The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
I really don't know how to write a review that will do this book justice. All I know is that I laughed, I cried, then I laughed some more. And this review will be my feeble attempt to convey the genius of Sherman Alexie's writing. While this is my first Alexie book, it most certainly will not be my last. Junior is a Spokane Indian living on a reservation who takes a huge risk by transferring to the white high school twenty-two miles away from the "rez." This takes a lot of courage for a boy, who is already known around the rez as a "retard" and a "faggot". Most of that has to do with the brain damage that he endured as a child, the subsequent seizures that would often plague him, and his general awkwardness. So already he's an outcast. When he transfers to the new school he isolates himself even further because his tribe views him as a traitor. Add to that alcoholic parents and a best friend turned frienemy and Junior is about the loneliest soul you could imagine. But he keeps trucking on. Through it all, the good and the bad, Junior never loses his sense of humor. I find that heartening and hopeful. When faced with poverty, death, prejudice, and bullying Junior still manages to find humor in such tragic circumstances. Junior even verbalizes this saying:". . . I realized that, sure, Indians were drunk and sad and displaced and crazy and mean, but dang, we knew how to laugh. When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing." As a white person, I cannot say whether or not The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian accurately portrays the Native American experience however, Debbie Reese, a Nambe Pueblo Indian woman and assistant professor in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, whose blog discusses "Critical perspectives of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society-at-large", praises the book stating: "There's a lot in the book that I really like because I connect with the character, the setting, the experiences... It is real and brutally honest."If Debbie finds it a valid representation of the Native American experience, I'm certainly going to believe her considering her heritage and her educational background. I encourage you to check out Debbie's blog if you're at all interested in the representation of Native Americans in YA (or Children's) lit. Her blog is a wonderful place to get recommendations for accurate portrayals of Native Americans. A lot of the tragedy that befalls Junior is, in some way, related to one of the harsh realities of life on the rez: alcoholism. As I understand, this is a huge problem among Native Americans. It was interesting the way Junior described having an alcoholic father and how that compared to his white classmates' fathers: "I mean, yeah, my dad would sometimes go on a drinking binge and be gone for a week, but those white dads can completely disappear without ever leaving the living room. They can just BLEND into their chairs. They become their chairs. . . There are white parents, especially fathers, who never come to school. They don't come for their kids' games, concerts, plays, or carnivals." " I realize my parents are pretty good. . . they make sacrifices for me. They worry about me. They talk to me. And best of all, they listen to me." So while his parent's aren't perfect and as much as Junior may envy some of the advantages of his white classmates, he still understands, appreciates, and values his family and his community. It's really difficult for me to articulate how amazing this book is. On one hand it's heartbreakingly sad, on the other it is humorous and uplifting. It just goes to show that we're not all just one thing. Junior, isn't just an Indian, this isn't just another YA book. This is something special.
4.5 well deserved stars! This review contains helpful spoilers. :) This book authentically tells us about the consequences of racism, stereotyping and isolation in the eyes of a 14 year old boy, Arnold Spirit Jr., a native Indian American who ironically suffered 14 years of bullying in the hands of his fellow tribesmen in their reservation. It's funny how Arnold only started to believe in what he can do and be accepted when he transferred to a school outside their reservation where all students except for him and their mascot are white. Though at first, he suffers derision and all sorts of insulting stereotypes White Americans concoct about Indians, he slowly starts earning friends, a pretty white semi-girlfriend and even a slot in the varsity basketball team. Even when his new friends discover that Arnold's family is poor, they do not shun him. In fact, it is his fellow tribesmen who rejected him for transferring and leaving them, calling him names like apple (red in the outside but white in the inside-a part-time Indian as indicated in the title). The most ironic thing about this book is how Arnold humorously and comically narrates his story in his diary. Because even though he's already talking about his terrible and painful experiences in life such as the death of a family member, his poverty, and the lifelessness of the people in their reservation, he relates them as indifferently and as jokingly as he can that you wouldn't know whether you'll laugh or cry. He even makes sketches and drawings that make you crack up and forget that what he's actually telling is a very sad thing. It's also mystifying how a death of someone can unify a people, making them forget differences and ill feelings which was exactly how Arnold came to feel that he is still one with his tribe and that even if this is true, it doesn't mean that he cannot belong to other tribes anymore. In fact, he realizes that he belongs to many tribes of the world (tribe of book lovers, of basketball lovers, of travelers, of dreamers, etc.) The manner by which the story is written to me is also very genuine as if everything is coming from an actual 14 year old American-Indian boy and I give credit to the author and the cartoonist for that. I strongly recommend every American to read this book. In fact, I strongly recommend everyone to read this book because for some reason, I think everyone regardless of skin color at some point, has become a racist in its most general meaning. Most of us are guilty of stereotyping which is one of the main sub classes of racism and this is one great book that will remind us of our quick and easy, but often wrong judgment. ;)
What do You think about The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian (2007)?
