Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

With a forward by Markus Zusak, interviews with Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney, and four-color interior art throughout, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike.

This book was a lot different than what I expected but it was just as bit inspirational as I expected it to be. I've said a lot that I tend to need a plot in order for me to like a book. But with this book, while it basically had no plot, I was more than okay with it. In fact, I didn't even notice until the end. 

The book was funny at times and while the humor usually wasn't my cup of tea, I could appreciate how realistic it was coming from a 14-year old boy as the main character. It also was a good break from a book that otherwise would've felt like too heavy, too much.

The writing style was amazing. It felt like the main character was just talking to you. The characterization itself was also so realistic and incredible to read. The awkwardness, the wanderlust, the dreams (even the unrealistic ones) were just how a 14-year old would feel and think while still remaining relatable even to me as an adult.

The author's way with words hit so close to home for me and really made you understand or empathize  the poverty, micro-aggressions and coming to terms with your ethnicity. It's so hard to explain but I felt it in this book. I understood it and it made me emotional even with just 2 chapters in. As a person of color, I felt seen. And not many books can give me that. So to experience it within this book, even in a more lighthearted fashion, was honestly awe-inspiring. 

In the beginning, I kind of had issues with the format of the book. Because while I understood it was supposed to read like a diary, I wanted it to feel more in depth emotionally - it felt very superficial in that, even though it states the emotions, it feels like it's just that: stating, we can't really feel them. But I think either that gets better or I get used to reading it. Because as the book progressed, the scenes really developed into showing important themes and ideas without just laying it out for the reader. 

This book dealt with very powerful topics in very impactful ways. It talked about the idea of tolerance compared to racism (which I found to be very powerful), community vs the individual, including what it means to be a traitor to your culture, your people and how that can clash at times with your own needs, hopes and dreams. This led into the notion of believing in yourself and meeting or defying expectations that are set upon you. It even touches on privilege and the different types of privilege while identifying the need to recognize your own privilege, even if you don't believe you have any. There was a very powerful scene where he compared his own privilege against his reservation to David and Goliath which was so powerful for me and really made me think a lot of my own life and privileges I may not even acknowledge. 

One of my favorite things it covers what the imperfectness of family love. The family in this book was dysfunctional and may not have been the healthiest environment. But they loved each other and showed it in small yet important ways while simultaneously still doing things that hurt their loved ones. It was a very realistic depiction and one that I don't see done often or done well. 

But my absolute favorite theme of the book, and the one that made me reflect on my own life and experience the most was the feeling of otherness. The main character dealt with feelings of otherness due to race and poverty throughout the entire novel and it was very relatable. It was infuriating to read and see but that was why it was so powerful. I especially liked how even after he made friends and felt more comfortable in his new school and environment, those feelings didn't just go away. He still felt like an outsider even though he definitely was more appreciated and loved by his peers. It's not something that goes away even when you make connections and I think the author did an excellent job at portraying that paradox. 

And boy has this book opened my eyes to the modern day issues within the Native American community. I never thought about any abuse, bullying, or vices that occurred on reservations but the way they're portrayed and explained in the book are really thought provoking and again made me more aware of how much I don't know about the struggles Indigenous communities go through. It wasn't something I expected from this book but it was such a powerful ongoing theme.

The book also explored loss. It explored the loss experienced in death. Which was so well written and that was not something I expected. It was so sudden, as in, we would be reading about ordinary things and then the author would just casually say in the next sentence that something so horrible and traumatic happened. But that was what made it so well written because that is how death is. Unexpected. And he perfected translating that in a book. It was actually so moving and powerful that I wanted to cry. It was really heavy and I took a break in reading because of it. 

It also explored cultural loss. Which is what I actually picked up the book in order to read in the first place. And boy did it not let me down. In fact, one of the most powerful book quotes I've read comes from this very idea in the book. I annotated it because it was so impactful and that's coming from someone who never annotates anything. 

"We Indians have lost everything. We lost our native land, we lost our languages, we lost our songs and dances. We lost each other. We only know how to lose and be lost."

So yeah, this book is full of powerful powerful quotes, including themes of wanting to leave a mark on the world, on wanting to be free of the limitations set on you by the outside world. By those in positions of power. This book really makes you think and reflect back on yourself and your life. It's such an important book and I'm really glad I picked it up. It didn't let me down.