The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

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Summary: Sherman Alexie's Finest Short Story Collection
Review: "The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven" is the short story collection which made Alexie a darling of the literary establishment. In these tersely written tales Alexie offers much pathos and humor, replete with irony, in his engaging glimpses at life on a contemporary American Indian reservation. Several of the tales feature the character "Thomas Builds-A-Fire"; these were later adapted for the film "Smoke Signals". Like Frank McCourt, Alexie excels in turning poverty into high literary art, using much of the same sardonic humor present in McCourt's "Angela's Ashes". Certainly this short story collection is an impressive debut by one of our finest American writers.

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Summary: a compelling read
Review: Alexie is a masterful writer. The images in the title story, "A Drug Called Tradition" and "The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire" are not only beautiful but compelling. An inspiring read.

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Summary: A very mediocre book
Review: The vignette is the last refuge of the scoundrel, or at most a struggling writer like Sherman Alexie. The stories in this book are filled with characters drinking and dreaming of their horse riding pasts, complaining about the Washington Redskins. What else is new? Can't Alexie get over these stereotypes and invent more interesting things for his readers? This is not a book, but a diary filled with random observations. The prose is very confusing and unimpressive, giving the readers a worse impression of Native Americans.

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Summary: Eloquent
Review: This is not a culture I know very much about--American Indian. Well-written, sensitive, insightful. I was moved and intrigued.

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Summary: Review
Review: A review of The Lone Ranger and Tanto Fistfight in Heaven

I'll get straight to the point on this book; It's a cry for help from the Spokane Indian Reservation urging the reader to actively take part in aiding the Native Americans in their fight against the opressiveness of the policies that said government is using to slowly eradicate their culture. This may sound a bit harsh to the uninformed, but after hearing story upon story of the United States somehow screwing up (whether intentinally or not) the very heart of the Native American culture, I'm honestly so angry I could spit! Every story in this novel just leads us to the same conclusion: that the Native Americans, despite the abuse they've been forced to endure, are still very much alive today as a culture and are not very happy about the way they've been treated. Is it any wonder that groups like AIM are so angry? We have created a frankenstein's monster by creating the reservations, and we have to live with the fact that what our ancestors did (and what our current legislature is doing now) is wrong, and no matter how much money we send to the Native Americans in an effort to somehow alleviate our guilt, they will still not be satisfied until we give them back what they really want: their land. While Sherman Alexie certainly gets these points across in the book, at times he seems to be quite flamboyant, almost to the point of showing off. I can see his point in doing so, however...Is there really any other way to grab the attention of the average layman who might just be thumbing through the book? I mean, attention to their cause is certainly what the Native Americans need to further their fight to regain their soveriegn rights! Of course, any writer always needs to watch out for being too preachy, and occasionally Alexie borderlines on this. One of the great things about this novel is that the characters are just so rich in their depth and understandability. Take the character Thomas Builds-The-Fire, for instance....Here is a chaacter who, despite being held as an annoying twit by most of the reservation for buying into the "old" Indian ways, continues to tell his luscious stories, somehow managing to relate even the most modern of things to the ancestral ways of the Spokane Indians. All in all, this novel is a good, easy read that, while angry in its disposition occasionally, is well deserved of that emotion. The only real problem that I can foresee is that the literary structure of the novel tends to deviate substantially from the normal accepted canon, and some people may not understand that this is the way some Native Americans write...It's just a cultural difference, and the reward is great should one be able to decipher the the literary structure.

