I really enjoyed Sherman Alexie's Indian Killer. I found it very interesting and easy to read. Much easier to get through than Fear & Loathing, in my mind! I found a couple aspects of this novel exceptionally interesting. First, I thought the murder mystery was great. I personally like mystery's, which was another reason why I really enjoyed this novel. Second, I thought if we look deeper into the novel, we can see there is more than just a story. Alexie brought up many problems with discrimination, which still occurs today. I can understand why this book brought up some controversy. I am sure that the people of the Native American culture do not like reading a novel where the character with all the problems and who ends up killing people because he is not accepted as a Native American.
From the first page, I was sucked into this novel. I found the first chapter very interesting and wanted to read on to find out what was going to happen. As I got to the end of many of the chapters, I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen.
While the murder mystery storyline was interesting to me, I could not stop thinking about what a hard life John had. He started out being adopted by two white Americans. As we read, we found out that this was clearly not socially acceptable, and still may not be today in some parts of the United States. John clearly had a hard life being separated from other Native Americans and having to grow up in a "white" society. I think growing up apart from his Indian background caused him to have the anger problems and other problems. He felt like an outcast. That nobody liked him. John did not fit in in a "white" society. Seeing the way he was treated by people made me hurt for him. I don't feel like anybody should have to be treated like that. We are all HUMAN!
This book was copyrighted in 1996. This makes me think that this type of discrimination is still going on today. I do not think this is fair or should be happening considering that the United States is considered the melting pot, the land of the free, the place where you can be who you want to be. The unfortunate thing is, there are still people like John who are not being treated fairly because of the color of their skin.
Overall, I really enjoyed Indian Killer. It was one of the better books that I have read lately. I am glad that it was assigned to read, because not sure I would have picked it up off the shelf's.
Eric
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I thought this book was a great book. This book was trying to make a point to whoever reads it. It's trying to make the reader feel what it's like to live in that area at that time period. This story takes place in Indian territory and not all of the people in Washington accept them. John could never seem to fit in any where. He always was thinking if only i could have lived in a reservation. Whenever he went to the pow wows with marie he never knew what to do. If John would have lived in a tribe then he might have enjoyed his life more. I know there is still people that are favored because of their color of their skin because i see it all the time. Everyone should get treated the same.
ReplyDeleteI believe that type of racial discrimination still happens today. My aunts came to town from a small Illinois town outside St. Louis to cash a check a few weeks back. They had all of the proper documentation and then some, but the people at the bank kept changing the rules and refusing to serve them properly because my aunts happen to be black people from the St. Louis area. They had to come to the bank every day they could get off work for almost a full two weeks and hire a lawyer to help them finally get what they deserved.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy mysteries and murder mysteries (one of my favorite books growing up was a mystery called The Westing Game). However, the best part of a mystery to me is finding the solution which this book did not entirely do. I think if Alexie said who the main serial killer was I would feel a sense of closure and come off enjoying the book better.
Reading about John was painful for me at times. I mean, the guy had great parents that had money nad gave him all the opportunities in the world. He was just so apathetic throughout the book that it is hard to have sympathy for him. Having said that I realize that he also had a serious mental handicap that led him to act in the ways he did. John should have just been popping those pills, staying level headed. Instead, he breaks down into moments of psycosis and the result is everyone needs to feel bad for the Indian that just couldn't cope.
ReplyDelete