Alexie, S. (1993). The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.
Adult Fiction
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie (1993) is a collection of stories that focus on the lives of people on the Spokane Indian Reservation. These stories interweave many of the same characters throughout the text with various roles in the book: protagonist, antagonist, supporting character, even just a slight reference. The storytelling itself is often humorous, sometimes shocking, and always thought-provoking. Readers will find that by the end of the text, reservation life has become a rich tapestry of experiences and memories. Alexie pulls no punches when describing his characters' lives: alcoholism, depression and abuse are as prevalent as love, forgiveness and hope. It is important that readers without background knowledge of reservation life remember that perspective is everything in these stories. It would be easy for a naive reader to form opinions that may not be well-founded. Educators using this text in a secondary classroom need to be doubly aware that background knowledge is vital for deep comprehension of this text. There are many references to events, societal norms and governmental mandates that could be seen as only Alexie's quips and self-deprecating humor. One should note that Alexie does not waste space and every moment, comedic or tragic, is a comment he is making on the American Indian experience.
I would definitely recommend and do use this text in a secondary education classroom. I have my students read the entire text, pairing it with other contemporary and traditional authors as well as different literary forms. We perform in-depth research into the themes and motifs found in this literature as well as view and listen to alternative media. Alexie also wrote screenplays to two films that align with his work: The Business of Fancydancing and Smoke Signals, which is based upon one of the short stories in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Even a simple search will yield multiple quality resources to use with this work.
Reviews for The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
"Again and again, Alexie's prose startles and dazzles with unexpected, impossible-to-anticipate moves. With this stunning collection, Sherman Alexie has become quite clearly an important new voice in American literature." - Boston Globe
"Poetic [and] unremittedly honest... The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is for the American Indian what Richard Wright's Native Son was for the black American in 1940." - Chicago Tribune
"With wrenching pain and wry humor, the talented Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, presents contemporary life on the Spokane Indian Reservation through 22 linked stories. Here, people treat each other (and life) with amused tolerance--although anger can easily erupt in this environment of endemic alcoholism and despair...Irony, grim humor, and forgiveness help characters transcend pain, anger and loss while the same qualities make it possible to read Alexie's fiction without succumbing to hopelessness. Forgiveness seems to be the last moral/ethical value left standing: the ability both to judge and to love gives the book its searing yet affectionate honesty." - Kirkus Review
I would definitely recommend and do use this text in a secondary education classroom. I have my students read the entire text, pairing it with other contemporary and traditional authors as well as different literary forms. We perform in-depth research into the themes and motifs found in this literature as well as view and listen to alternative media. Alexie also wrote screenplays to two films that align with his work: The Business of Fancydancing and Smoke Signals, which is based upon one of the short stories in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Even a simple search will yield multiple quality resources to use with this work.
Reviews for The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
"Again and again, Alexie's prose startles and dazzles with unexpected, impossible-to-anticipate moves. With this stunning collection, Sherman Alexie has become quite clearly an important new voice in American literature." - Boston Globe
"Poetic [and] unremittedly honest... The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is for the American Indian what Richard Wright's Native Son was for the black American in 1940." - Chicago Tribune
"With wrenching pain and wry humor, the talented Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, presents contemporary life on the Spokane Indian Reservation through 22 linked stories. Here, people treat each other (and life) with amused tolerance--although anger can easily erupt in this environment of endemic alcoholism and despair...Irony, grim humor, and forgiveness help characters transcend pain, anger and loss while the same qualities make it possible to read Alexie's fiction without succumbing to hopelessness. Forgiveness seems to be the last moral/ethical value left standing: the ability both to judge and to love gives the book its searing yet affectionate honesty." - Kirkus Review