Reservation Blues
Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie, published by Grove Press in 1995, is a reprint edition that spans 306 pages. This novel intertwines the legendary tale of musician Robert Johnson, who famously sold his soul at the crossroads, with the contemporary experiences of characters on the Spokane Indian reservation in Washington state. In this fictional narrative, Johnson’s journey leads him to Wellpinit, where he seeks the guidance of Big Mom, a local medicine woman, and inadvertently leaves his iconic guitar with Thomas Builds-the-Fire, a storyteller from Alexie’s previous work.
Readers will find a rich exploration of the lives of the band formed by Builds-the-Fire, Victor Joseph, Junior Polatkin, and two sisters, Chess and Checkers, as they navigate the challenges faced by Indigenous communities today. Through their music, the band addresses issues such as alcoholism, violence, and political corruption while also confronting personal and historical ghosts. Alexie uses the medium of music as a means to connect cultures, presenting a narrative that reflects the complexities of life on the reservation without sacrificing the authenticity of his characters.
Official synopsis Publisher
“Many may remember the tale of Robert Johnson, the musician who sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in exchange for being the best blues guitarist around.
What many may not know is that after this tragic deal in Mississippi, Johnson ended up in a small town on the Spokane Indian reservation in Washington state-at least that’s how author Sherman Alexie tells it.
In his new book Reservation Blues, Alxie spins the fictional tale of Johnson’s adventure at a new crossroads, this one in a small town called Wellpinit, Wash. It is here that he comes to seek out Big Mom, a local medicine woman, and, in so doing, leaves his famous guitar in the hands of misfit storyteller Thomas Builds-the-Fire.
Builds-the-Fire, brought back from Alexie’s last book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, takes up Johnson’s magical guitar and, along with Victor Joseph, Junior Polatkin and two Flathead Indian sisters named Chess and Checkers, goes on to build a reservation blues band that takes the Northwest by storm…
As the band plays club after club, Alexie uses music as a crosscultural bridge, without compromising the cultural integrity of his characters. The band members seem to take on the gamut of problems faced by Indians on the reservation today, battling everything from alcoholism to violence, political corruption to sexual abuse.
Ghosts from the past, both personal and historical haunt the musicians, serving both to hold them back and urge them on. It would seem that the scars of abuse run deep.” (The Commercial Appeal, June 11, 1995)
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