Much like Vonnegut, Sherman Alexie has a knack for fusing humor and sadness in such a way that it underscores how both elements underlie most aspects of life. In one story, a woman admits to her husband she has had an affair. In the midst of his hurt and confusion upon finding this out, he envisions himself in a musical, singing and doing a tap-dance "to the primal 4/4 beat of betrayal." In another, a man imagines himself making wisecracks throughout his father's eulogy, but when it comes time to read what he has prepared for this event, he can only muster a simple, "I love my father."Elsewhere, Alexie explores identity and stereotypes. The young female protagonist in "The Search Engine" is one of the only Spokane Indians at Washington State University. She sees herself as different than the other students, someone who was "once indigenous to this land" but now "must immigrate into its culture." When she finds an obscure book of Spokane poetry in the university library, she seeks out its author in an attempt to connect with another outsider. She finds that he is biologically Spokane but was raised outside the reservation and has, essentially, faked his Indian nature. This leads her to realize that while white people often have erroneous views of Indians, Indians may not have a firm grasp on their own identities either.All of the stories contain characters that are unique and full of life, often coming from greatly flawed but loving families. They are just as likely to quake at their own inadequate natures as they are to embrace those shortcomings and live life to its fullest. The hobo in "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" knows he is an alcoholic and spends what little money he has on booze and passes out on the railroad tracks, but he also looks out for others and tries his best to maintain a connection with his long dead grandmother.In "Frank Snake Church," the eponymous character as a now middle aged man attempts to relive his youth as a basketball phenom. When a fellow street player points out that Frank's abilities will never be what they once were, he is crushed. It is the most heart-rending moment of the book. Even so, Frank perseveres, challenging the current college athletes to a game and (somewhat) giving them a run for their money. While the story comes dangerously close to becoming one of the cliched "he tried hard and failed but learned something in the process" kinds of stories, it is these well-crafted characters that keeps it from becoming so.That being said, there are a few characters who are so frenetic they become irritating. The protagonist in "Can I Get a Witness" is the most notable example of this. She survives a bombing only to have a nearby citizen take her back to his place. Here, she rambles and expects him to listen to her bi-polar ravings about how much she hates her family. I don't know if she has some strange case of survivor's guilt or what, but she is thoroughly unlikeable and contributes to the story seeming more like a random mess than quirky tale.
I first heard of Sherman Alexie from Natives I knew in the Humboldt County area; then I read a short story by him in an Existentialism class I took, which proved to be a curious thing (the story happened to be What You Pawn I Will Redeem, which is in this book). Surprised by how much easier it is to find Native literature in Paris, France, than in the overwhelming majority of the US, I decided to read more Alexie, starting with this collection of stories, Ten Little Indians. My favourite stories, along with the aforementioned one, were Whatever Happened to Frank Snake Church, Flight Patterns and The Search Engine. While a couple others were good without necessarily being my cup of tea, most of the others were forgettable. Published in 2003 in the wake of 9/11, most of these stories are the product of that era of paranoia, meaning that, though the paranoia hasn't necessarily subsided, even in 2014 they seem dated and will probably not age very well over time. The other downside I found with the stories were that the non-Indian characters were very two dimensional, especially the white characters and the random mixed race characters (which is a shame, because his Native characters are so well developed that it throws the mix of characters off balance). In any other instance, I would also question how overtly unrealistic and cheesy many of the white characters are; the only reason I don't is because I'm well aware that white people consistently act weird and cheesy whenever they meet Natives, even if they don't realize that they are (as do other non-Native people). Thus I imagine it must be a difficult thing for Alexie to build strong white characters in any way that differs from those in Ten Little Indians. I'm certainly willing to give Alexie another shot; the good stories prove that he is an author of merit when he puts his mind to it. But perhaps it is best not to start with this collection of stories and try one of his other works instead. Is he better with longer prose than with short stories? Guess I'll find out soon enough.
What do You think about Ten Little Indians (2005)?
3.0 Stars - Best Story: The Search EngineI really enjoyed Alexie's young adult, Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian, so I was eager to finally pick up his short story collection. The opening story, The Search Engine, was my favourite short story in the collection, providing both a honest commentary on the Native American experience as well as a healthy dose of humour. However, the varying degrees, the other stories felt a bit off to bit. I'm hardly a conservative reader, but I felt that his stories were unnecessarily violent and sexualized. The book also felt dated, with stories focused on themes of terrorism and fear that ran rampant after the events of 9/11. It's worth reading a couple of stories, but I wouldn't necessarily the collection as a whole.
—Rachel (TheShadesofOrange)
This is a book that asks you to look deep inside and ask, "Who are you?". A series of short stories of Indians living off the Rez, struggling with their cultural identities. Each story is about relationships, whether good or bad and how they impact your life and color your identity. There are definitely some mis-steps, as I found "The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above" and "Do You Know Where I Am" to be over-long and vague. You will find so much to laugh and cry over, whether its a young, brash Indian falling in love with a writer she has never met, or the family who saves their child with a most unusual talisman. My two favorite stories are "Can I get a Witness" and "What You Pawn, I will Redeem". The first follows an Indian who is caught in a restaurant bombing and is helped by a white man, with whom she shares her desire to use the bombing to escape her life of quiet hell. The second is the most lauded of all the stories in the book. It follows a homeless Spokane Indian who is trying to earn the money to buy back his grandmothers stolen dress, from a pawn shop. Sherman Alexie is an immensely gifted writer who writes both men and women with equal sincerity and grace. I feel he is prone to sentimentality and occasional heavy-handed political proselytizing. Also I feel like he sometimes falls into the ravine of the vague Indian sentimentalism and soppiness that he decries in the first story.That said, Alexie is one of the best writers of this generation. His books are gorgeous, vibrant and approachable literary fiction. Even though this is a muddled book for me, the good stories are fantastic and well worth the read and there aren't any bad stories. Just stories that didn't engage me as much.
—Christina
I picked this book up because I really wanted to read Alexie's other short story collection - The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (fabulous title!) and couldn't find it at the time. I'm not a fan of short stories, and I didn't enjoy this collection. But I can say that in my opinion the stories are well-written and if "bold, uncensored, raucous, and sexy" is your thing, then you might really enjoy the book. The story I enjoyed the most was "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" - telling the story of a homeless Indian man's one-day quest to find $999 to buy back his grandmother's stolen pow-wow dance regalia from a pawn shop. It wasn't bold, uncensored, raucous, and sexy; it was poignant and touching and human and real. That's what I enjoy.
—Babs
