The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian

by Sherman Alexie

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

• ISBN10: 0316013684
• ISBN13: 9780316013680
• Publish Date: 12 September 2007
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

While I was a little hesitant at first (especially considering Alexie's history), THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN is a compelling book and I appreciated reading it. Arnold Spirit Jr. (Junior) wants a better life for himself and so he asks his parents if he can go to the white school on the edge of the reservation. This choice leads to a lot of disgruntlement from his fellow Spokane, but eventually, some respect, too. Junior's composure and determination to give himself better opportunities makes an interesting read on the surface.

Beneath that, though, Alexie explores themes of life, death, racism, relationships, friendships, poverty, and identity. Unlike many "issue" books, all these themes arrive easily, not forcing themselves upon the reader, but sneaking up and settling in, like a pebble in one's shoe that you must confront. It's cleverly written and left me thinking about it after I finished reading. It's such an approachable YA book with so much to say. I'm really glad I read this one.

For a more detailed review, as well as other reviews and bookish content, please visit The Literary Phoenix.

[Linda]

I'm using this book with my students for the fall semester - because belonging, tolerance, and education is everything.

[brokentune]

This was moving, and funny, and totally predictable but still handled difficult topics in a way that does not patronise its intended audience - the YA-ship.

I know, I keep bashing a lot of YA reads because I find them silly or overly emotive, and in a way the story of Arnold, too, suffers from both these elements, but there is also something fresh and raw in the way Arnold describes his world that is hilarious and sincere at the same time.

In short, I enjoyed all the elements that ensure this book ended up on the "banned books" list. Why ould you want to keep YA readers away from a story that focuses on the emancipation of the main character and his struggle with his sense of community?

Why ban a book on the grounds of language and perceived non-conformance to political correctness when the essence of the story really tries to deconstruct some of the myths of the cultural barriers that the book banning people seem to think are portrayed in an offensive manner?

Really makes you question whether the book banning people have read the book at all.
This reader would not be surprised if they had not.

It does remind me of one of my favourite scenes in the book (even though it is very similar to a certain scene in Dead Poets Society), at the end of which Arnold Spirit, Jr, concludes that he used to think that people were divided by their differences in tribes, or race, but that really there are only two kinds of people: those who are assholes, and those who are not.

[layawaydragon]

TW: Gay slurs, abuse, alcoholism,

I was given this book by an online friend of mine who is Indian (her own label). It's so heartbreaking, funny, and so, so, true.

I can't wait to read it with my daughter in a couple of years. It'll be waiting on my favorites shelf until then.

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

The fact that this book was banned/challenged isn't really surprising, I guess, as much irresponsible drinking and illegal drug use as there is in it. It was a rather eye-opening read even for an adult though...at least me. I kind of wished there was more development of the characters, but it was still good.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian tells the story of Arnold ‘Junior’ Spirit, a 14 year old cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation who has hydrocephalus (an excess of cerebrospinal fluid in his skull). Junior leaves his school on the ‘rez’ to attend an all-white high school in a nearby farm town in the hopes to gain a better education. The only other Indian at the school is the mascot and Junior finds himself in a whole new world.

I’m really not sure why Sherman Alexie wrote Junior with hydrocephalus, or why he was given poor eyesight, experiences frequent seizures, stutters, and a lisp. It all felt pretty excessive and only really played a factor in the first couple of chapters of this novel. We establish the fact he is different and then it’s a non-issue for the rest of the book. Going to an all-white school was enough to make him different to the rest, so the point really felt redundant. I had a feeling this was a semi-autobiographical novel so I did seem research on Alexie and found out he too was born with hydrocephalus. Alexie underwent brain surgery at six months old. The surgeons expected that he would not survive and if he did he would have a permanent mental disability. So that explains why it was in the story but that lead me wondering at what point does this book remain a novel if the plot is the same. I don’t know enough about Sherman Alexie’s life to know but it was something to consider.

I picked up this novel because I heard it being compared to The Perks of Being a Wallflower one too many times. A similarity that feels stretched; the books follow a similar plot, a realistic teenage life for a protagonist on the outside looking in. There are the same reasons the books were banned in schools, a tragic death of character, alcohol and bullying. That’s where the similarities seem to stop (unless you count first person narrative a similarity but then that would cover a lot of books), The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was also banned due to content referencing racism, poverty and masturbation. These are a majority of issues teenagers face and I’m often confused at why people don’t want teenagers to read about the issues they are going through. I’m not a parent so I can’t really judge.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian not only looks at the normal teenage issues but really wants to focus on the cultural differences. Junior’s daring move to a new school for a better education may seem to be the right choice for him but there are different obstacles he has never faced before. He has to try and bridge the two cultures, but neither side fully understands the other. This inevitably leads to fights and confrontations and eventually they start to understand each other a little better. The friends he eventually makes at the school are middle class and he isn’t; they expect him to have money due to the casinos on the reservation but in reality the mismanagement and location means no one on the reservation is making money. Arnold is ashamed of this fact and tries to hide it as best as he can, which leads to an economical clash as well as a cultural one.

The big message I got out of this novel and I think it is an important one, is the desire Junior has to be a better person. He couldn’t accept using textbooks that are over thirty years old and he put himself into the world and into the deep end (so to speak) just so he can get a better education. The idea of taking a risk to reap the rewards are often never really discussed in Young Adult literature and it was great to see such a positive message been told.

I personally didn’t think too much of this novel, I wanted it to be more like The Perks of Being a Wallflower or maybe a John Green novel and I never really got over the fact it wasn’t. There were so many interesting themes and messages within this book but I never felt like the narrative worked. It felt more like a book aimed at younger teenagers but this novel is definitely not suitable for a twelve year old. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time seems well received by the masses and for a good reason, I’m just the odd person out which seems to be a regular occurrence.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/07/12/book-review-the-absolutely-true-diary-of-a-part-time-indian/