Two days ago I took some high school seniors to hear Sherman Alexie speak at a local high school. If you don't recognize his name, you might remember a certain movie called Smoke Signals that was based on one of his books. Alexie, if you weren't aware, just realeased a new book called Flight. It turned out to be an amazing, fun evening.
Alexie is not only a great fiction writer, but he is also an accomplished poet and even a stand-up comedian! And he put all of his talent out there for us to enjoy. A local professor interviewed him, he read from his new book, he recited some poetry, and ended the night with a 20 minute monologue that felt like a mixture of a modern-day comedy act and ancient Indian story-telling.
As for Alexie's new book, all I can tell you is that you need to read it! Beyond the references to Kurt Vonnegut and Slaughterhouse Five, there is a strong story about justice and how complicated it is to find in either the past or the present. There is one chapter that absolutely blew my mind: it involves a drunken, dying Indian wandering Tacoma. He gets into it with a guy on the street, continually yelling "I want some respect!" Finally the man asks, "How do I do that?" At first the Indian doesn't know how to reply, but then he says "Tell me a story." And the man does. And it is a heartbreaking, true story. And in his comedically tragic way Alexie shows how the sharing of a story opens up a tough white guy and a broken Indian guy and they can find a way to respect each other. I would like to write more about it, but all I'll say before I end is that this book is hilarious, painful, beautiful and well worth reading if you are at all literate and/or caring.
Peace,
Matt
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