I loved the movie “Smoke Signals” and always planned to read the book it was based on, which is The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie.

I finally got a copy from the public library and settled in to read it.  I was surprised that it was a collection of short stories rather than a full length book.  Once I got started reading the stories, I could see where the movie script came from.

Alexie is a wonderfully talented writer, but I found the book very difficult to read.  Not because of the writer but because of the subject.

Sherman Alexie’s life was shaped by an alcoholic parent, as mine was.  I think all of us “ACOA” (adult children of alcoholic) people have similar experiences.  Which makes it hard, sometimes, to read about someone else’s journeys through the same things.

This isn’t a long book, but I kept having to put it down and come back to it another day.  Still, I would recommend it, for the lyrical skill of the author and for anyone who liked “Smoke Signals.”  If you’re an ACOA, though, you may not be able to read through it all at once.

       

Hope you'll recommend my posts via your favorite social media. Just don't copy the material as your own.