Before we even start, I want to mention that this is my favorite book of all time, so I might be a bit biased.
Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is not the best book I have ever read. It is not the most emotional, or has the best plot out of any book I have ever read. What it does have is a coming of age story that feels truly genuine from a perspective not often explored. Every year, I read this book, and my birthday is in 8 days (if I get this out on the 20th), so I figure I'll make this and reread it after my 6th reading.
Speaking of 6 years of reading, I want to make a quick note of how I read this book in the first place, before we get started. I was on vacation and I was waiting for my mom to come back with the room keys. I grabbed a small black book off of my brother's suitcase, and I was enthralled by the writing and characters. My brother yelled at me a few minutes later for not being mature enough to read it (I was not), but I just took it into the bathroom late at night and read it. Ever since then, I've read it at least once per year, understanding more of it each time.
This book is not for everyone. It's incredibly crude and heavyhanded sometime, but in a way that makes sense for the settings and characters speaking. For example, one of the most offensive things said used to set up the character of Rodger, the small town jock, is 'Did you know that indians are living proof that niggers fuck buffalo?' Junior mentally quips that this is the most offensive thing he'd ever heard, before breaking Rodger's nose. The book is not shy in the themes it covers, and it feels brutally honest in this.
One of the first drawings, is a doodle of Junior (Arnold)'s brain floating in a fish tank. It is used to show how he feels about his hydrocephalus, and for whatever odd reason, it sticks with me to this day. The reason I mention this is the incredibly well done use of drawings. In the story, Junior wishes to be a cartoonist, and throughout the book are 'taped in' drawings that Junior has made to his diary. They add so much to the story in a way I can't quite describe, but if you read it I feel that you'll feel the same way as I do.
One of the reasons the book feels so genuine is because it is. I actually just learned this while refreshing my memory on the Wikipedia page for the book, but the author also had hydrocephalus, was a star player on his school's basketball team, left the reservation to go Reardan, and lived on the Wellpint Reservation. It feels so genuine for a reason, and despite being 230 pages every page seems to go by in a flash.
I couldn't seem to quantify what made this book so great. The characters, settings, the dialog? I could go on, but this book is what it's like to have someone speak with their heart. Everything in the pages, you can feel the profound emotion as Alexi recounts a mix of things he encountered in his life, and simple character writing. It's a wonderful experience, and if the things said don't immediately turn you away I can't recommend this to you enough.
https://www.sateskole.no/pluginfile.php/52444/mod_resource/content/1/the-absolutely-true-diary-of-a-part-time-sherman-alexie-1%282%29.pdf
Thanks for reading. I genuinely really hope you check this book out, and tell me if you do.
Comments
Post a Comment