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

"Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community" (p. 132)

Although I may not classify this book under the Getting the Laughs category, I really enjoyed this book – my favourite to date from the class readings. I found Junior, the main character, very relatable in many ways. Sherman Alexie is able to fully develop a character yet give him a universal feeling that allows the reader to easily relate to him. This is a rare skill that he has mastered in this book.

Junior is faced with an unimaginable amount of sadness and pain in his young life, and yet he strives to achieve more than has ever been expected from him. He uses his love of drawing as an outlet for his emotions as they allow him to express himself without consequence. Throughout the book, Junior is able to use humour and these cartoons as a way to deal with his problems. At the same time, the author uses it as a way to decrease the severity of the problems that are brought up in the storyline.

"When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing." (page 166)

Along the way Junior struggles to find himself as well as prove that he is a smart and capable person – is trying to prove this to his family, his community, his friends, or himself?

I could completely relate with many of the emotions that Junior expressed – especially the part where he blames himself when people die and finds it completely reasonable. Whenever I have surgery, someone I love dearly dies. Yes, this also seems strange, but it allowed me to really understand what Junior was feeling. Also, I have that “best friend” like Junior and Rowdy. Well, kind of. She hasn’t given me a concussion or anything (yet), but we have left the local hockey games with bruises. The bond that Junior describes with Rowdy is very important throughout the book but it also is another way in which the reader can relate with the character.  

Finally, my favourite part in the whole book is toward the end where Junior realizes that he does not have to fit in ONE label. He lists all of the different tribes to which he belongs. He describes that he was a Spokane Indian, and the tribe of cartoonists, and the tribe of small-town kids, and the tribe of tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers, and the tribe of poverty, and the tribe of boys who really missed their best friends... (page 217). I love this. 

Although this book is targeted for young adults, I really think that it is the type of book that can be read by different generations. In several classes this term we have discussed the idea of having programs with kids and parents (or parental-like figure) and this would definitely be a great book for such a program.