If the name Sherman Alexie sounds familiar, you’ve probably seen his name attached to the 2007 national book award winner for his young adult novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. This was such a fantastic book I was prompted to read one of his adult novels. Flight by Sherman Alexie did not disappoint. It was in fact even more thought provoking than True Diary.

Michael, aka Zits, is a delinquent foster youth filled with anger – mostly at his father for abandoning him the day he was born. As Zits is about to open fire upon innocent people in a bank, he blacks out only to awaken in the form of a white (Zits is half Indian) FBI agent during the civil rights era. After passing out again Zits wakes several more times in different periods as various people. He finds himself as an Indian child in 1876, an Indian tracker in the Old West, a modern day pilot, and as his own father. Each conflict subtly revolves around a time travel pursuit for the meaning of life. It would seem that looking for the answer to this type of complex question would require lengthy writing and heavy thought processes. Not so. Short and simple, only 180 pages, yet compelling. Fabulous journey with… a great ending.