War Dances
In his first new fiction since winning the National Book Award for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, best-selling author Sherman Alexie delivers a virtuoso collection of tender, witty, and soulful stories that expertly capture modern relationships from the most diverse angles. War Dances brims with Alexie's poetic and revolutionary prose, and reminds us once again why he ranks as one of our country's finest writers. With bright insight into the minds of artists, entrepreneurs, fathers, husbands, and sons, Alexie populates his stories with average men on the brink of exceptional change: In the title story, a son recalls his father's "natural Indian death" from alcohol and diabetes, just as he learns that he himself may have a brain tumor; "The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless," dissects a vintage clothing store owner's failing marriage and courtship of a Puma-clad stranger in airports across the country; and "Breaking and Entering" recounts a film editor's fateful confrontation with an thieving adolescent. Brazen and wise War Dances takes us to the heart of what it means to be human. The new beginnings, successes, mistakes, and regrets that make up our daily lives are laid bare in this wide-ranging new work that is quintessential
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Community Reviews
You ever find yourself giving the same rating that you'd give to a mediocre vampire smut trilogy to one of your favorite authors because the bar on the latter is set so high and the bar on the former is set to ant head height? And then for a minute feel really guilty about it? Yeah, so that's where I'm at right now.
There is never a time that I don't love reading Sherman Alexie. There are just times that I LOVE LOVE LOVE and those times get the 5 stars.
This is typical Sherman (may I call you Sherman, Sherman?). You've never read anything by him?
Shame. On. You.
If you're looking to laugh and be punched in the heart almost simultaneously, then you'd love this guy. He touches on a bit of everything - infidelity, family, illness and death, and more - and weaves in tribe tradition. The tribe tradition is both honored and chuckled at. No, somehow it feels all the more honored because it is chuckled at. It makes it accessible to those of us with skin as pasty as an uncooked pie crust. I'm given permission to find the humor in a serious situation, a stereotype, an embarrassment. It's like I can laugh about my kooky uncle who sports a mullet and cut-off jorts, but I'll be damned if I let anyone else do it...without my permission.
You know what? Nevermind. I just gathered all the short stories in this one (the poems were not his best) and they're stellar.
5 Stars
There is never a time that I don't love reading Sherman Alexie. There are just times that I LOVE LOVE LOVE and those times get the 5 stars.
This is typical Sherman (may I call you Sherman, Sherman?). You've never read anything by him?
Shame. On. You.
If you're looking to laugh and be punched in the heart almost simultaneously, then you'd love this guy. He touches on a bit of everything - infidelity, family, illness and death, and more - and weaves in tribe tradition. The tribe tradition is both honored and chuckled at. No, somehow it feels all the more honored because it is chuckled at. It makes it accessible to those of us with skin as pasty as an uncooked pie crust. I'm given permission to find the humor in a serious situation, a stereotype, an embarrassment. It's like I can laugh about my kooky uncle who sports a mullet and cut-off jorts, but I'll be damned if I let anyone else do it...without my permission.
You know what? Nevermind. I just gathered all the short stories in this one (the poems were not his best) and they're stellar.
5 Stars
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