Dammit, I knew I should have written this review when I first finished the book, but I decided to push it off because it seemed too hard to try and sum up all my feeeeelings, but joke’s on me, now it’s even harder!
Sherman Alexie has been one of my favorite writers since I was in college and one of my English comp teachers made us watch Smoke Signals, which is based off Alexie’s short story, “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” and for which he also wrote the screenplay. I thought the film was hilarious (and sad) and so decided to look up the source material. I’m not usually one for short stories (even short story collections by my favorite authors, for instance Neil Gaiman, have a hard time holding my attention). I much prefer longer narratives (and as a young person, the longer the better) so as to really have the time and space to get invested. But for some reason, Sherman Alexie was instantly an exception. I own all his short story collections, and have re-read them several times. When I taught English comp myself, I regularly taught my favorite of his stories, “Dear John Wayne” as a way to have the kiddos engage critically on the subject of gender roles and race. In fact, until I read this book, I had ONLY read his short stories. Why did I do this? I have no idea. I love Sherman Alexie in short form, why wouldn’t I love him in long form as well, my preferred medium?
It also shouldn’t have surprised me that he’d be so good at writing for young people. He’s almost brutal about portraying the realities of the world as he sees it. Kids love that brutal honesty shit. We really shouldn’t coddle them if they’re willing to listen. They’re the ones it’s easy to change. He’s also hilariously funny, as per the usual. And what’s even better is that he’s funny in the service of his narrative, and not just to be goofy. The serious subject matter makes the jokes funnier, and the jokes make the serious subject matter hit home.
This thing seems like it popped up fully formed. (In large part, I’m sure it did, since it seems to be at least partly autobiographical.) Junior’s voice is so, so engaging and unique. The artwork is not only super entertaining (and moving), but it also seamlessly interweaves with the narrative. The book wouldn’t have been the same without it. Alexie juggles so many balls in this book. It’s a coming of age story, and a story about growing up poor, and about systemic racism, and the social realities of living on a reservation. The pervasive pessimism, the alcoholism. And yet, it’s also optimistic, and it does this without being cloying or naïve. Junior gets out and will ostensibly make something of himself, but not without a cost.
We already talked about most of this stuff in our book club discussion, so I won’t repeat myself, but I loved this book. I need to own my own copy immediately. I also need to finally get on reading his other novels (Flight, Indian Killer, Reservation Blues). If they’re half as good as this book, I will enjoy myself immensely.
