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Indian Killer
Sherman Alexie
My book group decided to find out what this book had to say, when a member recommended it - and I found it to be a stemwinder - projecting many points of view.
This novel takes place in Seattle from the late 60's on to the 70's and 80's. A baby born on an Indian Reservation is adopted immediately by a well to-do white couple, Olive and Daniel Smith. His name was John Smith and he was loved and given every advantage by his parents, including an education about his Indian heritage. He attended private Catholic schools, but had no interest in going to college.
He became a construction worker and moved into his own apartment. He lived partially in a make believe world of Indians and became increasingly disturbed and alienated.
The characters in this story run the gambit from a bigoted radio announcer, to a delusional university professor teaching a course about Indians while pretending to be part Indian, on to the Indian bars and street people living in poverty.
A serial killer begins terrorizing Seattle, scalping white men and becomes known as the Indian Killer. He leaves owl feathers on the bodies as a reminder of his heritage.
This book contains many separate vignettes, that eventually weave together a frightening picture of various kinds of scary obsessions. A very bright Indian woman, Marie. enrolls in the university and signs up for the course taught by the faux professor. There is an immediate mind war between these two, compounded by the fact that Marie's cousin, Reggie, has already been expelled from this university after enrolling in Professor Mather's course.
We encounter Jack Wilson, a white young man whose parents died by the time he was ten. He finally becomes a rookie policeman, all the while pretending he is part Indian. He loves Indians , but being blond and blue eyed its hard to make people believe he is one. He is injured on duty and finally retires with a full pension. He decides to write novels about Indians and they become best sellers.
From here on you are on your own - the action in this novel is explosive and it is possible for each reader to make up their own minds about who the Indian Killer really was!. The character studies are very interesting - sometimes almost dream like.
Indian Killerby Sherman Alexie was written in 1996 and he has written several novels since then. Indian Killer is probably his most controversial novel to date.
Published:
Grove Press
An imprint of Grove/Atlantic
841 Broadway
New York, NY 10003, U.S.A.
Copyright:
© 1996 by Sherman Alexie
Reviewed:
05/25/10 - 303
Copyright:
© 2010 by Joan G. Smith
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