Flight: A Novel by Sherman Alexie Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Flight: A Novel
Book Review: A great novel of history, identity, race, but few female roles
Summary: 4 Stars
One of the best features of this book is that it can just as easily be read in one's free time as incorporated into the classroom (though a bit violent for lower grades). The book portrays a young half American Indian boy named Zits who moves from foster family to foster family.
When Zits tries to shoot up a bank under the direction of a boy he knows only as Justice, he travels back in time to periods that shape how he thinks about his race, his sexuality, and his father as he jumps from event to event.
This book highlights how history culminates into several American and Native American experiences and identities. It also challenges assumptions about how we tell `historical' stories, and how the ways Native Americans are/were seen by white colonizers and vice versa are actually far from the truth. My one problem with the novel was that in all his traveling Zits encounters no substantial female characters. This is a problem since many Native American cultures are shaped by a very different understanding of women and women's roles than western culture.
Buy this book:
* If you don't mind the use of violence as a literary device
* If you enjoy learning about re-imagining of history
* If you are interested in seeing the reaction a contemporary Native American/Irish boy put into conflicting events such as The battle of the Little Bighorn and a cavalry ambush of a poorly armed Native American village.
Do not buy this book:
* If you do not like to read about violence described in gruesome ways
* If you find time travel too "science fiction"
* If you are interested in substantial female characters (In the novel women are seen very few times and then only as sexual objects)
Book Review: One of my top five books of all time!
Summary: 5 Stars
I laughed out loud at this book--the first time I have done so in years. But not only is it hilarious, but amazingly poignant and at times very wise. I had read Alexie's Summer of Black Widows in college, and found it funny and insightful. So, while I usually read classics, I picked this book up. I am so glad I did. I finished it today and already I have told five people (everyone I know that I saw today) that they have to read it. This will be a book I read again and again.Book Review: Powerful
Summary: 5 Stars
Alexie tackles some tough topics. This book is in no way easy, but it is a great and ultimately very satisfying book.Book Review: reqired summer reading for my high schooler
Summary: 4 Stars
good book.
makes you thing about why people think about death and religion.
this copy had an uneven cut long edge so make turning pages a bit irritating.