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The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
written by Sherman Alexie
Studio : Grove Press
by Grove Press
Publisher : Grove Press
Released : 2005-02-08
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780802141675
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 110 reviews)
List Price : $14.00
Our Price : $6.99
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Product Description |
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When it was first published in 1993, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven established Sherman Alexie as a stunning new talent of American letters. The basis for the award-winning movie Smoke Signals, it remains one of his most beloved and widely praised books. In this darkly comic collection, Alexie brilliantly weaves memory, fantasy, and stark realism to paint a complex, grimly ironic portrait of life in and around the Spokane Indian Reservation. These twenty-two interlinked tales are narrated by characters raised on humiliation and government-issue cheese, and yet are filled with passion and affection, myth and dream. Against a backdrop of alcohol, car accidents, laughter, and basketball, Alexie depicts the distances between Indians and whites, reservation Indians and urban Indians, men and women, and, most poetically, modern Indians and the traditions of the past. |
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Amazing |
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This collection is a touching look at what life in Indian country can be like. Smart and touching, it was one of those books that was impossible to put down, and left me feeling like I knew the characters. A must read! |
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Parents Beware! |
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My son was required to read this book for his freshman high school class. It is full of the f-word and other foul language. It also is replete with drugs, binge drinking, and overt sexual situations among teens. I am totally mystified as to why this book is taught in schools AT ALL! It sends mixed messages to teens, who are very vulnerable to such powerful imagery and may be influenced by it. Why fill our children's minds with garbage when there are so many brilliant and inspiring books to choose from? |
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That's How I Do Life Sometimes By Making The Ordinary Just Like Magic... -Sherman Alexie |
Halfway through this book I emailed the friend that bought it for me to tell him how much I was loving it. I then asked him "How the hell am I supposed to review this?" His reply was to explain that "He needs a new star, a category for 'Holy Sh!t, that one hit me hard.' But they don't make the Holy Sh!t category on Americancivilwar." That pretty much says it all.
The truth is I was blown away by Sherman Alexie somewhere after the first paragraph of the introduction to this book. In the intro he presents himself in a manner that is completely honest and straightforward. He had me laughing from the start, and I can and do appreciate someone who can make fun of themselves. But through his introduction and throughout all the stories in this book, one word ran through my head continuously; brilliant.
I am not going to give any sort of plot summary because it's simply impossible. What I will do is give you the titles to a few of my favorites and if that doesn't entice you to want to read on, nothing will. This book contains 24 short on length but not on content, stories. Each story is unique, yet there is always a sense of familiarity, whether it's the presence of a familiar character, a diet Pepsi, fry bread or a basketball game. Each story is its own theme, place and time, but always about Mr. Alexie's Spokane Indian people and the reservation.
My favorites:
The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire
Jesus Christ's Half-Brother is Alive and Well on the Spokane Indian Reservation
A Train is an Order of Occurrence
The Approximate Size of my Favorite Tumor
In his introduction he states that these stories contain some truths, but explains it as "reservation realism" and challenges us to figure out what exactly that means. My interpretation is that all these stories contain little threads of truth, some more than others, and with these little threads he weaves and enhances creating a blanket of fantasy and fiction. Whether I am right or wrong, I have to believ each tale is based on some truth, they were just too real to me to be otherwise.
I think I experienced every human emotion while reading this book, and then experienced them all over again. Some stories are horribly sad and gut wrenching, others are lighthearted and funny and mischievous; most are all of the above and then some. The one thing I am left with after reading this book is that Sherman Alexie conveys more in a short 5 page story than most writers manage to say in a full 300 page novel; that's an exquisite gift. I am grateful to my friend, eternally, for gifting me with this book and introducing me to this writer. I can't recommend this book enough, it's a treasure I will read and read and then read some more.
One Stick Song
Cherise Everhard, February 2008
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stories as evocative as any novel |
"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" is one of Sherman Alexie's first collections of short stories. The collection deals with the lives and troubles of Indian in and around the Spokane Indian Reservation. The stories also deal with characters that Alexie would later revisit in his novel "Reservation Blues" (specifically, Thomas Builds-the-Fire, Victor, and Junior).
In a 1996 interview with Tomson Highway, Alexie explains a bit about the title of this collection: "Kemosabe in Apache means "idiot," as Tonto in Spanish means "idiot." They were calling each other "idiot" all those years; and they both were, so it worked out. It's always going to be antagonistic relationship between indigenous people and the colonial people. I think the theme of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is universal."
This universal theme permeates many of Alexie's stories here and in his other writings. The stories take a fresh, sometimes painful, look at life for modern Indians on the Spokane Reservation. Alcoholism, violence, and death all permeate this collection. At the same time, Alexie brings an extreme level of humor and compassion to these characters, making their hardships bearable to the reader.
The stories here mostly interconnect, referring to the same events or at least the same characters, creating a narrative that almost flows between stories. Exceptions to this flow include "Distances." "Witnesses, Secret and Not" and "Jesus Christ's Half-Brother Is Alive and Well on the Spokane Indian Reservation" also seem disconnected but remain similar in style to the rest of the collection. A follow up to "The Business of Fancydancing," a collection of short stories and poems, the stories in this collection alternate between a poetic style and a more conventional prose style.
The characters in these stories have not reached "happily ever after," it is not clear if they will ever get there. Sometimes, the characters are at fault for these failures. At other times they are victims of circumstances far beyond their control. Regardless of the reason, Alexie portrays his characters with compassion and the hope that they will one day succeed. Even Victor, a drunk continuously falling off the wagon, and Lester FallsApart (whose name might say everything) are presented with a certain dignity and afforded a degree of respect throughout the stories.
When writing about such modern problems as car wrecks and alcoholism, there is always the risk of being too serious, too tragic. In "A Good Story" Alexie acknowledges this fact when his self-proclaimed storyteller, Thomas Builds-the-Fire, goes out of his way to tell a happy story.
Other stories remain less concerned with themes discussed and instead are focused on presenting rich narratives. One favorite is "The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore" in which Victor and his friend watch reservation life from their porch while drinking Diet Pepsis. However, bar none, the best stories in this collection are the title story and "Somebody Kept Saying Powwow." Both stories are as evocative and compelling as any novel. Furthermore, in each story Alexie creates characters that are unique, well-developed and completely absorbing--no easy feat for stories of around ten pages.
"The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" does two important things. First, it illustrates Sherman Alexie's wide range of talents as a writer. Second, it tells a lot of good stories.
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Very good writer |
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Sherman Alexi has a way of communicating the sad life of the American Indian that leaves you sad and amazed. He's a gifted writer. |
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