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Summary: A Review
Review: Michael Cavalenes Lit. of Amer. West The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist-Fight in Heaven 7/10/01

The novel, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist-Fight in Heaven, written by Sherman Alexie is a well written story that embraces the hardships and struggles of Native Americans. He tells the story of Victor, Thomas, and the others that live on the Spokane reservation, in a series of short stories that take place both on the reservation and off it. From story to story he changes his narrative voice and point of view so that the reader has to figure out the main character from chapter to chapter. While telling an important story of alcoholism and drugs and tradition he also incorporates political ideas of discrimination and prejudices. Basketball is used as a way of expressing the modern Native American hero, the rising ball-player and future pro-superstar. Sherman Alexie creates his characters as if they were real life fallen heroes, buried under pity, hatred, and memories on the reservation. From chapter to chapter the narrator changes. Sometimes it is written in an omniscient voice or in the point of view of Victor or Thomas. The first chapter, titled "Every Little Hurricane," is written in third person about Victor as a young child caught up between the alcoholism of his parents and the violence of his family. Victor's uncles Adolph and Arnold got in a drunken fist fight during one of his family's parties. Alexie described it: "Victor could almost smell the sweat and whiskey and blood (p. 3)." It is hard to see one's parents paralyzed on the floor with alcohol and drugs concentrated in their blood. It is harder still to put up with this everyday of one's life. Victor was raised with this pain and the chaos of an uncertain childhood made worse by the poverty and helplessness of the reservation. Alexie makes this easily understood by writing: "Victor was back in bed... the ceiling lowered with the weight of each Indian's pain, until it was just inches from Victor's nose (p. 8)." Compared to the chapter titled "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist-Fight in Heaven," the first chapter is completely different and the story relates but the plot does not. This chapter is written in first person and is about a Spokane Indian married to a Seattle white woman. When he enters nice residential areas alone he is interrogated by the cops. He cannot even enter a local 7-11 store without receiving a skeptical stare. When he was interrogated by the cops the narrator of this chapter states, "I wanted to tell him that I didn't really fit the profile of the country but I knew it would just get me into trouble (p.183)." Eventually the narrator's character leaves his white wife to return to the reservation. He could not handle the fights they had everyday, when words became raging fist, or the constant discrimination he received from locals. The sad truth is that discriminated exists and the Native Americans are still deeply affected by these prejudices. In this same chapter, the narrator used basketball as a way to prove himself and his race by playing a white man. He called himself "one of their [Indians'] old and dusty heroes (p.189)." He ended up loosing that game. Basketball was a way to escape his life on the reservation of drinking, watching television, and sleeping. Basketball was a way to break the bridge of race and explore the opportunities of equality. After all, a good basketball player is a good basketball player despite his skin. In the chapter called "The Only Traffic Signal on The Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore" is also about basketball. This chapter is told in first person by Victor. He himself is an ex-player who once had potential to make it as a pro-player, but he fell into drinking, laziness, and obesity. Every ball-player that becomes great only lives his glory for a short time. Victor watched Julius Windmaker destroy his potential and great expectations. His friend Adrian said to him the "He [Adrian] looks good," to which Victor responded "Yeah, he must not be drinking (p.45)." By the end of the chapter Victor is there to see Julius follow in his footsteps and lose his skill of basketball by falling into alcoholism, by falling into failure. The title of this chapter seems to mean that the Native Americans of the reservation do not know how to stop anymore, so that occasional drinking fades into hardcore alcoholism which absorbs potential heroes like Victor and Julius. One of the biggest themes in this book was written by Sherman Alexie in the chapter "Witness Secret and Not." He wrote, "Most of all, I had to find out what it meant to be Indian (p.211)." Native Americans, as described by Sherman Alexie, are a lost race within this nation, pushed aside and hidden on the reservations. I do not discriminate against Native Americans, but if I see one in a city I look at him. It is strange to notice such a different man. Sometimes I can almost actually see the pain in his heart and the alcohol rotting in his veins. Sherman Alexie embraces this sad fact in his novel, broken down into short stories each adding to his story on Native Americans. Amidst his political inferences about treaties and the reservation, Alexie creates charismatic characters lost in the chaotic spin of reservation life. Drugs, alcohol, tears, and fighting, mixed with confusion about what tradition is and is for, finished off with more alcohol, failures, ancient heroes, and broken champions. That is Alexie's recipe for this novel, a true quest into Native American battles, some fought decades ago, others still being fought each day, every night. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist-Fight in Heaven is not a book of plot, climax, and conclusion, it is a story about Native Americans and their struggles in a world that is not eager to help.

