Alexie, Sherman. 2007. The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-01369-7 Meet fourteen-year-old Arnold Spirit, Jr. (aka Junior). According to Junior’s self-description, he is a big-headed, big-footed, eye-glass wearing, skinny, goofy-looking person (Alexie 2007, pp. 1-3). In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, writer Sherman Alexie delivers one of the most interesting 21st-Century protagonists in fiction in the form of Junior. Through first-person dialogue laden with crispness and humor, the reader is introduced to Junior, his family, his friends (such as the infamous Rowdy and Penelope, Roger, Gordy, and Eugene), and his life on the Spokane Indian reservation.
Junior was supposed to be brain damaged thanks to being born with too much spinal fluid in his skull, but instead, he is smart. Very smart. Junior makes the decision to leave the reservation’s school and begin attending Reardon, a white school, after an incident of textbook throwing involving his geometry teacher Mr. P. Mr. P urges Junior to leave the reservation or face the fate of becoming defeated like many of his family and friends on the reservation (Alexie 2007, p. 43). Mr. P tells Junior that he will find hope the further he travels from his home. As a result, Junior decides to leave his reservation school and transfer to Reardon. Junior’s parents support him, but many of the people on the reservation do not, and in fact, take this action as a betrayal, including Junior’s best friend Rowdy.
Once at Reardon, Arnold Spirit’s journey to manhood and hope truly begin. Arnold comes to realize that he is just as smart, if not smarter, than many of his white classmates at Reardon. Arnold discovers a thirst for learning that is fostered through his friendship with Gordy, and Arnold comes to believe in himself. However, Arnold’s journey is not without much pain. He faces racism, bullying, alcoholism, loss of friendship, and the death of loved ones. Arnold finds himself caught between two worlds—the white world and the Indian world. He struggles with his identity as he wades back and forth between these two worlds. However, Arnold always maintains his hope, his sense of humor, and his love for his family and his friends.
I highly recommend this book for Young Adults. Sherman Alexie tackles serious subjects with a sense of humor, but the humor does not negate the seriousness of the issues of death, poverty, alcoholism, and racism that Arnold Spirit, Jr. faces in this novel; it just lessens the sting a bit. Alexie’s dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny at times, and his character Arnold is unique and dynamic. Alexie does not organize the book by traditional chapters, but he organizes the plot in vignettes with titles such as “Why Chicken Means So Much to Me” (p. 7) and “Because Geometry Is not a Country Somewhere Near France” (p. 25). Another bonus to the book is the comic sketches interspersed throughout the text by artist Ellen Forney. These illustrations pair perfectly with the text and support Sherman Alexie’s storyline. This book can be used in independent reading for students, but probably would not suit a whole class study due to first, the graphic nature of some of the text, like when Arnold boasts about being ambidextrous at masturbation (pp. 24-25); and second, due to a lack of political correctness assumed by the character of Arnold; there is the potential for censors to come out of the closet on this book. However, I say that the latter two features add to the novel's charm. Do not miss reading this book!
Extras
This book is ...
- A New York Times Bestseller
- A National Book Award Winner
- #1 Book Sense Bestseller
- Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
- A Nappa Gold Book
- School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
- Kirkus Reviews Best YA Books of 2007
- A BBYA Top 10 Book for Teens
Hornbook Magazine (Jan./Feb. 2009), Vol. 85 book review excerpt: Arnold Spirit, Jr.’s (aka Junior’s) “experiences leave us gasping in pain, lauging out loud and feeling our hearts break. Told in a wise/wisecracking first-person voice, Alexie’s novel presents an unforgettable character, ready to take on the world. We as readers are pulling for him to succeed” (p. 25).
Book Cover Art found at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Absolutely-True-Diary-Part-Time-Indian/dp/0316013692/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1285037532&sr=1-1
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