The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
This book may be labeled young adult and is written for a younger reading level, but it is also very fitting for adults. It is dark and terribly sad, but Sherman Alexie adds a witty humor that helps soften some of the commentary on a difficult life of a Native American on a reservation.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I had heard a few good reviews on it but wasn’t sure I would fully appreciate it. However, Alexie does an excellent job shedding light on a situation most Americans know nothing about while also telling a heartwarming and somewhat funny story of a teenage boy, loosely based on his own experiences growing up on a reservation.
Without the humor, this book would have been heartbreaking and made me cry ugly tears the whole way through. The amount of loss and hardship Junior faces in such a short time frame is enough to send anyone into despair. There is alcoholism, abuse, tragic loss, poverty and a severe lack of hope in the reservation where Junior lives. And yet, he is set on getting a better life for himself and finds some amazing truths along the way.
“Do you understand how amazing it is to hear that from an adult? Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from anybody? It’s one of the simplest sentences in the world, just four words, but they’re the four hugest words in the world when they’re put together.
You can do it.
I can do it.”
I obviously do not know much about life on a reservation, but the fact Alexie used some of his past experiences to write this book makes me terribly sad and angry that this is happening on American soil. And so many of us are completely ignorant as to the poverty and struggles these families are facing. It reminds me of Hillbilly Elegy and the struggles so many of us know nothing about. I want to read more of Alexie’s books for his writing and also to learn more about this subject.
This quick read held a very large story.
Synopsis: Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.