Smoke Signals: A Screenplay

by Sherman Alexie

Set in Arizona, Smoke Signals is the story of two Native American boys on a journey. Victor is the stoic, handsome son of an alcoholic father who has abandoned his family. Thomas is a gregarious, goofy young man who lost both his parents in a fire at a very young age. Through storytelling, Thomas makes every effort to connect with the people around him: Victor, in contrast, uses his quiet countenance to gain strength and confidence.When Victor's estranged father dies, the two men embark on an adventure to Phoenix to collect the ashes. Along the way, Smoke Signals illustrates the ties that bind these two very different young men and embraces the lessons they learn from one another.

Genres: Fiction, Native American, Plays, Drama, Indigenous, Humor, Adult Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Sherman Alexie is a Native American author, poet, and filmmaker known for his powerful portrayals of contemporary Indigenous life, often infused with wit, humor, and emotional depth. Drawing heavily on his experiences growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, Alexie's work addresses complex themes such as identity, poverty, addiction, and the legacy of colonialism, all filtered through a distinctly Native perspective.
His breakout book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, is a semi-autobiographical young adult novel that won the 2007 National Book Award and remains widely acclaimed for its candid and humorous depiction of adolescence and cultural dislocation. Earlier, Alexie gained critical attention with The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, a collection of interconnected short stories that was adapted into the Sundance-winning film Smoke Signals (1998), for which he wrote the screenplay. He also authored the novels Reservation Blues, Indian Killer, and Flight, as well as numerous poetry collections including The Business of Fancydancing and Face.
Born with hydrocephalus, Alexie faced health and social challenges from an early age but demonstrated early academic talent and a deep love for reading. He left the reservation for high school and later studied at Washington State University, where a poetry course shifted his path toward literature. His mentor, poet Alex Kuo, introduced him to Native American writers, profoundly shaping his voice.
In 2018, Alexie faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment, which led to widespread fallout, including rescinded honors and changes in how his work is promoted in educational and literary institutions. He acknowledged causing harm but denied specific accusations. Despite the controversy, his influence on contemporary Native American literature remains significant.
Throughout his career, Alexie has received many awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award for War Dances and an American Book Award for Reservation Blues. He has also been a prominent advocate for Native youth and a founding member of Longhouse Media, promoting Indigenous storytelling through film.
Whether through poetry, prose, or film, Alexie’s work continues to challenge stereotypes and elevate Native American voices in American culture.

Reviews

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may have seen the movie which is both humorous and tragic. It’s a good film. These same characters reappear in the novel Reservation Blues which I’ve reviewed elsewhere on Goodreads.

[Sherril · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoke Signals is a Canadian-American independent film released in 1998, screenplay by Sherman Alexie. I did not read the screenplay. It’s not necessary to read because the movie, in this case, is the meaning and the magnification, the very essence of Smoke Signals. I saw the movie 23 years ago and to this day it remains among a handful of all time favorite films. I just rented the movie for $3.99 on Amazon Prime, to check out if, in fact, it still rings true for me. It most certainly does.

Two friends, Victor and Thomas, take a road trip to collect Arnold's ashes. Arnold was Victor’s father and he remembers his father as an abusive and even violent drunk. For Thomas, Arnold is remembered as the man who saved him from a fire. The book is about memories vs perceptions, the generation-gap, communication and its breakdown and mostly about story telling. Smoke Signals was promoted as the first feature film written, directed, and produced by Native Americans. I ask myself why did this movie resonate so profoundly with me? I found the answer in a 2018 Variety Magazine review which said, “The movie is filled with humor, heart and genuine affection for its characters, hitting notes of sadness, introspection and well-earned catharsis.” I copied and pasted it because I simply couldn’t have said it better myself.

So I watched the movie again after 23 years and it holds up perfectly! You can rent it for $3.99 on Amazon Prime. You’ll likely recognize a few actors. It’s great. Do watch.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great example of a revisionist western from the American Indian perspective. In addition to focusing on reservation life, the characters in the story are handling a difficult family drama in which a son must go on a journey to see to his father's burial. This father, a severe alcoholic, abandoned the family in an attempt to escape his guilt from a terrible accident.

