I was pleased to find that Reservation Blues delves deeper into the lives of some of my favorite characters from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The writing style is similar. It is still fantastical, but less so, and that actually makes it more approachable, in my opinion. I think the big idea of this book can be summarized by this excerpt (from page 217 of my copy):
"They sort of felt like baby turtles left to crawl from birth nest to ocean all by themselves, while predators of all varieties came to be part of the baby turtle beach buffet. They sort of felt like Indian children of Indian parents."
Sherman Alexie writes poignantly about the adventures of an all-Indian rock band from the reservation, inserting his characteristic wry humor in unexpected places. He weaves together the stories and struggles of Indians and whites, traditional Indians and 20th century Indians, reservation Indians and urban Indians, drunk Indians and sober Indians, Indian men and Indian women, Indian children and Indian parents, and even Christian Indians and non-Christian Indians.
Much of the book unfolds with sadness and disappointment, and the lack of redemption given to some characters makes it all that much more heartbreaking. There is, at least, a sense of hope in the lives of two Native Americans doing the best they can, given their circumstances.
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