I
have been wanting to read this book for years, no less because my best friend
Jenn loaned it to me a while ago and I need to read it and give it back. I decided to read it during banned books week.
It was the perfect week as it is included again on the 2018 list of most banned
books.
Junior
is growing up on a reservation in Spokane, Washington. He was born with water on the brain and had
to have surgery as a six-month-old that almost killed him. He could have been brain damaged, but he is a
very smart kid. He has other problems (like with his vision) caused by water on
the brain and is picked on constantly.
His best friend Rowdy is the one person who understands him and helps to
defend him against the bullies.
That
all changes when Junior decides to leave the reservation and go to the closest
white school to further his educational opportunities. Rowdy and pretty much
the entire tribe think of him as a traitor.
Will Junior be able to fit in at his new school and will he be able to
fit in with his tribe?
Junior
loves to draw cartoons and they are included throughout the text. I loved how they were part of the story and
had provided moments of humor for sometimes very dire situations.
The
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was both humorous and at times a
very sad story. I love how Junior
realized his parents had a lot of love and support for him, but he also had to
deal with his father’s alcoholism and his family’s poverty. That lead to one of my favorite lines in the
book, “Poverty doesn’t give you strength or teach you lessons about
perseverance. No, poverty only teaches
you how to be poor.” I realized a lot of
the books I read, particularly the books I read in childhood, try to teach you
that poverty is something you work through to become a stronger person. Junior take a hard look at that and does not
agree. I thought this was quite profound.
As I
was reading this book, I read about Sherman Alexie and discovered that not only
is he considered one of the leading Native American authors of today, but he is
also at the center of accusations as part of the Me-Too movement. Can one separate the actions of the author
from his work? I think yes, otherwise I
would be throwing most classics out the window (I’m looking at you Ernest
Hemingway). What do you think?
I
read this novel with the eye on – why is it banned and I saw plenty of items
that a parent could freak out about. I had
read it was a racist portrayal of Native Americans. I think that is ironic when it is written by
a Native American and is largely based on his childhood. There is alcoholism in the novel, and Junior
has an anti-religion page after some tragic deaths in his family. He also waxes on about masturbation for a
page or so at the start of the book. Any of these items could be something that
someone could complain about to a school library. All in all, they would also definitely
make it a novel that young adults would enjoy and identify with.
Favorite
Quotes:
“I
think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny
little lifeboats.”
“You
have to read a book three times before you know it. The first time you read it for the
story. The plot . . . The second time
you read a book you read it for its history.”
“There
are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We
all have pain. And we all look for ways
to make the pain go away.”
“If
you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.”
Overall,
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an excellent novel that made
me both laugh and cry. I loved Junior’s
story and how it looked at some of the deep trials that a Native American
teenager faced trying to find his place in the world and where he fits in. It was a great coming of age story. I loved its look at friendship, family, and
loss.
Book
Source: My best friend Jenn loaned me
this book.
