Reservation Blues
Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie, published by Atlantic Monthly Press in 1995, is a fictional narrative that intertwines music and myth. This first edition spans 306 pages and is presented in English. The story begins in 1992 when the legendary blues musician Robert Johnson mysteriously appears on the Spokane Indian Reservation, where he encounters Thomas Builds-the-Fire, a storyteller from the Spokane Tribe. Together, they embark on a journey with Coyote Springs, an all-Indian rock-and-roll band, as they navigate the complexities of life on the reservation and beyond.
Readers will find a rich tapestry of narrative styles, including newspaper excerpts, songs, and journal entries, as Alexie delves into themes of cultural assimilation and the effects of Christianity on Native Americans. The novel explores the dynamics between Indian men and women while addressing broader issues such as faith, alcoholism, and the search for identity. Through humor and poignant storytelling, Reservation Blues presents a multifaceted view of life in the late twentieth century, making it a significant exploration of both personal and cultural struggles.
Official synopsis Publisher
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 appears on the Spokane Indian Reservation and meets Thomas Builds-the-Fire, the misfit storyteller of the Spokane Tribe.
So begins Reservation Blues, the mythic and musical tale of Coyote Springs, an all-Indian Catholic rock-and-roll band. With Thomas Builds-the-Fire as lead singer, Victor Joseph and Junior Polatkin on lead guitar and drums, and Chess and Checkers Warm Water on vocals, Coyote Springs takes their “four-and-a-half-chord rock and blues” to reservation bars, small town taverns, and the urban landscapes of Seattle and Manhattan.
Sherman Alexie brilliantly 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. More important, he examines cultural assimilation’s impact on the relationship 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.
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