The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Illustrated by Ellen Forney is Alexie's first foray into the world of young adult literature. It tells the story of Junior, an artistic, funny 14-year old boy growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation in Washington state. Junior was born with hydrocephalis, and has been the target of bullies for his entire life. When he decides to leave the reservation to attend high school in the all-white community 20 miles away (where the only other Indian is the school mascot,) he is seen as a traitor to his own people. This is a very witty, beautiful, and poignant coming-of-age story.I don't want to give away too much, but I just want to share one itty bitty favorite part. Junior is talking about his grandmother, whose greatest gift, he says, was tolerance. He goes on to explain how "in the old days, Indians used to be forgiving of any kind of eccentricity. In fact, weird people were often celebrated ... Gay people were often seen a magical too ... Gay people could do anything. They were like Swiss Army knives!"
I love love loved this book, and highly recommend it.
(Cross-posted at the Spring Reading Challenge)
3 comments:
My daughter just said she'd read this on GoodReads and gave it 5 stars, so I really appreciate your review of it. With you two recommending it, I'll have to read it. Thanks, Suzy.
Jan, it's a good one to pass on too, so you might want to buy it (as opposed to getting it from the library.)
From my experience on the Rosebud years ago, there is still a reverence for gay people on the reservation. It's more than forgiving. The gay person is seen as very special, mystical and important to the tribe, even if people don't quite "get it". So there's a strong respect. I'm looking forward to reading the book. I like the Swiss Army knife quote....Sherman Alexie is an excellent author, one of my favorites....
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