You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie

Is there any author better than Sherman Alexie? I'm totally enamored with his prose and poetry. I'll read

anything by him -- and love it. This book was no exception. It focuses on his troubled relationship with his mother, a reformed alcoholic and unrepentant liar who showed Alexie little love and yet gave him the tools to leave his hardscrabble existence on the reservation to strive for something better. Alexie approached his subject from multiple angles: Mother as a mother (not so good); mother as victim (going back centuries; and mother as survivor (a damn good one). It is hard to fathom the damage our government has done to America's indigenous peoples. I don't know why I so enjoy being reminded of that fact. But I think it is important that I am.