The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time IndianBy Sherman Alexie
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN:978-0316013697
When The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian begins, Junior (Arnold) Spirit, a Native American teenager living on a reservation, is about to start high school. After being disappointed with his school’s inability to purchase new materials, as well as his community’s lack of desire to better itself, he decides to travel outside the reservation and attend an all white high school. He believes that hope lies with white people. In doing this, his community, as well as his best friend, turns its back on him. Although at first Junior struggles to fit in, he learns how to secure a spot, as well as balance his two identities – a poor Indian in a reservation and a poor Indian attempting to fit in at an all white school.
I really enjoyed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Alexie’s writing is very aware of its audience. Reading almost like a diary, Junior’s conversational and fun tone lets you befriend him-like him-quickly.
In the book, Junior constantly struggles with his identity. Growing up as a Native American, he can relate to that culture and that state-of-mind. He accepts that everyone drinks and most everyone dies from drinking. He understands that it is expected of him to do just sub-par and end up living on the reservation after school. He knows that he’ll forever be poor, just like his parents.
But, Junior does something about it. Different from his friends (not one to simply settle), he does what he thinks is right and goes to the neighboring all white school. It’s there that he struggles with his identity.
Although school starts out rough, Junior begins to fit in and, at the same time, relate to the white students. He hangs out with them, bonds with him. He balances his home life, where he’s surrounded by death and alcohol, with his school life, where there’s hope and promise. However, his parents keep him grounded, familiar with what he knows. While some rich white parents barely register their children, Junior knows his parents care. It’s here that Alexie wonderfully balances Junior’s two lives – he doesn’t write a good guy/bad guy story. Much like real people, everyone had a good and bad side – it’s not just black and white.
Aside from Junior, the rest of the characters, although minor, are incredibly compelling. From his sister who you never meet, but know so much about to his grandmother who spouts out wisdom, the characters are honest. Each contributes to Junior’s plight in their own way, whether it’s lending him money or giving him advice about his future. And aside from funny moments, which there are many, there are also raw and painful moments that delicately balance out the book’s message.
Junior uses drawing as an outlet, as a way to understand the world, one in which he feels like an outsider. With a severe brain injury, oversized glasses and feet, as well as a speech impediment, he’s constantly picked on. However, with drawing, he feels okay because everyone can understand drawings. He draws so he can escape and the pictures throughout the book are especially fantastic. Humorous and compassionate, each one helps with telling the story.
Junior doesn’t represent someone who has a solid identity, a solid knowledge of who they are, as the title suggests, but he is still learning. He is content with who he is in the end, somewhere in between an Indian in an all white school and a reservation kid with a future. It’s there that the book can be incredibly relatable for children still trying to find themselves. Trying to figure out who they are and what their place is within this vast world.
Sherman Alexie's website
Book's official site
NY Times review
NPR All Things Considered download about the book
Alexie on The Colbert Report
7 comments:
I've heard so many good things about this book! I really need to read it. It was quite popular with the high schoolers I worked with last year.
My parents used to have a little place at a fish camp down near Okeechobee where they'd live in the winter. It was smack dab in the middle of an Indian reservation, so I saw all of this sad behavior up close. They do get alot of money from the government, so most don't really try too hard at anything, and they drink alot. I always got depressed thinking about how it got to be this way. I could see it being a totally realistic situation for an ambitious kid to want out. This is the first review I've seen on this book (you are usually on the cutting edge), and you've done a great job!
Stumbled onto this post... It definitely make me want to check out this book. I'm always a little wary of YA novels, but then again some of my favorite books have been aimed at teenagers or children.
I loved this book, and I don't, as a rule, read YA- so if I can love it, anyone can. Thanks for writing about it!
Great review! This is one that I've only heard good things about.
I really loved this book, too! I greatly enjoyed all the little drawings - many of them made me laugh out loud - and I grew to love Junior and the other characters in the book, and cared about what happened to them very much. One of my favorite things about the book was how positively it ended, even though Junior went through some pretty tough stuff - I love when a character grows and is able to overcome hardship, instead of letting everything knock him down. It was refreshing, since it could have easily taken a different turn. We will have to discuss at our next Borders date! <3
I absolutely love Alexie. Being that this was his first writing aimed toward a young audience, I think he has produced an amazing piece of YA fiction. If you liked this book, I would definately reccomend his adult writing, especially his short story collections. My personal favorite is Tonto and the Lone Ranger Fist Fight in Heaven. This is an amazing collection of very entertaining short stories.
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