Seattle Revelations

This week I read the 10 stories that comprise Sherman Alexie's collection of stories, Ten Little Indians, published in 2003. They are all good and sad and funny, as Alexie's work is.  The stories are about 10 different American Indians, all living in Seattle.  They are different by occupation, age and class; some are of mixed race, some not.  But all are interesting, and each is exposed to the reader's view in a rather extreme way.

What the stories have in common is this openness, this stark honesty that reveals the characters' dark secrets, not only to the reader, but also to other characters, many of them total strangers to the protagonist.  In fact, it is this confessional aspect of each story that ties it to the next. It's almost as if the characters are acting as readers for each other.

Alexie always has a storyteller in his fiction; he sees the storyteller as central to his culture, even perhaps to all cultures.  As a storyteller himself, Alexie knows that for the storyteller to complete his mission, there must be a listener who is willing to enter the storyteller's world. In each of the stories in Ten Little Indians there is such a listener: kind, tolerant, responsive, insightful.  And I would add: grateful. Grateful for the story, for the chance to the see the world through a stranger's eyes.

It's been a few months since I've read Alexie's work (See my October 11, 2012 post), so it was nice to get back to his world, although I must say that Alexie's vision is not for the faint of heart. It's intense, but rich in its intensity.  A little Alexie goes a long way, but that little bit is immensely satisfying.  And the feeling lingers; after reading one of his stories, I think about it for hours and sometimes days.

The best story in the collection, in my opinion, is "What You Pawn, I Will Redeem." It's a story with a classic structure, comprising 24 hours in Jackson Jackson's life, starting when he sees his grandmother's dance regalia in the window of a pawn shop.  The pawn broker tells him that if he can raise the $1000 it cost, he will sell it to him. But he gives Jackson only 24 hours to raise the cash or the deal is off.  He even gives Jackson $20 to get him started on his quest.

And it is a quest, like that of Odysseus in a way--a long, winding journey that gets sidetracked many times because, you see, Jackson is a homeless alcoholic who tends to spend any money he comes into on alcohol.  He has many friends, though, including the local police officer, who accompany him at various points on his journey.  It seems likely that Jackson will not succeed, but as with many of Alexie's stories, miracles (of the earthly sort) have a way of happening.  The outcome is unexpected, and very satisfying.  I recommend this book highly.

My next book will be non-fiction, and in keeping with my alphabetical selection method (I'm still in the As), I'll be reading Beyond Knowing: Mysteries and Messages of Death and Life from a Forensic Pathologist, by Janis Amatuzio. It appears to be a memoir of Dr. Amatuzio's life and career as a pathologist, with the focus on mysteries of death, in particular spiritual mysteries. It looks interesting; I'll let you know what I think later.

Aggravating Mozart Followed by More Pulp Fiction

Oh, I had such high hopes for Mozart: A Life, but alas! I couldn't continue with it.

There were many details in it--about Mozart's life, his work, his music, his travels, his family members.  Too many.  I found myself fast-forwarding through his performance itinerary and the analysis of his music.  The biographical details were interesting for a while, but after reading the many accounts of Mozart's father's controlling ways and Mozart's failure to do anything to do stop him, I couldn't bear it anymore.  I was so aggravated I wanted to shake Wolfie and slap his father around a bit.  When I saw there was no let up in sight, I abandoned it, saying "I find I don't care what happened to Mozart or why."

So, I went back to pulp fiction for a while to clear the anxiety generated by Mozart's dysfunctional family, finishing The Watchman, by Robert Crais, featuring his continuing character, Joe Pike, another "hero" who operates outside the law and carries out acts of vengeance in the name of justice.  It was fast-paced and interesting, but I don't think I'll be reading another one of these.  My coworker (from whom I borrowed this book and others like it) must have power issues; he doesn't have enough and so likes to fantasize that he can take out evil-doers without suffering the legal penalties our system of justice demands.  But I shouldn't pick on him; the number of current movies and television shows with a vigilante theme show that feelings of powerlessness and desire for vengeance are common in our society.

Since finishing The Watchman I have been thinking of reading Alexander Hamilton, a biography by Ron Chernow, a renowned historian.  I started it and find it interesting, especially since it begins with the story of Hamilton's being killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.

Another possibility is the latest novel by Sherman Alexie, Flight, which I took out of the library.  I may have to read that first just because I'll have to return it long before I finish the gargantuan biography of Hamilton. We'll see.

I'll let you know how it goes.  See ya later!