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War Dances (2009)

by Sherman Alexie

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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8594224,113 (3.72)31
Fiction. Short Stories. HTML:

The bestselling, award-winning author's "fiercely freewheeling collection of stories and poems about the tragicomedies of ordinary lives" (O, The Oprah Magazine).
Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, War Dances blends short stories, poems, call-and-response, and more into something that only Sherman Alexie could have written. Ordinary men stand at the threshold of profound change, from a story about a famous writer caring for a dying but still willful father, to the tale of a young Indian boy who learns to value his own life by appreciating the deaths of others. Perceptions change, too, as "Another Proclamation" casts a shadow over Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and "Invisible Dog on a Leash" limns the heartbreak of shattered childhood illusions. And nostalgia for antiquated technology is tenderly rendered in "Ode to Mix Tapes" and "Ode for Pay Phones."


With his versatile voice, Alexie explores love, betrayal, fatherhood, alcoholism, and art in this spirited, soulful, and endlessly entertaining collection, transcending genre boundaries to create something truly unique.

This ebook features an illustrated biography including rare photos from the author's personal collection.

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» See also 31 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 42 (next | show all)
I've loved Alexie's writing since, when, 1996? Honesty and compassion and hope are a rare combination to find. I will always love key poems and stories the best, but these are a good addition. I think too many people have been misled by his one YA book into expectations he's not going to fulfill with his grown writing. I hope they can appreciate him for what he does so well. ( )
  Kiramke | Jun 27, 2023 |
This is an excellent collection of stories, difficult to read in that they are often unsettling, reflecting the pain of being a Native American both in the past and today. It makes the experience of being a much reviled and mistreated minority clear and shares the pain felt in that existence with those of the majority white race that caused the pain. But beyond that, the stories also give insight into what we lost, what we sacrificed by permitting this genocide to keep America from fully integrating its own cultures with those which were here long before "white men" came to the continent.
I was particularly impressed with the story, "The Senator's Son" because it so beautifully told the story of moral bankruptcy present in so many of us: we SAY we believe something, and those of us who are more thoughtful about matching our actions to our words try to "practice what we preach," but, given the right circumstances, self interest overwhelms moral imperatives for many of us.
The entire book was a lesson in morals, cultural awareness, and in the effects of oppression on both the oppressed and the oppressors and I believe this book ought to find a wide audience. We need to hear what Alexie has to say. ( )
  PaulLoesch | Apr 2, 2022 |
Sherman Alexie is the master of the short-short story. Although not all of the tales are funny, some had me really laughing. I don't know if one of my favorite stories is called "War Dances"* or not but it should have been. I imagined the man in the story stomping on that dead cockroach in his driveway and I roared with laughter. There's more to his stories than this, so you will have to read them. Once again, he is the short-short story master.

*I listened to the audiobook with Sherman Alexie doing a perfect job narrating!

//
Upon second reading it was just as good. But don't read it in public as I did. It had a lot of profanity. I loved it. hee hee hee ( )
  nab6215 | Jan 18, 2022 |
I wasn't as impressed with this volume as I wanted to be. I vastly enjoyed the stories over the poems. Now that I know so much about his personal life, I also stopped several times in the book wondering whether or not this actually happened to him...not that it really matters, but it just kept stopping me up (not to mention it makes the content a wee bit repetitive). I'm still keeping the faith, but I'm hoping for the next to woo me a little more. ( )
  LibroLindsay | Jun 18, 2021 |
I loved this collection. It was poignant, funny, harsh, and brilliantly written. I will be picking up more of Sherman Alexie's work. ( )
  bookishtexpat | May 21, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 42 (next | show all)
Alexie’s appealing collection of short stories, poems and self-interrogations opens with an attempted murder and closes with an epitaph. Mortality is much on the mind of this puckish writer, who continues to sift common truths through the sieve of his Indian identity, albeit with the alacrity of a man barreling away from his youth.
 

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Sherman Alexieprimary authorall editionscalculated
Jarvis, ChaseAuthor photosecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Woods, Charles RueCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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For Elisabeth, Morgan, Eric, and Deb
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Back in college when I was first learning how to edit film--how to construct a scene--my professor, Mr. Baron, said to me, "You don't have to show people using a door to walk into a room.
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Contents: "The Limited" -- Breaking and entering -- "Go, Ghost, Go" -- Bird-watching at night -- "After building the Lego 'Star Wars' Ultimate Death Star" -- War dances -- "The theology of reptiles" -- Catechism -- "Ode to small-town sweethearts" -- The senator's son -- "Another proclamation" -- Invisible dog on a leash -- "Home of the braves" -- The ballad of Paul Nonetheless -- "On airplanes" -- Big bang theory -- "Ode for pay phones" -- Fearful symmetry -- "Ode to mix tapes" -- Roman Catholic haiku -- "Looking glass" -- Salt -- "Food chain"
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. Short Stories. HTML:

The bestselling, award-winning author's "fiercely freewheeling collection of stories and poems about the tragicomedies of ordinary lives" (O, The Oprah Magazine).
Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, War Dances blends short stories, poems, call-and-response, and more into something that only Sherman Alexie could have written. Ordinary men stand at the threshold of profound change, from a story about a famous writer caring for a dying but still willful father, to the tale of a young Indian boy who learns to value his own life by appreciating the deaths of others. Perceptions change, too, as "Another Proclamation" casts a shadow over Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, and "Invisible Dog on a Leash" limns the heartbreak of shattered childhood illusions. And nostalgia for antiquated technology is tenderly rendered in "Ode to Mix Tapes" and "Ode for Pay Phones."


With his versatile voice, Alexie explores love, betrayal, fatherhood, alcoholism, and art in this spirited, soulful, and endlessly entertaining collection, transcending genre boundaries to create something truly unique.

This ebook features an illustrated biography including rare photos from the author's personal collection.

.

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Book description
Tour à tour désopilant , fantaisiste , poétique ou sardonique , cet indien-là a une eztraordinaire propension à rire e tout : des sien , de leur travers et des conformimes comme de leurs qualities et de leur naïveté , mais il sait aussi rire de lui meme...
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Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

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An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

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