Flight by Sherman Alexie
As a Native American writers, Alexie is one of the most popular of the small but elite community. As an admirer of many of these writers, this is the first Alexie book I have read, and I thought it was extremely interesting.
"Zits", a troubled teen, battles to find his identity has him not only fighting his own fights, but those of others whose body he inhabits throughout the novel. Zits does not discriminate between race or point in history during these experiences. As he travels through bodies, he learns more about himself.
My favorite chapter is chapter 11. I like it because Zits has realized the importance of Native American names, and he introduces us to Bow Boy and Small Saint. He views these two people with hope, respect, and longing. They are brave, and I am not sure if he even realizes he named them Native names, despite being in a white man's body. He admirers these people more than anyone else in the book at this point, and sacrifices his life for them.
I would recommend this book for teens. Despite the language and some obscene material, I think it is an extremely colorful book with a great world view. It also might inspire people to read more Native American literature.
This book was very graphic, but I also recommended it for teens, with reservation of course. If I were a teacher, I would send them home a notice telling the contents of the book.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the parts with the Native American side because Zits lives in a society that is predominantly white, so as he was traveling through time into the white culture, it was more familiar to him. When he was a native american, things were newer and more powerful.