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Title: Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie ISBN: 0-446-67370-6 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.15 (72 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Indian Killer - Alexie's Voice
Comment: p 314 "If the Ghost Dance worked, there would be no exceptions. All you white people would disappear . . . " Sherman Alexie's novel Indian Killer explores the modern day relationship between Native Americans and the white people that once drove them from there land. Alexie tells the story in a suspenseful mystery style that will keep you guessing as to who is the real killer. To add to the complicated storyline, Alexie presents the readers with a variey of characters, all with very different beliefs and backgrounds. The protagonist John Smith is an adopted Native American struggling with his identity among a an "urban" tribe. His struggle with community acceptance is only one of the many issues Alexie deals with in this somewhat controversial, page turning thriller. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an engrossing story that asks you as the reader to decide where you fall on on issues of race and culture.
Rating: 5
Summary: well-worth reading & more complicated than has been noted
Comment: One of the aspects I really enjoy about this novel is Alexie's questioning of "evidence." Throughout the book, characters interpret each other and offer different solutions to the central mystery--who is it that is committing the murders and what is his/her motive? The kick is that Alexie maintains the suspense all the way through the book. I have to respectfully add that the Booklist & Amazon reviewers of this book have jumped to a conclusion that they can't prove. It is never clear that John Smith, the Indian adopted by white parents, is the same person as the killer. Since Alexie writes about identity so extensively and carefully, I'd have to say that the lack of evidence equating Smith to the killer is itself the point.
Rating: 5
Summary: Birds of a Feather
Comment: As I read the first half of Indian Killer, I found that I was not that interested in the story. Maybe it was the soap-opera-like writing style, switching from person to person and setting to setting, that caused me to have a mild dislike for the novel. Never once was I able to fully experience things through the mind of one of the characters, because the next chapter would undoubtedly switch characters and settings in an attempt to portray things from another perspective. But, in the end, I think that this is one of the most endearing aspects of the novel.
The novel could be said to be an exploration of how racial perceptions would play themselves out in a particularly trying circumstance. In order to show how different groups of people would react, Sherman Alexie switches from character to character. The usefulness of this approach is that one immediately sees how a person's setting, history, and ethnicity impacts his or her perception of reality. Perhaps Alexie wrote the novel to explore, in his own mind, the motivations and perceptions of different people. In fact, while Alexie does paint people in fairly broad brushstrokes, he does consistently add fine touches and nuances to give characters more depth. Depth is very important because, in real life, people are multi-faceted and can often see things from different points of view. This is especially true for people who are torn between two different worlds, i.e. American Indians who must decide between being materially successful in a white dominated world and devoting themselves to preserving their cultural heritage.
This leads me to another aspect of the novel. That is that choices do not always present themselves in an objective manner. Each person perceives events differently depending on his or her background. As a result, decisions are based, not on objectivity, but on a subjective set of beliefs, experiences, observations, and morals. The only things that prevent total chaos are mutually shared traits between people. However, when there are two groups of people who do not share the same set of values, then distance, which gives rise to precariousness--a strange sort of potential energy--can often erupt into outright tumult.
Therefore, while individuals view things from a unique perspective, a larger trend is set by groups of people sharing what would otherwise be subjective points of view. Alexie understands that both of these forces are at work in the world, and he shows them both in his book Indian Killer. When I came to terms with his approach, I was then able to develop an appreciation for the book, and then I could not put the book down.
I wholeheartedly agree with the reviewer who stated that the book is NOT a murder mystery. While the book does draw you into suspecting different people, the end of the book takes a different turn. I urge anyone interested in modern Indian culture or who appreciates a good suspense novel to give this book a read.
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Title: Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie ISBN: 0446672351 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.99 |
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Title: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie ISBN: 0060976241 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 September, 1994 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Toughest Indian in the World by Sherman Alexie ISBN: 0802138004 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 09 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie ISBN: 0802117449 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title:Smoke Signals ASIN: 6305428417 Publisher: Miramax Home Entertainment Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $16.39 |
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