book review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (by Sherman Alexie) is, admittedly, not a title that would normally jump out at me and into my hands. So when my friend Taryn forced this book into my stack of borrowed books, I smiled politely and committed to skimming through it on the beach.
PTL for generous friends with excellent taste and giant home libraries!
This book was excellent! (and truly, it was a great beach read). The protagonist is Junior, a high school student growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Junior faces a number of challenges, from his life-long health concerns to his tribe's criticism and resentment of his decision to attend a school off the reservation to numerous personal losses.
What? That doesn't sound like a bucket of laughs?
That's the thing about a truly talented writer-- Sherman Alexie manages to weave all those details into a story that is both brutally honest and disarmingly charming. Each chapter is contains a handful of Junior's hand-drawn cartoons that add acerbic wit and morbid humor to the many hills and valleys that Junior faces: moving to a new school, trying to conceal his poverty, playing basketball against his old school, and so on.
Junior's honest-- sometimes uncomfortably honest-- narrative is relatable to anyone who has been in the trenches of adolescent and teenage years. His stories strike a chord of nostalgia for that reason, but his particular experience-- teenager growing up on an Indian reservation-- gives the reader a chance to peer into a background that is uncommon to most.
Definitely giving this one 5 stars!
PTL for generous friends with excellent taste and giant home libraries!
This book was excellent! (and truly, it was a great beach read). The protagonist is Junior, a high school student growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Junior faces a number of challenges, from his life-long health concerns to his tribe's criticism and resentment of his decision to attend a school off the reservation to numerous personal losses.
What? That doesn't sound like a bucket of laughs?
That's the thing about a truly talented writer-- Sherman Alexie manages to weave all those details into a story that is both brutally honest and disarmingly charming. Each chapter is contains a handful of Junior's hand-drawn cartoons that add acerbic wit and morbid humor to the many hills and valleys that Junior faces: moving to a new school, trying to conceal his poverty, playing basketball against his old school, and so on.
Junior's honest-- sometimes uncomfortably honest-- narrative is relatable to anyone who has been in the trenches of adolescent and teenage years. His stories strike a chord of nostalgia for that reason, but his particular experience-- teenager growing up on an Indian reservation-- gives the reader a chance to peer into a background that is uncommon to most.
Definitely giving this one 5 stars!
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