Flight by Sherman Alexie

Paperback Edition

Flight is the second book I've read written by Sherman Alexie. I've been a fan of Sherman Alexie's writing since I read his book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian a few years ago for Banned Books Week.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to read another book by Sherman Alexie, but I am glad that I did. 

Flight is a fast paced, quick read. Alexie's writing is very engaging. You'll find yourself laughing at the various scenes presented within Flight, pondering the the themes/thoughts that Alexie provides for readers, and have an overall awe of his writing style... Flight is a concise read with a message. Revenge, betrayal, violence, justice, and identity are all themes touched upon in Flight.

I love the main character of Zits, whose real name we later learn at the end of the novel is Michael. Zits has been through a lot and has had a shitty life... But the last chapter (Chapter 21) of Flight gives us hope that things well eventually work out just fine for Zits... That life may have been a rough one for Zits, but it won't always be that way for him.

The following is the plot summary for Flight from GoodReads:

Sherman Alexie is one of our most gifted and accomplished storytellers and a treasured writer of huge national stature. His first novel in ten years is the hilarious and tragic portrait of an orphaned Indian boy who travels back and forth through time in a charged search for his true identity. With powerful and swift, prose, Flight follows this troubled foster teenager--a boy who is not a "legal" Indian because he was never claimed by his father--as he learns that violence is not the answer.

The journey for Flight's young hero begins as he's about to commit a massive act o violence. At the moment of decision, he finds himself shot back through time to resurface in the body of an FBI agent during the civil rights era, where he sees why "Hell is Re driver, Idaho, in the 1970s." Red River is only the first stop in an eye-opening trip through moments in American history. He will continue traveling back to inhabit the body of an Indian child during the battle at Little Bighorn and then ride with an Indian tracker in the nineteenth century before materializing as an airline pilot jetting through the skies today. During these furious travels through time, his refrain grows: "Who's to judge?" and "I don't understand humans." When finally, blessedly, our young warrior comes to rest again in his own life, he is mightily transformed by all he has seen.

This is Sherman Alexie at his most brilliant--making us laugh while he's breaking our hearts. Time Out has said that "Alexie, like his characters, is on a modern-day vision quest," and inFlight he seeks nothing less than an understanding of why human beings hate. Flight is irrepressible, fearless, and groundbreaking Alexie.

I am giving Flight by Sherman Alexie a rating of 5 stars out if 5 stars. I highly recommend reading Flight.

Until my next post, happy reading!!