Rating:  Summary: A beautiful piece of literature recommened to all! Review: Sherman Alexie writes a powerful description of the Native American's life in the modern world. He uses methaphors to engage the reader into a deeper thought process which must be first understood if the book is to be useful. This book is written for intelligent people who truly want to understand what Native Americans endure and how they cope with the inhumanities placed upon them. Taken out of context, the stories in this book seem to be jumbled up pieces of a puzzle. But when the book is read in its entirety, it weaves together an elaborate portrayl of human emotion and deeper consciusness. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be challenged by a dark yet colorful description of the Native American life.
Rating:  Summary: Racism Review: After reading this book The Lone Ranger and Tont Fist Fight in Heaven, I found it to be very racist and discriminatory towards whites.It shows how some whites are discriminatory towards Indians also and this makes me feel very sad to know that ther are still tensions between the races today. It did have a lot of good stories in it though and it hold my attention from the begining tto the end.
Rating:  Summary: Book Review Review: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, by Sherman Alexie, had to be the most confusing book that I've ever read. It's strange but in the end I really liked it. The stories were so well written and had a flow to each of them even though I still can't tell what the connections were between the characters from one story to another besides the whole being Native American thing. The characters in each story had different outlooks on life and on how to survive and just live. The first chapter "Every Little Hurricane", was this mix of emotions seen from the surroundings of a little kid. The whole basis for what he saw had to do with alcoholism. He first ignored it than accepted it and just dealt. That's not something that you see in someone so young. He shouldn't have had to accept it but than again that was his life and nothing could be changed. Two of the of the stories that I think were best connected was "Family Portrait" and "Because My Father Always Said...". The first went on about creating images in mind that reflect and show the people in your past. The second story actually did this. It showed a boy's images of his father after his father left him and his mother. They were never negative images just the best memories that he could think up. I think that most people can relate to that. This book was on e of the best I've read all year. The stories captured your attention as you realized that you sometimes feel just the same way as the character in the story. A lot of the stories came off as being long poems because of the way the author wrote them they just flowed so well. Some stories weren't as captivating as others but I enjoyed the book as a whole.
Rating:  Summary: Good Stuff Review: From his many short stories of pain, suffering, and broken dreams, Sherman Alexie taught his readers of the lives of present-day Native Americans. He confronts many significant issues, through the stories of the people around him. For example in the story of a great basketball hero, Julius Windmaker, who falls into the trap of drinking and carries out senseless acts of violence to prove his worth as a warrior to the tribe, Alexie depicts the Native American struggle against there traditions of the past and new reservation life. From this, he shows Julius, like countless other Native Americans, have their dreams crushed as they turn to a life of drinking. Countless other issues were raised, however towards the conclusion of the book Alexie describes what he considers the perfect Native American, Norma Many Horses. As she appreciated her ancient traditions, yet living modernly. Norma was respected by all, kind to everyone and very forgiving.
Rating:  Summary: Four stars for a good but at times unclear concoction Review: "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven", by Sherman Alexie, is incredible collection of short stories. Alexie amazes me with fantastic prose. He skillfully weaves realism and idealism to construct a bluntly ironic scene of the lives of the Spokane Indians. This book is for anyone who enjoys stark humor.
Rating:  Summary: An Honest and Eye-opening Collection of Short Stories Review: Sherman Alexie's short stories are both vivid and refreshingly honest. Discussing everything from a basketball game to a battle with cancer. Each story has such an element of truth, I find myself wondering if this is really a book of fiction. Alexie has a way of relating everything faced on the reservation with all people. While my knowledge of Indians does not go past my 7th grade study of them, I found myself relating to so many of the issues discussed. "Do you ever want kids?" I asked Norma. "Yeah, of course," she said. "I want a dozen. I want my own tribe." "You're kidding." "Kind of. Don't know if I want to raise kids in this world. It's getting uglier by the second. And not just on the reservation." (Page 207) I don't think Alexie could have captured my thoughts on the subject any better, maybe this is why I enjoyed reading "Tonto and The Lone Ranger Fistfight In Heaven" so much. It not only opened my eyes to Native Americans, but showed me there were other people that felt this way on many of the issues. A very comforting feeling. I highly recommend this book, and feel privileged at the chance to read it.
