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The Toughest Indian in the World
A beloved American writer whose books are championed by critics and readers alike, Sherman Alexie has been hailed by Time as "one of the better new novelists, Indian or otherwise." Now his acclaimed new collection, The Toughest Indian in the World, which received universal praise in hardcover, is available in paperback. In these stories, we meet the kind of American Indian...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
February 1st 2001
by Grove Press
(first published May 1st 2000)
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I found this collection of short stories about various Native American related themes overall interesting, if only in the idea of juxtaposing related themes on a central topic. Some were definitely better than others. Alexie seems to have a fetish for disenfranchisement by white people and for sexuality, and he seems to have explored every possible outlet of sexuality. Some of the language is terse, and some of the images he draws are downright crude. As a work of entertainment, this book I do n...more
I was moved to tears by several of the stories. I was totally surprised as I bought this secondhand book after reading his youth novel, The Absolutely True...which my 12 year old LOVED and which I also though was amazing (buy this book for any tween or teen male). I was not prepared for the sexual turns, the adultness of the material. Which was wonderfully done. I loved his humor and turns of phrase, his gender notes and homoeroticism. Also, noticed my feelings of pain as the outsider... the whi...more
It's hard to say anything about these stories, because they're so good. They're delightful in substance, style, and soul. Reading them made me feel that Alexie loves writing and loves intensely what he's writing about . . . I think those are the highest qualifications for a writer. My favorite line came in the last story, where the narrator is standing by the side of the road with his dying father.
"I wanted to ask my father about his regrets. I wanted to ask him what was the worst thing he'd eve...more
"I wanted to ask my father about his regrets. I wanted to ask him what was the worst thing he'd eve...more
"Sexually speaking, Indian women and men are simultaneously promiscuous and modest. That's a contradiction, but it also happens to be the truth."
That true contradiction is a tidy way to sum up the style of this collection. Promiscuous and modest, tough and vulnerable, stoic and maudlin, elegant and clumsy, smart and naive. And by contradiction I'm talking extremes, no pansying moderation but full-on over-the-top ballsy commitment to both poles.
Maybe it's that contradiction which ties the whole...more
That true contradiction is a tidy way to sum up the style of this collection. Promiscuous and modest, tough and vulnerable, stoic and maudlin, elegant and clumsy, smart and naive. And by contradiction I'm talking extremes, no pansying moderation but full-on over-the-top ballsy commitment to both poles.
Maybe it's that contradiction which ties the whole...more
I've been meaning to read one of Alexie's books for a while, especially since I taught the short story "Dear John Wayne" in the class I TA-ed last fall. Unfortunately, I found the short story collection The Toughest Indian in the World to be disappointingly uneven. Part of this may be the result of Alexie's unifying theme here--he says in the introduction to this edition that he set out to write "love stories... of white-collar Indians," which in practice seems to mean relying on heavy-handed us...more
This collection of short stories spans many different genres--realistic fiction, magic realism, sci-fi--all exploring the identity of the American Indian. Some were better than others, but it was one of the most cohesive short story collections I have ever encountered. Alexie uses these perfect little gems to communicate the complicated feelings he has about race and belonging.
I didn't know when I first picked it up that it was a short story collection, and I was a little sad when I figured it o...more
I didn't know when I first picked it up that it was a short story collection, and I was a little sad when I figured it o...more
Sherman Alexie has been attracting attention for his poetry and fiction since the early 1990s, when he was in his late twenties. This collection of short stories took its title from one of the stories therein, which was originally published by The New Yorker. The most obvious thread in common to all these stories is the presence of Native American characters living in a white-dominant society. The central characters, however, vary in the degree of assimulation, and the objects of their efforts a...more
Native Americans are the greatest story tellers. Sherman Alexie is the best of the best. This is the best book of short stories that I have ever read.
One of the things I liked the most about it was that while each story carries some of the same themes of how being a Native American is ironically kind of like being a stranger in a strange land, the characters in each story are all unique and three dimensional. I liked that I was able to hear the voice of a reservation Indian telling these storie...more
One of the things I liked the most about it was that while each story carries some of the same themes of how being a Native American is ironically kind of like being a stranger in a strange land, the characters in each story are all unique and three dimensional. I liked that I was able to hear the voice of a reservation Indian telling these storie...more
A few good short stories here, but too many clunkers. Some are awful, and were they not written by Alexie would never see print. The title story has a shocking turn of events that seemed unbelievable and nonsensical. Alexie knows how to write well: it's the constant theme of evil whites and poor Indians and how nobody knows 'Indian' like another Indian that becomes annoying.
