The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
By Sherman Alexie
Publication Year: 2007
Type: Fiction
Genre: contemporary, coming-of-age
Read on 2019-07-24
View additional specs on this book in Muhan’s 2019 Reading Survey ➞
★★★★☆
A bright, vivid, super fuckin’ funny contemporary novel about a teenage boy named Junior who leaves his reservation to go to a white school many miles away. A lot of the reviews describe knowing little about contemporary Native Americans and reservations - I’m obviously no expert but I’ve read a few books on the topic (including Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie), and I realized reading this that what I really really really don’t know anything about is being a teenage boy. So this book was a really foreign and educational on many fronts but above all an incredibly entertaining read. The friendships and family dynamics just jump out of the page - Junior, Rowdy, Gordy Roger, Mr. P, Penelope are all people we’ve met, types of people we know. Written in Junior’s perspective with his intradiegetic doodles, the story unfolds as a series of diary entries that sometimes paint a picture of a juvenile boy and other times betrays a deceptively insightful and critical examination of contemporary Native American life. As you read on, the boundaries between the two kind of blur, and it’s really a testament to Alexie that the story is so believable written from the mind of a complexly imagined 15 year old boy. There is no John Green-isms in this - Alexie has found a way to be 100% authentic to teenagers but still show how fully human and perceptive and sharp they are.
