Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, Sherman. 2007. THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007.

TRUE DIARY tells the story of Arnold Spirit, Jr., better known as Junior to his family and friends, a full-blood Spokane Indian living life on a reservation. The “part-time” the title refers to is Junior’s feelings of confusion when he decides to leave his school (and best friend Rowdy) on “the rez” in favor of the high school in the nearby town of Reardan—a school whose entire population is white. Though he still lives on the reservation, his Indian peers are hostile toward him for his perceived betrayal, while his peers in Reardan alienate him for being different. Junior goes through many hard times, “exploring his Indian identity, both self and tribal,” (Shoemaker 2007) but still he perseveres because he knows that though following your dreams may be hard at times, perhaps in the end it will all be worth it.

TRUE DIARY is the winner of the 2007 National Book Award, so I had high expectations when I opened it. Though overall, I did enjoy the book, I have to admit I was bored for the first 53 pages. It wasn’t until Junior made it to the school in Reardan that I felt it started to pick up. The book was humorous in some places (I especially enjoyed the Unofficial and Unwritten Spokane Indian Rules of Fisticuffs) and heartbreaking in others. In general, though, the book came across as very authentic to me, touching upon issues such as alcoholism, neglect and abuse, racism, and losing someone (or several someones) close to you.

I also enjoyed the illustrations provided by Junior (actually drawn by Ellen Forney) that he includes in his narrative about his life. The story is told in first person and as if he were writing it as a biography or journal. Junior is an admirable character, typical in some ways (he loves basketball, drawing, and hanging out with his best friend), but atypical in others because this kid gets knocked down hard by life many times over, but manages to bounce back every time. So while the beginning starts of slow, I would definitely recommend it to others.

Reference List:

Shoemaker, Chris. 2007. Review of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. School Library Journal.