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

Last night while looking for a new read, I really only meant to read a few pages of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, but I was sucked in from the very first sentence. Within three pages, Arnold Spirit had my complete empathy, and he never once lost it. A lot of what he writes about I grew up with too, only under slightly different circumstance. But the similarities were there enough that I knew what he was going through, and why he was feeling the way he did.

After starting his first year of high school on the rez, Arnold discovers he’s been given the same geometry book given to his mother thirty years ago. His anger about that leads leads to him being suspended, and one of his white teachers comes to his home to tell him he’s absolutely right to be mad, that it means he’s one of the few Indians with any hope left in himself. This teacher advises Arnold to leave and go where he can find hope, and when Arnold asks his parents where the most hope is, they answer, “with white people.” Thus, Arnold decides he wants to go to Reardan, a white farming community school twenty-two miles away. Which instantly makes him a traitor to his people, and to his only friend, Rowdy. Even knowing what he’s losing to take this journey toward self-discovery, Arnold makes this sacrifice, and his bravery is what made him so endearing to me right from the start.

I’ve had some problems with certain books that made small town schools out to be exactly like inner city schools, but this book doesn’t do that. It feels exactly like the small town schools I went to, and that’s another huge point in this book’s favor. Every encounter Arnold has with these redneck white kids reminds me of something from a small school. It feels truly authentic in a way that few stories have, even stories that I enjoyed.

Arnold ends up joining the basketball team, but believes he isn’t good enough to play. All his life on the rez, he was bullied and made to feel like the lowest of the low. So it surprises him that he not only makes the team, but that his teammates and coach build him up and cheer him on to be better. For once, Arnold has something to be proud of, and at the same time, years of bullied conditioning make him feel guilty for daring to have a little confidence. God, I know exactly how that feels.

Throughout the book, there’s this crazy roller coaster of emotions. A chapter that’s really funny will lead to another that’s sad, or to one that makes me angry. And not angry at the writing or the character. Angry at the world, because I can truly believe this kind of story happening somewhere to a real kid. A lot of it happened to me. I can totally relate to Arnold and his story.

There’s several deaths on and off the rez that shake up Arnold, and despite these tragedies, he continues to go to school. He plays basketball up into the finals, and he graduates and comes to terms with his best friend. The book ends there, but I really wanted to follow Arnold through every year of high school, and even to his years in college, wherever he chose to go. His is a story I know well, and yet, it’s all new and unfamiliar, and I want it to keep going.

I don’t have any complaints about this book. I loved everything about it. Every line is perfect, and every scene hits with its own special kind of emotional impact. I felt just about every possible emotion reading this, and I’m in awe of how good the book is. When I gushed to hubby this morning about it, I almost started crying talking about the ending. Yes, damn it, it’s that good.

So I give The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 5 stars, and I think everyone should read it. Everyone. If you don’t want to read this because “it’s anti-Christian” you’re just making up excuses. There’s nothing against Christians in this book. You might want to avoid this if you’re a racist, but I’d advise you to read it anyway in the hopes that you might learn something about yourself in the process. If you don’t want to read it because Arnold talks about masturbation, you’re in denial about being a teenager. Because I tell you truthfully, when I was Arnold’s age, I could have competed with him for the gold medal of the Masturbation Olympics. Aside from some great jokes about solo love, there’s no sex in this book, and only a little romance on the side. There’s nothing in this book that’s offensive, and if you don’t read it, you’re just cheating yourself out of an amazing experience. GO READ THIS BOOK. NOW. Please.

And now I’ll shut up, because any further gushing would spoil the story.