Product Description

Winner of the American Book Award and a critically acclaimed national best seller, Reservation Blues continues to find new and adoring readers in academic and popular circles alike. In 1931, Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil, receiving legendary blues skills in return. He went on to record only twenty-nine songs before being murdered on August 16, 1938. In 1992, however, Johnson suddenly reappears on the Spokane Indian Reservation and meets Thomas Builds-the-Fire, the misfit storyteller of the Spokane Tribe. When Johnson passes his enchanted instrument to Thomas—lead singer of the rock-and-roll band Coyote Springs—a magical odyssey begins that will take the band from reservation bars to small-town taverns, from the cement trails of Seattle to the concrete canyons of Manhattan. Sherman Alexie imaginatively mixes narrative, newspaper excerpts, songs, journal entries, visions, radio interviews, and dreams to explore the effects of Christianity on Native Americans in the late twentieth century. In addition, he examines the impact of cultural assimilation on the relationships between Indian women and Indian men. Reservation Blues is a painful, humorous, and ultimately redemptive symphony about God and indifference, faith and alcoholism, family and hunger, sex and death.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11566 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780802141903
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
This first novel by the author of the story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven revolves around a bluesman's gift of a guitar to a Native American on a reservation.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Alexie follows up his story collection, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (LJ 9/1/93), with a first novel about an all-Indian Catholic rock band called Coyote Springs.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
"Coyote Springs counted one, two, three, then fell into their first paid chord together, off rhythm. They stopped, counted again, rose into that first chord again, then the second, third, and in a move that stunned the crowd and instantly propelled them past nearly every rock band in history, played a fourth chord and nearly a fifth."

Coyote Springs is an all-Indian Catholic rock band from the Spokane Reservation in eastern Washington, and if their career eventually crashes and burns, the novel they inhabit soars like that elusive fifth chord. A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian and the author of the critically acclaimed The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993), Alexie mixes biting black humor, a healthy dose of magic, and sparkling lyricism to produce a remarkably powerful story with roots not only in Native American mythology, but also in the equally potent history of rock 'n' roll. Alexie's characters, including lead singer Thomas Builds-the-Fire, lead guitarist Victor Joseph, and backup vocalists Chess and Checkers Warm Water, are reservation Indians, but they are also kids with guitars committed to putting on their own show. Like Michael Dorris and Louise Erdrich, Alexie writes about Indians who are individuals first and members of an ethnic group second. The stuff of their lives, the pain, the poverty, the humor, the resilience, grows out of their experience on the reservation, to be sure, but it also fuels their need to be heard in their own voices: "Thomas Builds-the-Fire wanted his tears to be individual, not tribal." You can hear Thomas' need in every note of these unforgettable reservation blues. Bill ^IOtt

Customer Reviews

A Major Talent Tells An Important Story
Through the entertaining story of the rise and fall of a Spokane garage band, Sherman Alexie manages to pack the complexities and frustrations of contemporary Native American Indian life on and off the Reservation. Though his narrative is full of droll wit, his themes are profound. He speaks of the poverty, alcoholism and broken family structure that haunt reservations, of the meanness of HUD housing, surplus food and the local police. As for co-existence with whites: any white left after reading this who thinks white culture understands and treats Indians better these days is as dense as they come. The author explores how outside culture bids for the Indian soul. There is an identity crisis for sure, a rattling sense of purposelessness. Infusing the story with mythic components that extend beyond specific ethnic borders, the author expresses the anger without hate and searches for purpose and redemption. His sentence structure is deceptively straightforward. It drips with allusion and music. In a few strokes, each character becomes a fully developed individual. I hadn't read this talented writer's work before and am in awe of his voice.

Some of the other reviewers have mentioned that a movie will be made of this. It will be a challenge to deliver what the book does. What happens to the band, Coyote Springs, at the hands of the New York record company in the book is not good and I wouldn't want Hollywood to do that to this fine work. On the other hand, Alexie is knowing, so I trust he has been careful in letting it go.

outstanding
Reservation Blues, which won the American Book Award in 1995, is a touching look at modern life on the Spokane Indian Reservation. When legendary blues guitarist Robert Johnson shows up on the rez with his enchanted guitar and a dark secret, Thomas Builds-the-Fire begins a journey of self-discovery and painful realization that will forever change him and his friends. After the magical guitar ends up in his hands, Thomas forms Coyote Springs, a band made up of two seemingly unmotivated drunks Victor and Junior, and two Flathead Indian sisters, Checkers and Chess. The book chronicles the bands' humble beginnings playing at the local bar on the rez to a hopeful encounter with record executives in New York City. It is within this context that Alexie is able to confront serious issues facing the Indian community today with his own subtle sense of humor.
The straight forward plot is layered with metaphorical connections to a general Indian past, while each character is forced to confront haunting personal issues. For Thomas, it is the embarrassment of his alcoholic itinerant father. For Victor, it is the sexual abuse he faced at the hand of the reservation priest. For Checkers and Chess, it is a feeling of loneliness, the search for a "good Indian man," and being seen as outcasts on a reservation not their own. Ironically, their music is the only thing which gives them a feeling of power and inner strength, yet it is the opportunities provided by this music that alienate them from their own people.
Alexie believes the problems facing Indians today are the same faced by their ancestors 100 years ago. An obvious example is the names of the record executives for "Cavalry Records," Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Wright, and Mr. Armstrong; a direct link to the Generals who murdered their ancestors. Signing away your freedom in exchange for an empty promise is an idea which transcends the generations for Indians; the record contract and the peace treaty. Another problem Alexie confronts is the relationship between half-breeds and full-bloods. In his own original and comical way, Alexie uses a pick-up game of basketball which pits Thomas' father and the rez drunk, Leonard, against the half-breed Tribal police force. Insults fly, and the comedy that ensues is unforgettable.
Reservation Blues was a delight to read. Alexie is a talented writer whose gift for storytelling is enhanced by his social commentary and his humorous presentation. Few writers would be able to tackle such subject matter without the work falling into the category of a tragedy. Alexie's grasp of his people's sense of humor is unparalleled, and the jokes transcend racial and social lines. His ability to remain light-hearted when discussing suicide, alcohol, and rape is an impressive feat. It is not a surprise that he feels it is this very philosophy that gives Indians the ability to move forward and succeed. Focusing on the positive, while making light of the negative is a quality Alexie attributes to the survival of his culture. Overall, it is a story of accepting one's past in order to move forward. It is a story of hope, of survival, and of reality. Reservation Blues is more than a fictional work, it is a searing look at the political, social, and religious issues facing Indians today.

Alexie has obviously lived those Rez Blues!
Alexie's book about Coyote Springs all Indian band is contemporary and he does not lose any of the flavor of being "Indian" with his storytelling (so much like Thomas'). The humor, sadness, love, fame, groupies, experiences he depicts in this tale of the band members and Robert Johnson and how their lives become intertwined with the Spokane Indian Reservation is a masterpiece! I can't wait for the film and to find out who will play the characters! Keep writing, Sherman, because you have been making people like me laugh, cry and continue to be connected with other Indian people who have grown up on reservations to leave for a "better life" in the urban cities (S.F. Bay Area) but who always return "home" (Wind River Reservation, Wyoming).