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Summary: dont buy this book
Review: Tonto and Lone Ranger Fist Fight in heaven

Before I even picked up this book I had a feeling I wasn't going to enjoy it. I am the kind of person who either likes to read Mark Twain, John Steinbeck or newer novels that have more of a plot with some action involved. I knew that this book was not going to be anything that could hold my attention for more than a few pages. I did not like this book very much because it was rather dull. The begining started off with a lot of swearing and fist fighting that left the reader a little mift as to were the book was going take me. It wasnt clear whos' story the book was. by that I mean it was confusing if the book was mainly focused around Victor, Jr, or Thomas within the first few stories. As the book progressed the Sherman Alexie managed to bore me even more by basing all his stories around the mistreetment of the indians. He even makes his book worse by not giving it a plot. The only interesting short story he wrote was distances because it was so obscure...

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Summary: A bunch of stories you should read.
Review: The title itself is very intriguing. The title pits two famous american icons, who are indian and white, against each other. Sort of setting the stage for reservation life in the present day. A constant clash between races and rights. This collection of short stories, in my mind, is one of the best books published by a Native American ever. The author, Sherman Alexie, has a very distinct voice. He sets scenes very well and the descriptive language he uses is great. Each chapter brings a new adventure and a new lesson to learn. Alexie creates many interesting characters in Lone Ranger and Tonto but a few stand out. One is Victor who was left by his father at a young age and goes threw many adventures chronicled by Alexie. One of his adventures is very well depicted in the film Smoke Signals. The movie focuses on Victor traveling to Arizona to retrieve his dead Fathers remains. Smoke Signals focuses on my favorite chapter in the book anyway. A lot of issues are brought up between Thomas Builds-The-Fire and Victor. Their travels bring them closer together and many of their past conflicts are resolved. Usually I'm not a sucker for stories with corny happy endings but this one got me. I read this book for a school assignment and usually I don't like to read books issued by teachers as required reading but I liked this one. It isn't my favorite book of all time but I liked it. That is saying a lot because I don't read much outside of the classroom and getting exposed to new authors I like is always fun.

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Summary: Bens Review Of Tonto and the Lone Ranger
Review: I was very impressed by the book although it was hard to get used to, Alexie has a really difined, confusing form of writing where he uses a lot of reacurring implicit metaphorical themes and the writing is majoritly based around these themes but after a while of reading one begins to understand how he writes. I enjoyed the book but it is not a book that I could get deeply involved in because you don't grow a relatioship with the charecters like you would with a book that is just a constant plot instead of short stories. Yes Victor is the main charecter for most of the storys but you dont really learn the charecters consistent emotions and personality because he's more of a person whom some of the storys are about then a story following one peroson and his life. I belive for the intention of the book it worked well but it doesn't appeal to me as much as a tradiional book, I liked how the storys are told, in a very realist, unfantasized way that is intresting because it is believable that it is non-ficiton and people are attracted to firsthand accounts of poverty that don't fantasize it nor do they look for pity. I believe that it was very creative and believable and the cool part is the storys are very possibly made up but also very possibly true but teetering on the virge of unreal, backwards trucks and drunk indians on the rollercoaster, thats what makes this series of storys so intresting is that the reader can make up what they want for the underlying metaphor and if it is a happy or sad set of storys, I saw it overall as a happy set because the people aren't always too unhappy but are satasfied with where they are partially because they dont have the motivation to pursue anything more, partially because is INdian tradition and partially because they really dont mind too much that they are living in HUD house on an Indian reservation. Overall I enjoyed the book and felt it was well written.

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Summary: From the first story I fell in love with Alexie's writing.
Review: It was simple in text yet filled with symbolism through out. The book itself was complex in the way that each story was connected to give you in the end one long story. The story of a people living on a reservation, wanting to get out, yet terrified to leave, humanity being the ultimate protagnist in this book.