Flight by Sherman Alexie

From the Publisher

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.

The New York Times - S. Kirk Walsh

Mr. Alexie is no stranger to this brand of gutsy writing. With 17 volumes of fiction and poetry to his name, he has established an impressive literary reputation as a bold writer who goes straight for the aorta. He is in the business of making his readers laugh and cry. And his most recent novel is no exception … Right up to the novel’s final sentence, Mr. Alexie succeeds yet again with his ability to pierce to the heart of matters, leaving this reader with tears in her eyes.

VOYA

"Call me Zits." This playful echo of Melville opens this remarkable new novel. The book's narrator, Zits, is an abused, American Indian, teenage orphan who is racking up the world's record for shortest stays in foster homes. More from boredom than rage, Zits acts out at his current foster home and ends up on the streets. Picked up by the police and sent to juvie hall, Zits meets a young anarchist named Justice, who persuades Zits to take part in a bit of political theater by performing a "ghost dance" at a local bank. Justice gives Zits two guns to make his demonstration more realistic-which results in Zits being shot in the head by a bank guard. The story now takes a turn worthy of Kurt Vonnegut. Zits embarks on a bizarre time-travel journey, where at each jump he inhabits various bodies, including an FBI agent who is investigating an Indian Rights Movement; a Sioux child present at the Battle of Little Big Horn; and the body of his own father. It is a redemptive vision quest for Zits, and through each experience, he faces moral dilemmas that help define his own sense of justice and purge his desire for revenge on a world that has abandoned him. This book is the perfect adult/teen crossover novel. Its unusual mix of bildungsroman, science fiction, and social satire will appeal to older teen fans of Vonnegut's novels. Although the book is not one of Alexie's more nuanced works, the captivatingly drawn character of Zits will resonate with teen readers a long time after the last page is turned.

Library Journal

We've had to wait ten years, but finally Alexie offers another novel: the tale of an orphaned Indian boy who must hunt through time to find out who he is. With a 100,000-copy first printing; 25-city tour. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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