Somebody Kept Saying Powwow by Sherman Alexie

Pete Rose.

Two five-star reviews in a row? I don't think that has ever happened before on this blog.

Sherman Alexie is one hell of a short-story writer, and Somebody Kept Saying Powwow is yet another knockout in a collection already packed with brilliant stories. His trademark style of stark realism mixed with witty, often dark humor is such a joy to read. The prose flows so effortlessly that he makes it look easy, even when he’s tackling heavy material. At this point, it’s safe to say The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is shaping up to be one of the best short-story collections I have ever read.

The first-person narration is especially strong here with the story told from Junior’s perspective, giving us another intimate look at life on the reservation. Alexie walks a fine line, balancing comedy and heartbreak with remarkable control. He has a fantastic ear for natural, realistic dialogue; lines that can be laugh-out-loud funny one moment and devastating the next. You’ll find yourself laughing, only for the sadness beneath the humor to sneak up on you before you realize it.

Junior reflects on his platonic relationship with Norma before she married James Many Horses. Although she isn’t much older than him, she’s considered an elder in the community because of her wisdom, generosity, and deep sense of responsibility toward others. Junior clearly admires her and harbors a bit of a crush as he jumps from anecdote to anecdote about her life, while interconnected with moments from his own experiences growing up in this community. This approach can feel digressive at times, but it never drifts aimlessly. In just a few pages, Alexie gives us a vivid sense of who Norma is as a person, what she believes in, and why she’s so deeply respected.

Junior even wonders why Norma never ended up with Victor, another familiar character from the collection, since she’s a healer and Victor, as an alcoholic, could have used a lot of healing. Victor makes a brief but memorable appearance, stumbling drunk into the local watering hole. It’s a funny scene, but also a deeply sad one. This is classic Alexie, finding humor without letting us forget the pain underneath.

Through Junior's reflections and having access to his inner world, he becomes a fully fleshed-out character as well. At one point he confesses a shameful memory from his youth, when he was an all-star basketball player who bullied an opposing player. The guilt still lingers and Alexie captures that long-lasting remorse with real compassion. This brings us to the importance of Pete Rose in this story. He was one of the greatest baseball players of all time, whose legacy was tarnished by a gambling scandal. Norma compares Junior to Pete Rose: someone who achieved greatness, but whose one mistake ends up defining how others see him. It’s a sharp, heartbreaking comparison, and it perfectly encapsulates what Alexie does best: mixing humor, empathy, and social commentary together in a voice that feels completely his own, treating these flawed characters with such honesty and compassion.