The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Ratings162
Average rating4
Although others have told me how much this book makes them laugh, more than anything else, it made me cry. Alexie does give a humorous spin on the hard and tragic events in Junior's life, but I was more wrapped up in the keen observations Junior makes about his own life, the people around him, the reservation, and the White world. I was mesmerized by this book because it was filled with insights like this: “Yep, my daddy was an undependable drunk. But he'd never missed any of my organized games, concerts, plays, or picnics. He may not have loved me perfectly, but he loved me as well as he could” (p. 189).
Such a good book. I don't even know how to talk about it. It's a coming of age story; grappling with identity; love, sorrow; who we are and what makes us who we are. So good.
This book is full of WIN.
The 14-year-old narrator has a way of grabbing your heart from his first words. I found myself (as someone else said), laughing out loud when my heart was breaking. This kid had so many reasons to give in to the despair that ravaged his Spokane Indian reservation, but instead he keeps fighting with the help of some friends, his smarts, and his cartoons.
This is a story of hope, and I recommend it for EVERYONE.
Fantastic!!!
Reread 10-09-19
Even better than I remember, funny, thought provoking and simply a must read!
Much like Alexie's other works that I've read, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian paints an interesting picture of what life may be like as a Native American. I want to read more books by native authors, especially focusing on even more contemporary works, as I wonder if the stereotypical image of native Americans, some of which Alexie details in his works, are still things that the native populous deals with. Does alcoholism still run rampant?
Alexie writes about situations where different identities meet and I think that it really powerful. However, overall, the juvenile style of his writing just doesn't jive with me.
Great book. I can see teaching this in grade 9 or 10. Kids would love its honesty and humor.
Ten years late to the party on this one, but I recently got the audio version of the book and began listening. The author narrates the book, and I believe that contributed to my enjoyment. His accent and inflection really made the character of Arnold “Junior” Spirit seem real to me. And while the book is intended for young people, I think the content and themes can be both entertaining and meaningful to an older audience. Junior can be laugh-out-loud funny, but he can also bring you near tears when he suffers, as he does often: at the loss of his best friend and the deaths of people close to him. It may not be perfect, but I recommend it highly.
I am completely in love with this book! I just adore Junior and Rowdy... and their friendship... and their rivalry.
“I mean, you have to love somebody that much to also hate them that much, too.”
This book will definitely go on my re-read pile. I can see myself going back to this book again and again, and loving it just the same.
What a bittersweet novel! A book that made me laugh and made me cry. Alexie is able to present the plight of American Indians in today's society in a most entertaining manner. A book that is both enlightening and entertaining. I highly recommend this to young adults and older readers. Its well worth it.
I loved this book. It made me laugh and even cry just a little bit. I'm not Native American but I've lived among them at times and as far as I can see it's very close to their current struggles.
The only thing that was hard for me was the language. This book has some pretty bad slang (by my standards anyway) but it's written from the perspective of a teenage boy. And I was a teenage girl not a boy so I don't know if this is really how they think and talk. Anyway the slang was too graphic for me.
A novelist can do four things to make me love them.
1) They can make characters come alive.
2) They can make me laugh.
3) They can make me care.
4) They can create compelling narrative.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Junior has had enough. He's seen enough lives wasted on the reservation, people destroyed by a potent combination of alcohol and hopelessness. Junior makes his move; he leaves the comfort of his reservation school for the white school twenty-two long miles away, a world away from the reservation.
A tough book to read, full of poverty, alcoholism, and, worst of all, the brutal lack of hope. It felt absolutely true. As I read this book, I felt like I did when I was watching the movie, Beowulf, hating the violence, hating the cruelty, yet fully believing the underlying truth of the world, knowing this is the way the world is, wanting to reject it, to fix it, to heal it, and not having the tiniest clue as to how to do so.
