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.Victor, a nine-year-old Spokane Indian boy, awoke on New Year's Eve of 1976 to the sound of his parents having a party. Not only did he awake to a party, soon after he heard his uncles fighting. Not that this was a surprise to young Victor, but every time they fought it made him angry because he knew there was more pain than could ever be spoken. Remembering back to earlier days, Victor remembers that around this same time when he was five he saw his father look into his wallet and reach for money that wasn't there. Alexie uses such vivid details in explaining the pain Victor endured seeing his father cry, one of my favorites is how he describes Victor seeing his father's tears as "... millions of icy knives through the air, each specific and beautiful. Each dangerous and random." It is symbolism such as this that keeps the reader engaged and interested throughout the book. Alexie continues on using different characters such as Thomas-Builds-the-Fire who never gives up on his storytelling, and Jimmy Many Horses who is dying of cancer. Although this is an engaging book and gives the reader a different perspective on what it's really like to live and grow up on a reservation, Alexie can be slow at times. He reminds me a little of one of those sob stories you hear on a bad small claims court case on TV. Maybe it sounds a little harsh, but you know when an argument is clearly over yet the defendant just keeps on going? There are a few times in this book where I just had to put it down and ignore it for a while because I couldn't handle Alexie's humor of basketball and drunken dancing. Overall, I would have to give Alexie props for this book because he does use some incredible sensory descriptions. Hopefully for his next novel though he can get past some of his shattered dreams and stick to a story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
A very mediocre book,
By
This review is from: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (Paperback)
The vignette is the last refuge of the scoundrel, or at most a struggling writer like Sherman Alexie. The stories in this book are filled with characters drinking and dreaming of their horse riding pasts, complaining about the Washington Redskins. What else is new? Can't Alexie get over these stereotypes and invent more interesting things for his readers? This is not a book, but a diary filled with random observations. The prose is very confusing and unimpressive, giving the readers a worse impression of Native Americans.
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