Sherman Alexie, who grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, writes about his relationship with his mother, Lillian, a complicated woman who was both a storyteller and a hard parent. After her death, he assembles this memoir out of poems and prose fragments, including memories of her sobriety, her silence, her kindness, her anger, and the family's poverty. He describes her gift for quilting and her habit of keeping people at a distance. The book moves back and forth in time, with shifting forms of writing, as Alexie confronts his grief and the contradictions in his mother and himself.
It suits readers who like memoirs about family and Native American life. It is raw, funny and sad. Readers new to the author or subject should find it a manageable place to begin.
Deep, inward-looking and contemplative; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2017
- Language
- EN
