Idaho Commission for Libraries

Reservation Blues (1995) is the story of an all-Indian blues and rock-and-roll band. When young Thomas Builds-the-Fire, the resident storyteller on the Spokane Indian Reservation, receives a guitar from legendary bluesman Robert Johnson, the stage is set for a magical odyssey. Builds-the-Fire and his fledgling band "Coyote Springs" journey from Seattle to Manhattan and back again. Along the way, Alexie weaves a powerful subtext of survival, traditions, and the power of the human spirit to endure and be heard.

Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, has published short stories, poetry, novels, and essays and has received numerous awards for his work. Reservation Blues is Alexie's first novel.

Information on Sherman Alexie

http://www.fallsapart.com/biography.html
The official Sherman Alexie web site includes his biography, a bibliography, reviews and list of awards.

Book Reviews of Reservation Blues

http://www.fallsapart.com/rvw-rbkr.html
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 1995

http://www.auschron.com/issues/vol14/issue44/arts.books.html
"Native Son" by Jesse Sublett published in the Austin Chronicle, July 7, 1995.

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