It is, surprisingly, very funny. The main character is the lone wolf type, but he is forced to go on the journey with his dorky, annoying, and incredibly endearing acquaintance. Both men grow as the journey progresses. It's a great screenplay and an excellent movie.

[Augustus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Smoke Signals by Sherman Alexie was very interesting. I thought the book was good my favorite part was wen Thomas came out of the store in his fribread power shirt. The main characters are Thomas and victor.in the setting they are on their way to find victors dad in the desert.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first saw the movie in a college english class, this sent me to look for the book. I really enjoyed the characters Victor and Thomas, especially Thomas. He's story telling was the best, you got irrated with Thomas and loved him for the simple nature that he was.

I loved the book/screenplay!!!! I believe this is bases on the book the Long Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually have not read this screenplay but if you have not seen the movie, rent it. It truly is an excellent movie and the dialogue is superb.

[Dayana · Rating 5 out of 5]

“How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a dream. Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we were little? Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all? Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers? Or divorcing, or not divorcing, our mothers? And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning? For shutting doors or speaking through walls? For never speaking, or never being silent? Do we forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs? Or in their deaths, saying it to them or not saying it. If we forgive our fathers, what is left?”
— Thomas Builds-the-Fire, Smoke Signals (Sherman Alexie)
favorite quote.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this book in my sophomore year of high school. When I read this book we also had to watch the film and compare/contrast the plot, character, and general tone of the book. I actually enjoyed this activity so much. I remember enjoying the overall tone of the book. I loved the journey that Thomas and Victor set out on. I would have to say I love the book more. I imagined the characters and gave more emotion/ meaning. However, the actors were great and for their budget, they did pretty well.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading a screenplay. While the author described the settings and camera angles (and included still shots from the movie) so that I could picture the scenes in my mind's eye, I had a harder time figuring out the intention behind the characters' gestures and facial expressions (e.g. on p. 44: "Cathy and Thomas smile at each other."). I'm a bit curious about this film now -- I'm wondering if the actors really flesh out their lines.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great script with lots of detail. I always liked the unique storytelling style of this movie. Probably the best and most interesting part of this book is Sherman Alexies notes at the end of the script detailing why scenes were cut, what scenes didn't work and why, how the script changed to the final product you see on film etc. Highly fascinating to read that process!

[A. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This man, Sherman Alexie, sexually abuses women serially and I will never support his work.

Read the comments section: http://www.slj.com/2018/01/industry-n...

[Joe Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that the movie did a better job at getting the movie and message across. You start to feel for all the character because of the vivid description of scenes. The characters had amazing story arcs and you can see how they change slowly.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic movie. Very thought provoking.

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading the original screenplay of this movie! I particularly loved that at the end there were explanations of what got cut, Alexie’s thoughts on each decision, explanations of the shooting of the film & how it happened, etc.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoke Signals can be loved because it is Indian written, produced, directed, and acted. Beyond this is a film that embraces the humour in the tragedy of a man's reservation life and how it affected his family and friends. It also contains scenes with the reservation's traffic/weatherman who is ensconced atop a motor home at a rural intersection and can report live via the reservation radio station. In addition, there are characters, story-tellers who are of a mystical bent, just to thicken the stew. FRYBREAD POWER!!! One of my most favorite scenes is when the mother of one protagonist runs out of her famous frybread at a community gathering. She holds a piece of frybread in the air like a communion host and tears it in half. Personal experience: good frybread is a mystical experience. My only complaint is the use of a tacky wig to cover the son's long hair. While it is understandable that the actor did not really want to cut his long hair in the scene where he is mourning his father's death, a higher quality of wig needed to be used. The poem expressed at the end,"How do we forgive our fathers?" by Dick Laurie just about sums it all up.

[Gregory Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smoke Signals is the screenplay for the wonderful independent film, loosely based on characters found in Sherman Alexie's collection of short stories, "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven."

It delves into some of the realities of single parenthood, alcohol abuse, family dysfunction, and child abandonment issues, but somehow, it manages to be an entertaining, optimistic comedy with serious undertones.

Smoke Signals ends with a moving narration of "When do we forgive our fathers? In our time or theirs?" The question resonates deeply with adolescents and adults who live with family dysfunction daily. This movie takes a sympathetic look at a defeated man, haunted by the shadows of the past, unable to provide the emotional or practical support for his wife and son.

