War Dances

In this collection of poetry, short stories, and autobiographical vignettes, Alexie continues to explore his sense of self in relation to the complex history of Native Americans. His intonation evokes the Native American oral tradition, while his prose represents a much deeper mixing of his two polarized cultures. Alexie proves an enjoyable, if limited, narrator. All the character voices are rendered through both his literary point of view and his vocal presentation, making some a bit narrow in substance. Yet his delivery also works well for many pieces since Alexie, or his doppelganger, often serves as the center of a given work. He particularly shines at projecting the extensive emotional range of his works, especially humor. L.E. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

August 24, 2009
From National Book Award–winner Alexie comes a new collection of stories, poems, question and answer sequences, and hybrids of all three and beyond. In a penetrating voice that mixes humor with anger, Alexie pointedly asks, “If it is true that children pay for the sins of their fathers, then is it also true that fathers pay for the sins of their children?” Many of the stories revolve around the complexities of fatherhood; in the title story, the Native American narrator recalls his alcoholic father's death as he confronts his own mortality, and “The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless” is the tale of an eccentric vintage clothing salesman whose sexual attraction to his wife fades following the birth of their children. The collection also contains stirring defenses of artistic integrity; “Fearful Symmetry” is an incisive account of working as a young screenwriter for a Hollywood studio, and the poem “Ode to Mix Tapes” endorses hard work as the key ingredient behind any creation. Alexie unfurls highly expressive language, and while at times his jokes bomb and the characters' anger can feel forced, overall this is a spiritedly provocative array of tragic comedies.