If you want to see Alexie's skills at their best, I suggest "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part time Indian". Don't let t...more
If you want to see Alexie's skills at their best, I suggest "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part time Indian". Don't let t...more
One or two I didn't especially like, though each and every one of them is a pretty great short story. But I loved the ones I loved, and am rather in awe that one person wrote all of them, and the way they play with sexuality and identity and belonging from many angles. The way that people move between worlds and what that means to them, what it does to them. And of course I love the points of view, and the complexity and the absence of charicature and all the things I really hate in a lot of wri...more
I enjoyed reading these short stories. Sherman Alexie writes in a clear and accessible manner and draws the reader into the stories without effort. I laugh as I think about the little racist it brought out in me. I work as a cashier and for the last few days, whenever I have had a Native American come through my line, I want to bring up Sherman Alexie and ask all sorts of questions. Now, as an Asian, I have been on the receiving end of these questions and I know no matter how polite and genuine...more
One notable line: A character says he is Indian, and someone responds, "Dot-on-the-head Indian or arrow-in-the-heart Indian?" I appreciate the window this book gave me into Indian culture as Alexie knows it. However, it seemed that almost every story had some mention of sex or sexual disfunction, and after awhile I started wondering if it was necessary. At one point a character says, "I just want to tell the whole story," and I do think this is part of Alexie's writing, to write everything in th...more
I wish I was Indian just so I could properly worship at Sherman Alexie's altar. His story collections are superb--different enough but with enough recurring moments to create a cohesive whole. His stories make you feel like you're reading a universal truth about humanity even though he's clearly telling the Indian story and we blue-eyed devils can only catch a mere sliver of a glimpse behind the curtain. Not only are the stories pregnant with emotion (and the emotions in this collection are as d...more
3 1/2 stars. A good collection of stories. Some subject matter might be to intense for you prudes out there though. Some stories have sex (oh my goodness!) Some stories are tales of adulterous sex(Oh My Goodness!). Some stories are about sex between the same genders (OH MY GOODNESS!). Unfortunately for you pervs out there those stories of sex would never be described as titillating, or erotic. They definitely sound real and plausible and that makes them all the better. My personal favorite was a...more
This is the second collection of stories by Alexie, and I think it shows. Some of these stories, which explore in different styles the modes and definitions of love, are spectacular. Some of them are really good. Some of them are kind of reaching, as if his interest in experimenting overwhelmed his storytelling.
My husband just said to me that he's been disinclined to read much into Alexie's work because it's so obvious that Lone Ranger and Tonto was the book he had in him all his life. That mak...more
My husband just said to me that he's been disinclined to read much into Alexie's work because it's so obvious that Lone Ranger and Tonto was the book he had in him all his life. That mak...more
I know it's been said by others many times, but let me repeat it. Alexie is, at heart, a poet. It's because of this that even the short stories in this set that I didn't care for on other levels could still capture my interest. Things can be going along, a bit mundanely even, but then a turn of phrase would just knock my socks off.
That said, there were stories here that I loved from top to bottom. My favorite was "Saint Junior," but I am a sucker for a believable love story. That's because they'...more
That said, there were stories here that I loved from top to bottom. My favorite was "Saint Junior," but I am a sucker for a believable love story. That's because they'...more
More Sherman short stories, I think this is my favorite form of his work. I like how he creates characters that sometimes overlap into his other stories, they are like old friends, even like family. There was one particular story in this book that affected me because I felt my life was in these pages and it scared me a little. Sherman said in a speech in March that people often tell him how his books have affected them and I have to say some details in this story seemed eerily personal and I wan...more
Nine short stories by Sherman Alexie. My copy says he was "selected by The New Yorker as one of the best American fiction writers under 40". He is an Indian and he writes about modern Indians living in on and off the "res" in the American North West.
Each story is quite different - from startling to moving. (And in my view, the editor chose to put the startling ones first..)
I quite enjoy reading about people and ideas I have not encountered, and while I only give it 3 stars, it was a quick read...more
Each story is quite different - from startling to moving. (And in my view, the editor chose to put the startling ones first..)
I quite enjoy reading about people and ideas I have not encountered, and while I only give it 3 stars, it was a quick read...more
I'm of two minds about this collection. One mind says that these are fabulous stories, and if I didn't see Alexie's name as the author I'd think it was an impressive debut collection. Very PoMo and postcolonial. Very feminist and gay friendly. Very dominant discourse bashing. In short, the very essence of current political and literary correctness. Guaranteed to be on the top of the multicultural reading list. And maybe deservedly so. With its discussion and paper generating utility, the book ha...more
Sherman Alexie really kicks ass, doesn't he?
