Sherman Alexie’s Flight takes readers on a postmodern picaresque time journey. The main character Zits, a fifteen year old, anger walking machine, decides to gun down innocent bystanders at a Seattle bank lobby. During his shooting rampage, Zits is shot in the head and, thus, begins his pícaro time journey. Instead of visiting traditional Purgatoire, Zits’s spirit embodies historical figures, such as a young Native American boy at Little Big Horn; a racist, white male FBI agent at Red River; and an Indian Scout at Sand Creek Massacre. Through his time travels, Zits begins to ask questions about resolution, violence, judgment, and grace. Further, he begins to understand that his identity doesn’t have to be tied to zits, anger, and abuse. Alexie’s style of humor and poignancy are at its best.
