"War Dances" by Sherman Alexie

BOOK TITLE: War Dances
AUTHOR: Sherman Alexie
YEAR: 2009
GENRE: Short Stories and Poetry
SUBGENRE: Dramatic Comedy
GRADE: Pass


On multiple occasions, Sherman Alexie has been described as an author who can make his audience members laugh and cry at the same time. To do such a thing takes the kind of talent only seen in a Pulitzer winner such as him. In this short story and poetry collection, the reader bears witness to stories about a homophobic senator’s son, an adulterous used clothes salesman, a young obituary writer, a creatively stifled screenwriter, and many more that end either tragically or only with a small shred of hope remaining. I as a reader haven’t cried since 2007 and came very close to breaking my record upon reading “War Dances”.

One of the ways in which Sherman Alexie infuses comedy into his depressing stories is through his narrative style. When he writes, he sounds like he’s physically talking to his audience with the energy and pop culture references of a motivational speaker. Trust me, you’re going to need all the energy you can muster up if you’re going to make it through this book without bursting into a waterfall of tears.

And since the pop culture references (along with the elitist culture references) bring about an energetic writing style, these references could only work within topics that were equally interesting to write about. These topics could be deep and meaningful such as race relations or grieving after death. Then again, they could also be as out of the blue as a short-lived romance or the mix tapes used to woo that special someone. Because this book is a collection of stories and poems instead of a whole novel, there’s going to be a massive variety of topics swirling into the pool of words that is War Dances.

Choosing one story from this book to call a favorite would be like choosing one limb to keep after being tortured and butchered. This choice might not be a “favorite” in the traditional sense of the word, but it is the one that strikes the biggest chord with me. It’s called “Fearful Symmetry” and it is about an author who tries to create artistic literature in Hollywood with his screenplays, but keeps having his work altered in sacrilegious ways by the director.

The writer wanted to create a William Blake-esque story from a real life account of firefighters escaping from a wall of flame in the forest. The director wanted to make it sexy and violent and that didn’t sit well with the writer. The writer was eventually fired and lost his creative urge in that crushing blow. This story pulls at my heartstrings because being a screenwriter was something I originally wanted to do as I was getting my English degree at Western Washington University. After reading “Fearful Symmetry”, I was grateful that the screenwriting ambitions never materialized. I wouldn’t want my own work scrutinized by someone with cheap creativity and enough power to force his vision on everyone.

I’ve been a fan of Sherman Alexie ever since reading “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”. At first it was all about fast pacing to me since I was a slow reader with low eye endurance. Now my enjoyment of his writings is about so much more than that. It’s about emotional connections. It’s about having a favorite author I can always count on to come through for me. I know of many authors who are like that, but none of them will ever take the place of Sherman Alexie. A passing grade is what this book shall get.