Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is a Spokane Indian author, whose writings deal with life on the 20th and 21st century 'res (reservation) from the point of view of youth — disenfranchised, often rebelling, always questioning. Born with hydrocephalus, his writing has shown quite a bit of anger, though he deliberately avoids it post-9/11. His most notable works include the award-winning YA book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which contains strong autobiographical themes, and Smoke Signals, a 1998 film that starred Adam Beach and Evan Adams.
Works by Alexie with their own page include:
Other works by Alexie contain examples of:
- Apocalypse How: In at least one short story, the white people are all dead, the mixed bloods are all dying from a mysterious illness, and the Indians form a eugenic dystopia.
- Author Appeal: Of the nonsexual (One of Us) variety.
- Bigger Is Better in Bed: Subverted in "The Toughest Indian in the World". It still hurts like a mother.
- Black Comedy: Both in his writings as well as his stand-up comedy.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: In The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Thomas is Don Quixote. Victor isn't quite as tolerant as Sancho Panza.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: In "The Toughest Indian in the World", the narrator tells the eponymous character that he's not...Cue explicit gay sex scene.
- Loincloth: Can symbolize tradition or the fetishization of natives by Westerners.
- Mushroom Samba: "A Drug Called Tradition"
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: "The Sin Eaters"
- Parody Sue: Many. Most notable is Thomas Builds-the-Fire, a goth kid who is never called goth and always tells annoying stories.
- Racist Grandma: Averted: As a rule, old people, especially old women, are more accepting than the young people.