Books like this make me realize that I've become complacent. Others that I've read that I thought were worthy of a 5 star rating I now realize I over rated. It's literature like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian that really sets the mold for the books that truly deserve five stars.I'm not sure what to say, and partly that's because trying to talk about it sends more tears streaming down my face. Books like this one, or Crazy, Jellicoe Road, The Piper's Son or Looking for Alaska... they just slide right to that one vulnerable spot inside you, giving you a dose of a very realistic view of the world. A view that can make some people very uncomfortable. It's a damn shame to me that this book is one of the highest 'banned' books out there. Yes it discusses racism, but that is a realism in this world that can't be hidden or covered up if it is ever going to be confronted. I'd say that it's books like this that should be REQUIRED reading. The world could use a dose self-reflection, and it could use a good size helping of compassion too. And that's what this book, and others offer.Fear not, self-reflection isn't necessarily depressing. It's also funny, and awkward and immensely enjoyable; I promise.
—Wendy F
This book has sort of been on my radar, and yesterday I saw it on one of my student's desk. I excitedly asked him what he thought of it, and his face lit up. He told me he had just finished it and repeated, "It was a really good book" about three times, with the most genuine smile I've seen from this kid all year. When I told him it was on my list of books I wanted to read, he handed it to me and said, "take it." Huh? Then he showed me the sticker on the front cover that said, "FREE BOOK! Read and Release." He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm supposed to pass it on." As it turns out, there is a "Whatcom Reads" program, and this title is circulating throughout the county. The whole idea is that you read it and pass it, and I had the good fortune of being handed this beautiful book. (The fact that one of my students "passed" it makes it that much cooler.) I sat down on my couch tonight and laughed and cried and wished there was someone here (besides the cats) to share it with. I thought it was amazing.
—Jodie
4 1/2 starsI guess I can see how someone who’s never read a single word of this book could look at a laundry list of the “issues” that are even loosely related to it and feel that it might be inappropriate for a young audience. Actually, to be honest…I really can’t see that at all. Who else BUT kids, who are facing all of the horrifying aspects of living for the first time, should be encouraged to read a book like this?Even with all of the above mentioned issues (and for the record, there’s alcoholism, domestic violence, bullying, poverty, eating disorders, racism, death, and the scariest of all – masturbation!), this book never feels anything like an “issue book.” This is above everything else, the story of a person finding a way to navigate through all of the sadness and tragedy surrounding him, by stringing together all of the tiny moments of happiness and grace that he can find. It’s also about finding the courage to break free from everything that you’ve known with the small hope of finding something better. If that doesn’t describe the plight of being young, then I don’t know what does!I loved the illustrations, and I can’t imagine this book without them (although I hear that the audiobook is great). Some of them contain a humor much darker than even I typically employ. I love so many of the characters, but I laughed quite a lot every time Gordy explained something to Junior. I think that living life with the expectation of getting a metaphysical boner is a great way to live!There are so many things that I can relate to in this book, like the desperate anxiety to keep poverty hidden, even though as a child, that’s not something that one can control. Initially I felt that he was overly positive about certain things, or that this story felt a bit too much like a fairy tale. But then I read this in an article that he recently wrote: ”I can’t speak for other writers, but I think I wrote my YA novel as a way of speaking to my younger, irredeemable self.” That made me think about all of the ways that I would want to speak to and comfort myself as a child. This book feels like something to curl up with and remember all of the painful childhood knocks with, while celebrating all the ways that I learned to cope. It’s like a balm.Perfect Musical PairingColin Hay – Beautiful World I love this song from Colin Hay, former lead singer of Men at Work. It’s a celebration of all the little things that make life beautiful, despite the surrounding tragedies.
—Catie
