Current Book Review

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie (Adult Fiction)

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

Sherman Alexie (Adult Fiction)

Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven received the PEN/Hemingway Award for the best first book of fiction and its short story “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” was the inspiration for the 1998 film Smoke Signals, whose screenplay was written by Alexie. This is a collection of short stories which can best be described as autobiographical fiction as Alexie himself admits in the Introduction of the 20th Anniversary Edition, “This book is a thinly disguised memoir.”

Alexie’s novel contains twenty-two short stories (my anniversary edition had two bonus stories: “Flight” and “Junior Polatkin’s Wild West Show”) that detail the dark, hopeless, sometimes comedic, and harsh reality of life on the Spokane Indian Reservation during the 1960s-70s—a period when relations between Native Americans and the federal government were “strained” at best. Alexie acknowledges the push back he received with this stereotypical portrayal of Indians as drunks, recovering drunks, potential drunks, or being six degrees separated from a drunk and matter-of-factly responded to critics with a mere Yeah, but it’s true attitude…and he of all people should know and has more than earned the right to write about it.

All in all, I wish I had connected more with these stories. Maybe it’s just the very nature of short stories that prevented me from bonding with the characters. The stories and its players allowed me to dip my toe into the water when what I really wanted was to totally immerse myself in their world. Just when I thought I was going to be allowed to plunge headfirst into the inviting water, someone would blow the warning whistle reminding me that diving wasn’t allowed, the story was over, and it was time to move on. Denied yet again.

I did enjoy a few of his stories: “The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Flash Red Anymore” depicts the futility of trying to escape a preordained future (It’s hard to be optimistic on the reservation.); “This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” (easy to see why this was the basis for a feature film), which has Victor Joseph going to Phoenix to retrieve his father’s ashes with storyteller Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Take care of each other is what my dreams were saying. Take care of each other.); “A Good Story” is a story within a story where Junior Polatkin’s mother encourages him to write a story about something good, a real good story (Because people should know that good things always happen to Indians, too.); and “Witnesses, Secret and Not” where the narrator and his father drive into Spokane to answer questions about a man who went missing ten years ago. On their way home, they see an acquaintance on the cusp of full intoxication and decide to give him some money with no strings attached (That’s how it is. One Indian doesn’t tell another what to do. We just watch things happen and then make comments.)

It is obvious that Sherman Alexie is a gifted storyteller and I will definitely be reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which has been on my To Be Read stack for far too long now. And although this particular work didn’t resonate with me (it’s the magic and mystery of books, folks), it is an important work that explores the hopelessness, possibilities, and reality of life on an Indian reservation told through a witty, authentic, and compassionate lens. In the end, I would like to think that the Lone Ranger and Tonto actually hugged it out after their fistfight, but Alexie would probably just shake his head, call me a hopeless idiot, and then tell me one of his stories about how life actually works. I guess there’s nothing wrong with that as long as he lets me dive in afterwards.

Rating: 3/5

* Book cover image attributed to: www.abebooks.com

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Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams (YA Fiction)

Genesis Begins Again

Alicia D. Williams (YA Fiction)

Thirteen-year-old Genesis Anderson hates moving (her family is on number four), broken promises (too many to count), her father’s hateful words when he’s had too much to drink (too painful to count), her hair, and staying with her grandmother. She also hates the darkness of her skin, which she’s tried to lighten using a variety of household products. But mostly, Genesis hates the list that was started back in sixth grade by two classmates who listed one hundred things (the stupid girls only listed sixty) they hated about her. The joke’s on them because Genesis has been adding to that list on her own and will probably make it to 100 in no time. There’s a lot of things Genesis hates, but a new school with new friends and new opportunities finally show Genesis that there are a lot of things to like. With things finally beginning to look up, you can bet that it won’t be long before something comes along to mess it all up. Genesis hates that.

Very few young adult books have grabbed me the way Genesis Begins Again has. Williams’s opening paragraph leads us into a false sense of security that is quickly and horribly stripped away in a matter of paragraphs. Williams snuffs out our girl’s light in one raw and shameful event that immediately shows us the obstacles that Genesis faces, the character of the “friends” she has, and the girl that she ultimately is. Behind all that self-loathing is a strong, loyal, fierce, and intelligent girl who is wise beyond her years and determined to make her fractured world whole again…no matter the cost. She is instantly a character that we root for and we find ourselves either wanting to take her by the shoulders to remind her that she’s better than she thinks or wrap our arms around her to reassure her that everything will be alright.

It’s hard to believe that this is Williams’s debut novel. It received the Newbery Honor award in 2020, as well as the John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Her book began as an autobiography but was soon revised to better reflect the present rather than the past. The themes of bullying and colorism play predominantly throughout the story and often emanate from surprising and unexpected sources. The characters are wonderfully developed, the prose is engaging and allows us to fully immerse ourselves within Genesis’s world, the conflicts and outcomes are realistic, and there’s enough drama and tension to keep the story moving at a wonderful pace.