This book was very...okay. I feel like I would have liked it a lot better if I had read it in middle/high school but I'm just clearly not the audience for it. It also kind of felt like a “guy” read with all the fart/butt jokes and focus on sports. Other than that, I'm really glad I read this because I think I've read maybe 1 other book with a native American protagonist? (Yikes). As for what I did like about the book, I really enjoyed that it didn't play it safe despite being for young adults. It's not afraid to confront topics like death, systemic oppression, alcoholism, racism, and sex. I bet this book has been challenged by Christian, white moms before and that's kind of a badge of honor. I liked the characters, although some of them felt a little unrealistic to me. I had a tough time believing that Roger, the jock character who is introduced saying the N-word, automatically becomes the nicest guy in the whole book just because Arnold punched him. I felt like his introductory line was so evil that there's no way he would just be completely normal after that. Other things that felt a little out of whack were the teacher who gives Arnold the impassioned speech in the beginning and some of the dialogue written for Gordy. I think the strongest characters were Arnold's family members and Rowdy. Maybe I've just been on tumblr too long, but I have a headcanon that Rowdy is a closeted gay. He's got a homophobic dad who beats him, he's extremely defensive/aggressive, shows no interest in girls, and I dunno...I just got a vibe. Speaking of gay, this book had a lot of great nuggets about native American culture that I didn't really know about, like how gay people used to be considered super powerful by native Americans because they were both male and female. I would say it's the authenticity/representation of native American culture that made this a worthwhile read. That, and all of the great illustrations. Some really cracked me up.
Summary: Junior is a freshman in a high school on the Native American reservation on which he lives. When he makes a mistake that gets him in trouble at school, he decides to start going to a primarily white school off the reservation. This decision, however, is not well-received by everyone. The novel explores themes like prejudice, racism, loyalty, and stepping outside of one's comfort zone in a very straight-forward manner.
Thanks for all the CRYING, Alexie. God. Whatever. Love his grown-up books, love this. Love his (and, OK, the general native culture's) ability to laugh at tragedy. Junior is a great narrator, smart and brave and funny and sad. Oh and I loved Ellen Forney's illustrations.
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.
Solid read, but although intentional, I did not feel like the story went full circle.
Regular and not too regular American adolescence events from a perspective different than the average American kid.
Good book. Controversial. It was assigned to my 9th grader, so I read it too, to help her. Many things were discussed that I think might have been “above her”, as far as what she should be reading, and also, male vs. female perspective. Touched on some things that she's probably seen/heard on social media (masterbation, drinking, etc.). Some of the things touched on were what I would consider negative stereo-types. I'd like to do more research. Was this a true autobiography, or was it fiction? Also, is Sherman Alexie a Native American? It was read by him, if I'm not mistaken, so I believe it was autobiographical, and truly written by a Native American, but I would like to know for certain.
This is a great fast read. There are tons of pictures and it feels like the text flies by. It was also very enjoyable, though extremely sad at times. I guess I really didn't know much about how Native Americans live nowadays.
Very original and different take on the life of a teenage Indian boy. Excellent read with the fun illustrations to go along.
This novel was one that I enjoyed, not only because it was one that featured a native-american teenager, but also because the messages in it are universal. The idea that you are moving out from your home in the hope of finding something better in your life is something that all teens can relate to. It is one that I feel should be read by teens for it's message of tolerance, as well.
That message is odd considering the novel's history of getting banned. It has been consistently featured in the ALA's Top Ten Challenged book for years, winning the top spot in 2014 alone. Many of the reasons for it being there, such as it being anti-family, and cultural insensitivity are somewhat true, but they make sense when taken into context. The harsh life that the main character, Arnold Spirit, leads, both on and off the reservation, is an example of how difficult it is to be Native American in our white-dominated society.
I also liked the complex characters that were in this novel. The parents have their problems, but they love Arnold very much and support his decision. His girlfriend, at first sees him as a object and is using him for the status, but by the end she respects and admires him. These characters, or the reader's viewpoint of them, change through the novel, and that is an excellent thing for a book like this. I can totally understand why it won the National Book award.
The only part that I didn't like were the deaths in the novel. I won't spoil who dies, but I will say that they didn't have the effect on me like I think they were supposed to. One could argue that it was actually for the effect that they had on Arnold and how he grew because of them, but that is debatable. Never the less, I really enjoyed this book, and I think that if you have the chance to, you should pick it up and read it. I give it a four out of five.