I always approached the tenth most attractive white woman at any gathering. I didn't have enough looks, charm, intelligence, or money to approach anybody more attractive than that, and I didn't have enough character to approach the less attractive.
My feelings are my feelings, said Salmon Boy, they belong to me, and you don't have to worry about them at all.
"What did you do?"
"I broke my heart."
"I didn't realize that was illegal."
"Well," he said. "...more
I always approached the tenth most attractive white woman at any gathering. I didn't have enough looks, charm, intelligence, or money to approach anybody more attractive than that, and I didn't have enough character to approach the less attractive.
My feelings are my feelings, said Salmon Boy, they belong to me, and you don't have to worry about them at all.
"What did you do?"
"I broke my heart."
"I didn't realize that was illegal."
"Well," he said. "...more
"The Toughest Indian in the World" is one of Sherman Alexie's collections of short stories. It comes before his most recent collection ("Ten Little Indians") but before "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" (which features many of the characters who would later appear in Alexie's novel "Reservation Blues"). It is also the first one I read. Unfortunately, I feel like it may not have been the best first choice.
Alexie is a wonderful writer, of whom I am a huge fan. His writings usually re...more
Alexie is a wonderful writer, of whom I am a huge fan. His writings usually re...more
It's weird because what I have with Sherman Alexie's works can't be put into words. Okay, it can be, but it's morning and I was really disturbed by the lack of content on my Goodreads pages so I've been adding stuff all morning and now I've run out of things to say, just as I've reached my favorite author and my second favorite book by him. I'm going to go get coffee. The coffee craze began in Seattle and Sherman Alexie lives in or near Seattle and ... I'll fix this later.
Sherman Alexie is a great read. Unknown to many, this native american author is witty and funny and serious all in one fell swoop. His stories will have you pondering pertinent issues regarding a still wildly taboo subject of the treatment of native americans in not a wild west setting, but a not so distant past. His stories are not only relevant to the native demographic, but to us all. And for myself, living in an area that is minutes away from reservation life, it is eye opening.
This collection of short stories is a bit of a departure from Alexie's other works. While the stories are still those of Native Americans, this one deals - quite graphically - with sex. I'm afraid that some who pick this up as their introduction to Alexie would never pick up another of his books! And that would be a shame - he is a wonderful writer, and has a lot to say (especially for us 'white folk' I think). But I would not recommend this as your introduction to his work. Read
Mar 22, 2012
Kevin Lanahan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
short-stories
This was a difficult read for me. Partly it was the rhythm of the language and partly the tone. I'm always a little uncomfortable reading books where race is an important part of the story. I always feel like I'm peeking in to, in this case, a Northwestern Indian culture that I will not be part of.
The stories are about assimilation and trying to stay Indian, and sex and longing. They are good stories, all sad but not pathetic.
The stories are about assimilation and trying to stay Indian, and sex and longing. They are good stories, all sad but not pathetic.
My friend Nick gave me a copy of this after he finished reading it. I can't remember when he gave it to me, but I think it may have been in 2003 when I visited him while he was living on the Big Island of Hawaii. I was teaching at the time and went on my spring break. I probably didn't read it until a few months (years?) later as I distinctly remember reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle on the flight to Los Angeles and then Kona.
It isn’t easy to describe one of Sherman Alexie’s provocative collections of short stories. Reviews often seem limited to a string of adjectives—touching, funny, angry, passionate, bittersweet, tender, mysterious, magical, vivid and haunting. Real. Suffice to say that he is incredibly skilled at directing human emotions into words, which is no small feat considering most of us can’t even put our own thoughts into words, let alone good words. Really good words, as the case may be. Alexie is the m...more
I really liked this book because it's a really funny and good book. In this book there are different stories about different type of Indians. For example you rarely here about Indians falling in and out of love in books. Also in one of the chapters a b oxer is looking to defeat the toughest indian in the world. This book is a really great book by Sherman Alexie. He's one of my favorite authors. This has a lot of different stories.
I am a huge fan of "Part Time Indian", but this was disappointing. Some of the stories had Alexie's ability to combine brilliant humor with some truly heartbreaking moments, the last story One Good Man is brilliant, but many of the others are not as strong. The themes Alexie attempts to address about Native Americans in the modern world, life off the reservation, are interesting, but the quality of the writing is not Alexie's best.
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Sherman J. Alexie, Jr., was born in October 1966. A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, he grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, WA, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane, WA. Alexie has published 18 books to date.
Alexie is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. Sherman's best known works in...more
More about Sherman Alexie...
Alexie is an award-winning and prolific author and occasional comedian. Much of his writing draws on his experiences as a modern Native American. Sherman's best known works in...more
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Jul 29, 2010 11:13am