Ten Little Indians

I am in the process of reading everything by Alexie, and I loved this book -- the 3rd I'm reading by him. He's so SMART it's ridiculous. I particularly loved the story, "Can I Get a Witness?" He's a very honest writer, and he inspires me to be honest in my writing. I would recommend this book highly.

Even as they often make readers laugh, Alexie's stories are driven by a haunting lyricism and naked candor that cut to the heart of the human experience. The result is a short-story collection that has been hailed as Alexie's "best in years" ("Austin American-Statesman").

I recommend this book for several reasons. Not only is it a thoroughly entertaining read, it also makes an important statement about all the things that people in this day and age are going through. I didn't feel as though I was reading about Native Americans from a white person's point of view. I felt like I was reading about fellow human beings who go through some of the same things I do. Reading this book made me feel a range of emotions, and also left me with a different way to look at situations that life may present me with.

I thought the stories in this collection were all worth reading, although some were better than others. Other reviewers have said Alexie is getting redundant, well, I don't know about that. I enjoyed his book, Indian Killer, but I haven't read all his other short stories. I loved his perspective on love, success, terrorism, and the women's movement, and found that it was not so different from my own, a woman of similar age who grew up in an Italian-Irish-American household where the only books in the house were mine, and the people were, in my opinion, way too accepting of their "station in life," whatever the hell that is. So I felt like I was reading a book written by a Native American cousin of mine--when some white folks were here killing his ancestors, others were back in Europe starving mine, regardless of being the same color. Now, we all have to deal with the same issues, fear of terrorism, adultery, losing a child, failing our dreams, making it in the dominant culture, being ourselves. Anyway, I recommend this book. It's not perfect, but it shines.

This is the best writing I've seen from Sherman Alexie since The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven. I thought Indian Killer was a bit of a disappointment, really... the politics were too blatant and heavy-handed, and the story lacked the subtlety and delicate touch of his shorter work. But he's in top form again here. I was lucky enough to see him read the last story in person. It was an unforgettable experience. As a friend who was there with me said, "He makes you burst out laughing one moment, then breaks your heart the next."