The visual and verbal imagery is masterful. This film has lots of heart and lots of laughs with wonderful characters. It will leave you saying, "Hey, Victor. Tell me about your dad," long after the movie is over.

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a movie adaptation of one of Sherman Alexie's short stories. When Victor's father dies, he must leave the reservation to go to Phoenix, Arizona to collect his remains. Victor has no way of getting there until Thomas (a young Indian storyteller that is the equivalent of an Indian Geek) offers to pay the way. The catch is that Victor must take Thomas with him. The two men have a history dating back to infancy, when Victor's father had saved Thomas from the house fire that had killed his parents. In more than a journey of miles, Victor comes to a better understanding of his relationship with Thomas, and his strained relationship with his father.

Even better than the movie, because it includes a proloque by Alexie and production notes in the back. Enjoyable, like all of Alexie's books.

[Madeline]

There are notes from Alexie about the changes they made while filming. I was glad to learn that everyone involved with the movie was ashamed of the wig Adam Beach wears at the end, and I hope he got some kind of revenge on the guilty parties.

[Daina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a screenplay, so it was interesting to read from that perspective. I love Sherman Alexie's writing but I feel like a lot of the beauty gets lost in the stage directions. This is basically a film made up of the short stories included in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" so I would recommend just reading the short stories.
The book does include a description of which scenes were changed in the movie and why. So I imagine if you were really into film makeing, or just a fan of behind the scenes information it would be really great. As I am not really either I only found it mildly interesting and only read about 1/3 of the commentary at the end.

[Melinda Worfolk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really wonderful play--the movie of the same name is also fantastic and well worth watching. Great teaching material; my students in the class (Advanced English upgrading, about Grade 11 English for adults), loved it and found it utterly hilarious and touching. At the time most of my students self-identified as First Nations/Aboriginal (Native Canadian), and many said they could relate to it even though it was American. There were many similarities between the reserves they'd grown up on and the one in the play.

[Kassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Smoke Signals Screenplay wasnt the best book I had ever read. I didnt really like it. The plot was ok though. It was a little sad. something I did like about the fact that it was a screenplay, was that it was easy to picture what was happening. What I had in my mind was almost exactly like the movie. I just didnt understand why it was called smoke signals.

[Woodrós · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't wait to watch the movie! The story is fascinating.

The screenplay is good, but it's meant to be filmed. However, one of the coolest things about this publishing is finding out how the story evolved in the process of actually filming it. This would be particularly useful for someone who wants to learn more about writing/producing/etc screenplays.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally found this at the library! Really enjoyed reading Alexie's original screenplay and then reading his comments as to why certain scenes were cut or changed in the final movie. Very insightful. This is one of my favorite films, love the story, the acting, the filmography. It was fabulous to relive it through a new medium.

[Kimberly Carrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot.It was very entertaining. My favorite characters were Thomas and Victor. It was weird and confusing at a couple moments. It kept changing the time period and got hard to keep track of. Even though it was confusing I liked the way it ended.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the movie and thoroughly enjoyed reading the screenplay. I've seen the film a dozen times and having read the screenplay only helped me get even deeper into the story. Highly recommend it.

[Elizabeth Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did like the story line and the fact that this story was written by, co-produced, and acted out all by Native American Indians. I am not a fan of reading screen plays at all, but did find the book very emotional and entertaining

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the humor, heart, and sadness in this story. The screenplay lacks the visuals of the movie, but offers an opportunity to focus on the nuance of dialogue that is shared here. Beautifully rendered to capture the characters and their insecurities and fears and triumphs.

[Nagisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book simply to cite in my paper, but I found scene notes by Sherman Alexie helpful to form an idea about the movie. I now got to see his intentions behind the scenes. Also I got a feeling that he didn't get along with the director, Chris Eyre.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that it is really something that Sherman Alexie can re-work his characters and stories to fit the needs of a new project.

[Scary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story/film was taken from Alexie's book "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfighting in Heaven". If you haven't seen the movie, RUN TO THE VIDEO STORE, RENT IT, and WATCH IT! EXCELLENT!!!!