Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie
Published 1995 · 320 pages · 75,000 words · about 5 hours at an average pace · Literary Fiction, Magical Realism
How hard is Reservation Blues to read?
Reservation Blues scores 32 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it moderately challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 28 out of 100
- Accessible vocabulary. Blues and music terminology. Reservation vernacular.
- Sentence structure: 28 out of 100
- Abstraction: 32 out of 100
- Magical realism grounds abstraction in physical objects. The guitar embodies ideas about talent and exploitation.
- Information density: 38 out of 100
- Moderate density. Rapid pacing with cultural and historical references woven in.
- Narrative indirection: 28 out of 100
- Linear plot with magical-realist elements. Satire creates a second layer of meaning.
- Symbolic density: 42 out of 100
- The guitar, the crossroads, Robert Johnson, Big Mom, and the band itself all function symbolically.
- Ironic distance: 45 out of 100
- Heavily satirical. Alexie uses comedy to deliver devastating cultural critique.
- Resolution withholding: 22 out of 100
- The record deal's failure is partly predictable. The emotional consequences surprise.
- Structural complexity: 22 out of 100
- Linear narrative with magical-realist interludes. Straightforward plot structure.
How Reservation Blues is regarded
Reservation Blues holds a literary regard score of 56 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.