The best-selling author of multiple award-winning books returns with his first novel in ten years, a powerful, fast and timely story of a troubled foster teenager — a boy who is not a “legal” Indian because he was never claimed by his father — who learns the true meaning of terror. About to commit a devastating act, the young man finds himself shot back through time on a shocking sojourn through moments of violence in American history. He resurfaces in the form of an FBI agent during the civil rights era, inhabits the body of an Indian child during the battle at Little Big Horn, and then rides with an Indian tracker in the 19th Century before materializing as an airline pilot jetting through the skies today. When finally, blessedly, our young warrior comes to rest again in his own contemporary body, he is mightily transformed by all he’s seen. This is Sherman Alexie at his most brilliant — making us laugh while breaking our hearts. Simultaneously wrenching and deeply humorous, wholly contemporary yet steeped in American history, Flight is irrepressible, fearless, and again, groundbreaking Alexie.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A deadpan "Call Me Zits" opens the first novel in 10 years from Alexie (Smoke Signals, etc.), narrated by a self-described "time-traveling mass murderer" whose name and deeds unravel as this captivating bildungsroman progresses. Half-Indian, half-Irish, acne-beset Zits is 15: he never knew his alcoholic father; his mother died when he was six; his aunt kicked him out when he was 10 (after he set her sleeping boyfriend on fire because the boyfriend had been forcing Zits to have sex). Running away from his 20th foster home, Zits ends up, briefly, in jail; soon after, he enters a bank, shoots several people and is shot dead himself. Zits then commences time-traveling via the bodies of others, finding himself variously lodged in an FBI agent in the '70s (helping to assassinate radical Indian activists); a mute Indian boy at the Battle of Little Big Horn; an Indian tracker named Gus; an airplane pilot instructor (one of whose pupils commits a terrorist act); and his own father. Zits eventually comes back to himself and to an unexpected redemption. While the plot is wisp-thin, one quickly surrenders to Zits's voice, which elegantly mixes free-floating young adult cynicism with a charged, idiosyncratic view of American history. Alexie plunges the book into bracing depths. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Bookmarks Magazine
His first novel in over a decade, Sherman Alexie's Flight winds themes of alienation, revenge, and forgiveness through its narrator's time-traveling adventures. Critics were impressed with the clever Zits: his thoughts and actions are both humorous and painfully genuine, the essence of troubled adolescence. However, reviewers complained about the lack of depth, of fully developed secondary characters, and of historical detail. Many critics also noted that the plot's swift pace and tidy ending were more appropriate for juvenile fiction. The New York Times, on the other hand, considered these elements part of the novel's charm. Though Alexie's latest effort may disappoint some readers, many will still find snatches of his trademark humor and moving prose.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By MCO
Format:Paperback
I have pretty much loved everything that I've read of Sherman Alexie's. He is absolutely brilliant, and his latest work is no exception. I found out about this book from a recent NPR interview with Mr. Alexie and bought it the next day. In a few short days, I was finished with it.
I'm not sure that it would have had such a strong impact on me if it hadn't been for the recent incident at VT. Such an event is difficult to make sense of, but reading this book about a person who justifies random murders in his head is eerily similar to what happened. Is killing ever all right? How many things do we justify to ourselves that may be in the scheme of things really unjustifiable?
What I was really in need of after something so awful was hope. This book helps give the reader hope that people can change; people can realize their mistakes and undo the brainwashing they have done to themselves.
In the end, a little bit of hope goes a long way, and this wonderfully written and insightful book manages to give just that. Please read it!!!
I'm not sure that it would have had such a strong impact on me if it hadn't been for the recent incident at VT. Such an event is difficult to make sense of, but reading this book about a person who justifies random murders in his head is eerily similar to what happened. Is killing ever all right? How many things do we justify to ourselves that may be in the scheme of things really unjustifiable?
What I was really in need of after something so awful was hope. This book helps give the reader hope that people can change; people can realize their mistakes and undo the brainwashing they have done to themselves.
In the end, a little bit of hope goes a long way, and this wonderfully written and insightful book manages to give just that. Please read it!!!
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sherman Alexie reaches out to every adolescent who has ever felt isolated, alone, or embarrassed about themselves. The protagonist, Michael (or "Zits") embodies the very essence of adolescent behavior: he lashes out against authority; he seeks acceptance and friendship from a boy that shares similar beliefs; he speaks in a tone and voice that is a perfect replica of most teens today; and, Zits searches for his identity at a point in his life which mirrors when most teens are uncertain of who they are. Each of these important life experiences offer the reader a chance to connect to this dynamic character.
The language that Sherman Alexie uses really is sophisticated, relatable and engaging. Zits uses foul language to protect himself. Basically, the language Zits uses serves as a defense mechanism, and in turn, shows his reluctance to open his heart. Zits usually reacts with statements like, "You bet your plopping a** I'm laughing at you," (15) when he wants to avoid conversations or agitate someone. This is by no means the crudest of his language usage, but for this review, I chose to keep it as clean as possible. Check it out to see what other hostile comeback responses Zits responds with.