Highlighting the important and influential role that teachers have on our children, Genesis is highly influenced by her music teacher, Mrs. Hill. It is she who introduces Genesis to Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Etta James who showed her that there is beauty in brokenness and joy beyond the pain. Music healed Genesis…it freed her…and proved to be a lifeline to those around her who needed it the most. Billie Holiday once said, “If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.” All through the story, Genesis was always trying to be someone else: lighter, braver, smarter, hipper, or more popular. It was only after she discovered and began to sing her own song, that she was truly able to begin again.

Rating: 5/5

* Book cover image attributed to: www.abebooks.com

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The Pepins and Their Problems by Polly Horvath (J Fiction)

The Pepins and Their Problems

Polly Horvath (J Fiction)

Being a fairly small family, the Pepins seem to have a rather large amount of problems. From frogs in their shoes to a cow that is suddenly producing lemonade to missing cutlery (where did all the forks go???), there doesn’t appear to be an end to the number of problems the Pepins have. But with the help of a telepathically gifted author and projected suggestions from readers from Pottsville, Pennsylvania to Hughes, Alaska and everywhere in between, there seems to be no problem too big that the Pepins can’t solve. That is until a long-lost Pepin arrives who promises to solve ALL of their problems himself. Could this finally be the end to the Pepins’s problems?

This book is outrageous, outlandish, and out and out ridiculous as Polly Horvath delights readers with a story filled with a cow who takes French and algebra lessons, a dog and cat who not only talk, but have been known to fly about in a motorless aircraft, a very fine neighbor, and a not-so very fine neighbor. We see scarf dances, an elaborate neighbor test, an awkward infatuation with a barbershop pole, and a laboratory that would make even Willy Wonka jealous.

The Pepins and Their Problems has a recommended reading age of 8-12, but I fear that a reader over the age of ten will find this book to be too silly and very frustrating at times since some of the problems the Pepins have can easily be solved with a simple question or plain old common sense. This book would be in its element if read out loud allowing young readers to think over and offer up their own solutions.

The thing I love most about Horvath is that she does not write down to her audience (which I seem to say every time I review one of her books) and this is obvious as she tosses out words such as loquaciousness, perspicacious, ruminatively, progeniture, and amalgamation. Definitely have a dictionary close by…you’re going to need it!

Whether they’re stuck on the roof or dealing with a relative who sucks up breadcrumbs through their nose, the Pepins are ever a loving and close-knit family who look upon their problems as blessings in disguise and realize that a happy family already has as many riches as anyone can hope for. Now who, dear reader, could possibly have a problem with that?

Rating: 4/5

* Book cover image attributed to: www.abebooks.com

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The Borrowers Aloft (The Borrowers #4) by Mary Norton (J Fantasy)

The Borrowers Aloft (The Borrowers #4)

Mary Norton (J Fantasy)

Pod, Homily, and Arrietty Clock have been through a lot, but with the help of Spinner, they are finally headed to their new home in Little Fordham. Developed and managed by Mr. Abel Pott, this miniature railway village attracts plenty of humans and humans—as all Borrowers know—always can be counted on to leave behind lots of things worth borrowing. But Little Fordham has also attracted the attention of Mr. and Mrs. Platter, a greedy couple who know a good opportunity when they see it. They set on building a similar village called Ballyhoggin and just when they think they’ve one-upped their competition, they discover something in Little Fordham that could make them rich—real little people! Soon, the Clocks find themselves kidnapped and will soon be a permanent Ballyhoggin attraction. They’ve pulled off narrow escapes before, but could our favorite Borrowers have finally met their match?

The Borrowers Aloft is the fourth book in The Borrowers series and Norton continues to thrill and excite readers with new characters, challenges, and lessons to be learned. We meet the kind Mr. Pott, the amiable Miss Menzies who befriends Arrietty, and the opportunistic and scheming Platters who imprison our heroes and plan to exhibit them like animals in a zoo. This book truly tests the patience, strength, and unity of our heroes as they must rely on their ingenuity, wit, and each other in order to regain their freedom.  

Four books in and Norton still manages to keep the Clock’s journey fresh and exciting with new faces, obstacles, and challenges: Arrietty has grown tremendously but her trusting nature once again puts her family at risk; Homily is realizing that her little girl is growing up soon will be looking to build a life of her own; and Pod is faced with making some tough decisions of his own as he weighs his wife’s comfort, his daughter’s longing, and his desire to remain true to his Borrower nature.

Homily asks Pod a question that she’s heard herself ask a number of times, “Where are we going to?” to which Pod responds, “To where we belong.” Spanish athlete Bojan Krkic once said, “It is important to find a place where you feel trust, you feel belonging and stability.” Based on this, it seems that Pod, Homily, and Arrietty may be closer to finding their perfect place than even they realize.

Rating: 5/5

* Book cover image attributed to: www.abebooks.com

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