Rating:  Summary: Must Read Review: Although "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven" is a collection of short stories told by a variety of characters, one voice emerges, the voice of the Spokane. The short stories tell the life of three main characters, from their childhood to adulthood. They tell of their innocence as children, and their ability to forgive and accept their parents wrong doings. They tell of their plights as adults, how they try to hold on to what traditions they have left. Victor accepts his father, who drank a lot and eventually left him and his mother. Thomas Builds-the-Fire lost both of his parents and grew up with nothing but stories. Jimmy Many Horses had cancer and a wife who left him when he was dying. All of this seems dark and hopeless, but the characters learn to cope with the hopelessness, embrace their tradition, and even find humor in their suffering. Victor's father says that one should remember the few seconds before a painful moment. The part that is good before it turns bad. That helps ease the pain. Each character has a way of easing their pains; Victor listens to music, as his father did so passionately. Thomas has his stories and Jimmy has his letters. The storytelling is wonderful in that it takes a plain happening and turns it into a beautiful piece of art. The problems that face the Native Americans are very serious, and the book helps show them by using dark humor. The stories are imaginative. The meaning of the stories can be lost, but they are still beautiful, giving an excuse to read the book again. Although the book gets confusing at times because of its many perspectives, I would still recommend the book to anyone.
Rating:  Summary: An amazing, delightful,witty,classic! a wonderful literary masterpiece. Review: Sherman Alexi's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a compellation of shorter fictional stories about various Native American men in different settings. Most of the stories describe the deplorable conditions under which those men and their friends and families livedand of the repressive american government and its allies against native american indians. The poetic style of the book is often beautiful and descriptive. Alexi constantly uses poetic devices to compare the most obscure objects to portray a relative truth. Alexi uses concise sentences to stress a point or to be symbolic, which works remarkably well. The characters and settings of the book constantly changed from chapter to chapter. This allowed the book to encompass a myriad of themes. Among them were alcoholism, drug abuse, the fleeting glory of sports, preservation of heritage, racism, poverty, family life, and the dynamics of marriage. The beauty of these themes lies in their equal existence today. Nearly anyone who reads this book can relate to several of these topics. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a deep and poetic book, similar to A House on Mango Street by Cicineros. It is undoubtedly a dynamic, classic, piece of literatureand immensely enjoyable and original.
Rating:  Summary: Indians Survival in America Review: I rated this book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto FistFight in Heaven, two stars. It wasn't very interesting and I couldn't really connect with words. Few of the chapters left me confused and pondering. This book consisted of twenty-three different tales each relating about Indians. The main points that were established throughout the book were about how Indians got discriminated against by whites. Another point made about Indians was how they overcame their sorrows by drinking, telling stories, and trying to have a good time while living on the reservation. But overall the author does make some good points and analogies about Indians' struggle to make it in the world. I just felt it could've been better.
Rating:  Summary: Anecdotal Empathy Review: Sherman Alexie's work Tanto and the Lone Ranger: Fistfight in Heaven boldly and touchingly portrays the dispirited reservation life of the modern Indian. Through the use of a myriad of short stories, Alexie beautifully weaves the tapestry of alcoholism and tradition; hope and despair; segregation and devotion; a cut of which serves to clothe every Native American still subjected to government issue cheese and beef. Through the use of these masterfully crafted anecdotes--told from varying points of view by those that could best serve as authorities on them--one cannot help but empathize with not only the characters, but the point of view itself, common, seemingly, to most Native Americans. One cannot ignore the humility and abuse the youths of Tanto and the Lone Ranger: Fistfight in Heaven have been subjected to, in as much as one cannot ignore the similarities between Native American and Caucasian American cultures (not to mention the plethora of other minorities that America houses). First, with the aforementioned empathy Alexie fosters, and then with the intelligent comparisons he illustrates, the Native American is never to be looked upon in the same light again.
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