As a future high school English teacher, I am a little reluctant to use this book during the beginning of my career because of the crude language used at times, but I would definitely recommend this book to all tenured teachers who want to share endless conversations about adolescent behavior.
For those readers out there that just want to curl up with an engaging quality read, I recommend this book to you as well.
The language that Sherman Alexie uses really is sophisticated, relatable and engaging. Zits uses foul language to protect himself. Basically, the language Zits uses serves as a defense mechanism, and in turn, shows his reluctance to open his heart. Zits usually reacts with statements like, "You bet your plopping a** I'm laughing at you," (15) when he wants to avoid conversations or agitate someone. This is by no means the crudest of his language usage, but for this review, I chose to keep it as clean as possible. Check it out to see what other hostile comeback responses Zits responds with.
As a future high school English teacher, I am a little reluctant to use this book during the beginning of my career because of the crude language used at times, but I would definitely recommend this book to all tenured teachers who want to share endless conversations about adolescent behavior.
For those readers out there that just want to curl up with an engaging quality read, I recommend this book to you as well.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Flight" seems more a novella than a novel, considering it reads fairly quickly. This may simply be a result of the fact that the style of the book makes it so difficult to set down.
Taking a cue from coming-of-age forerunners like J.D. Salinger or even Twain, Alexie's new novel features an automatically loveable narrator and protagonist--he is an ignorant teen spouting every semblance of an idea that comes into his head. Liking the character Zits might seem strange at first, considering the awful thoughts of his that come spilling onto the page, but his ignorance gives him a certain license to honesty that allows me as a reader to learn more about this character than I would were he written under a 3rd person narration.
The progression--or more accurately, temporal digression--of the plot is easy to miss at first. Fortunately, though, if you don't get it immediately after the first time-change, Alexie is kind enough to state explicitly that Zits is in fact traveling backwards in time.
"Flight" is full of gruesome and disturbing imagery, but the book isn't concerned with race or culture in the way one might immediately think. It features characters from across a variety of different cultures and backgrounds who exhibit an entire spectrum of moral human behavior. Alexie isn't trying to point a finger at any people or group, but rather at a thought pattern. So while this book may technically be classified under Native-American literature, it is really simply a book about humanity and the chaotic world in which that heterogenous group exists.
Taking a cue from coming-of-age forerunners like J.D. Salinger or even Twain, Alexie's new novel features an automatically loveable narrator and protagonist--he is an ignorant teen spouting every semblance of an idea that comes into his head. Liking the character Zits might seem strange at first, considering the awful thoughts of his that come spilling onto the page, but his ignorance gives him a certain license to honesty that allows me as a reader to learn more about this character than I would were he written under a 3rd person narration.
The progression--or more accurately, temporal digression--of the plot is easy to miss at first. Fortunately, though, if you don't get it immediately after the first time-change, Alexie is kind enough to state explicitly that Zits is in fact traveling backwards in time.
"Flight" is full of gruesome and disturbing imagery, but the book isn't concerned with race or culture in the way one might immediately think. It features characters from across a variety of different cultures and backgrounds who exhibit an entire spectrum of moral human behavior. Alexie isn't trying to point a finger at any people or group, but rather at a thought pattern. So while this book may technically be classified under Native-American literature, it is really simply a book about humanity and the chaotic world in which that heterogenous group exists.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buckle your seatbelts for this wonderful work of Art
After the son is born, the alcoholic father abandons the mother. When the boy is 6 the mother dies of cancer. The boy goes from foster family to foster family. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mike419
5.0 out of 5 stars
challenging
Alexie continues to challenge pre-concieved notions regarding native american culture as it exists today. Read more
Published 3 months ago by James Colvin
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great story but lacking in descriptive writing
When this book came out in print NPR interviewed Mr. Alexie and I was impressed. It was a terrific interview! However I bought the book and I was disappointed. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jagoda101
1.0 out of 5 stars
Violent
I had to buy and read this book for a class on Native American Literature, as soon as book buy back starts I will be taking it back. Read more
Published 5 months ago by sharklover
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Brilliant Flight: The Power of Choice
From the first page, Flight swoops up its audience, taking the reader on a challenging, bloody, and gutsy adventure. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lbrook19
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast and Intelligent
This is a book about a young teen named Zits. He does not think too much of himself, and does not think that anyone else does either. Read more
Published 6 months ago by William T. Strunk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like New!
This novel was in great condition! Looked to be brand new!! There were no markings at all in this novel!
Published 10 months ago by Sarah Jo Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mandatory!!!
What drives man to be violent, insensitive, and close-minded all too often individually and collectively? These are issues explored in this brilliant book. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Alfred Santoli
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Voice!!!
After a ten year waiting period, Sherman Alexie's latest novel, Flight, has finally arrived. And while this has some ecstatic for another taste of Native American culture in the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mahmoud
5.0 out of 5 stars
Redemption, forgiveness, and a Christmas carol
This book has been one of the most influential to my life as a mixed blood native person and as a teacher. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Nashoba
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