''Reservation Blues'' is a 1995 novel by American writer

Sherman Alexie Sherman Joseph Alexie Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is a Native American novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker. His writings draw on his experiences as an Indigenous American with ancestry from several tribes. He grew up ...

, a citizen of the Spokane Tribe and descendant of the

Coeur d'Alene Tribe The Coeur d'Alene Tribe ( ; also Skitswish; ) are a Native American tribe and one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene have sovereign control of their Coeur d'Alene Reservation, which includes a significa ...

Plot summary

The novel follows the story of the rise and fall of Coyote Springs, a rock and blues band of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

Indians from the Spokane Reservation. In 1995, Thomas Builds-The-Fire, Junior Polatkin, and Victor Joseph, who also appear in Sherman Alexie's earlier short story collection ''

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven ''The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven'' is a 1993 collection of interconnected short story, short stories by Sherman Alexie. The characters and stories in the book, particularly "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona", provide ...

'', meet American blues musician

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

. Johnson had sold his soul to the devil in 1931 and claims to have faked his death seven years later. The three Spokane men start a band: Thomas Builds-The-Fire on bass and lead vocals, Junior Polatkin on drums, and Victor Joseph using Johnson's enchanted guitar; they are later joined by Chess and Checkers Warm Water, sisters from the

Flathead Indian Reservation The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish (tribe), Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai (tribe), Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles (tribe), Pend d'Oreilles tribes – also known as the ...

in Montana.

Reception

Reviewing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Frederick Busch wrote "there is not enough structure to carry the dreams and tales that Mr. Alexie needs to portray and that we need to read. His talent may be for the short form. But the talent is real, and it is very large, and I will gratefully read whatever he writes, in whatever form." Verlyn Klinkenborg, writing for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' noted "Alexie has been called a lyrical writer, but to call him that is to miss how deadpan he really is, how much his humor depends on saying what hurts in a matter-of-fact voice."

Awards

''Reservation Blues'' was awarded an American Book Award (by the

Before Columbus Foundation The Before Columbus Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Ishmael Reed, "dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of contemporary American multicultural literature". The Foundation makes annual awards for books published in ...

) and the Murray Morgan Prize.

References

External links

Reviews

* * {{Sherman Alexie novels 1995 American novels Culture of Spokane, Washington Interior Salish Native American history of Washington (state) Native American novels Novels about music Novels by Sherman Alexie Novels set in Washington (state) American Book Award–winning works 1995 debut novels