Post by Charlynn on Dec 2, 2010 18:38:34 GMT -5
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
This is not a genre I'm very familiar with. When I select a book to read, I pick it because of its summary, because a friend recommended it to me, because I've heard of or already liked the author. I don't consciously try to find books that feature prominent characters of another race, and, looking back on all the books I have read over the years, this has translated into me reading very few books that represent other cultures. So, when I realized last weekend how late in the semester it was and that I still had to read a book for several different genres - the ones I personally don't prefer, I had no idea what to pick up for a multi-cultural book. I ended up turning to the internet and researching for novels that fit this genre, novels that either sounded appealing or were well reviewed. This book, the book I ended up picking - The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian - fit the latter. Plus, according to online reviews, it was also a book that would work as my humor selection, too.
First, this book is an amazingly fast read, partly because of all the artwork but mainly, I thought, because of the conversational aspect of its writing. Though I read the novel rather than listening to it like Jessica did, at times it felt like someone was just telling me their story. Needless to say, I was very impressed by this aspect, because, sometimes, a tale's flow can be one of the most challenging aspects of creative writing.
Secondly, despite the fact that this book is supposed to be comedic, I really didn't find it that funny. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is the tale of a fourteen year old Spokane Indian who grew up on a reservation with his alcoholic father (and their many alcoholic friends and family members), his over-protective, clingy, yet highly intelligent mother, his smart, introverted, older sister, and his insightful grandmother. Born with 'water on the brain,' Arnold - also called Junior - had many health issues, not a lot of friends, and too many bruises from being beat up to count. One day, after he throws an extremely outdated book at his teacher, it's suggested to him that he take his intelligent self and get out of the reservation before it kills him. So, taking the advice to heart, Arnold enrolls in the local all-white school twenty-two miles away. This decision, though it's only meant to help Arnold better himself, causes great animosity, and he becomes even more alienated from his tribe. His best friend pretty much abandons him (and, later, turns violent against him), his sister runs off and gets married, and Arnold becomes torn between his new life and friends and his old loyalties. And that's all before his loved ones start dropping like flies.
While reviewers said this book was comedic, I disagree or, at least, think that the humor was just there to soften all the heartache. Yes, Arnold finds ways to laugh through some of the most painful moments of his young life - his grandmother's death, his father's best friend's death, his sister's death, and all the ostracism he faces just for being different, but, for me, the humor is just there to lighten a very heavy load. It's a compliment to the drama, not the focus. Perhaps I'm missing something, though. Perhaps this book is funnier than I personally thought. After all, the narrator is a fourteen year old boy, and I certainly am not. I don't find fart jokes funny. I don't think masturbation is humorous. And I don't enjoy pooping commentary. Arnold did, though. So, maybe, if read by a teenage boy, this book would be a comedy, but, for me, it was more about the serious rather than the hilarious.
With that said, though, I oftentimes find myself torn as to when to consider a book one of humor. Most of the time, whether a book has funny moments or not, there is more to it than that. Despite the fact that I have read hundreds and hundreds of books over the years, including story after unpublished story online, I rarely term a tale a comedy... even when others might. So, this was a difficult genre for me. Even when I read works that I thought might be humorous, I often considered them toa better fit somewhere else... just like I did with this book. However, I needed to comment on this thread, so I allowed others to pick the book for me (by reading what reviewers listed as comedy books) and decided to just share my opinion about the challenges of this genre with my book response.
With that said, though, I did find it to be extremely profound. I adored the fact that Sherman Alexie did not try to erode the idea of races, that he maintained them and their importance but shifted their focus, portraying races as characteristics, likes and dislikes, rather than the color of one's skin or one's religion, because, in today's day and age, when we think about the people who we are most alike, the people we relate to, the people we identify with, at least for me, it's the people who I have things in common with, and I can tell you right here and right now that those individuals are not necessarily my family members. Just as Arnold "belonged to the tribe of American immigrants. And to the tribe of basketball players. And to the tribe of bookworms. And the tribe of cartoonists. And the tribe of chronic masturbators. And the tribe of teenage boys. And the tribe of small-town kids. And the tribe of Pacific Northwesterners. And the tribe of tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers. And the tribe of poverty. And the tribe of funeral-goers. And the tribe of beloved sons. And the tribe of boys who really missed their best friends," I, too, belong to many different tribes. I belong to the tribe of graduate students. I belong to the tribe twenty-something year olds still seeking a career. I belong to the tribe of writers. To the tribe of television junkies. To the tribe of Ben and Jerry's worshipers. To the tribe of women who still like to wear dresses. To the tribe of Welsh Corgi lovers. To the tribe of older sisters. And, like Arnold, I belong to the tribe of bookworms, too.
Though The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian isn't a book I would normally read, and though I'm not going to go out and buy all of Sherman Alexie's other works, I am glad that I read this novel.
This is not a genre I'm very familiar with. When I select a book to read, I pick it because of its summary, because a friend recommended it to me, because I've heard of or already liked the author. I don't consciously try to find books that feature prominent characters of another race, and, looking back on all the books I have read over the years, this has translated into me reading very few books that represent other cultures. So, when I realized last weekend how late in the semester it was and that I still had to read a book for several different genres - the ones I personally don't prefer, I had no idea what to pick up for a multi-cultural book. I ended up turning to the internet and researching for novels that fit this genre, novels that either sounded appealing or were well reviewed. This book, the book I ended up picking - The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian - fit the latter. Plus, according to online reviews, it was also a book that would work as my humor selection, too.
First, this book is an amazingly fast read, partly because of all the artwork but mainly, I thought, because of the conversational aspect of its writing. Though I read the novel rather than listening to it like Jessica did, at times it felt like someone was just telling me their story. Needless to say, I was very impressed by this aspect, because, sometimes, a tale's flow can be one of the most challenging aspects of creative writing.
Secondly, despite the fact that this book is supposed to be comedic, I really didn't find it that funny. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is the tale of a fourteen year old Spokane Indian who grew up on a reservation with his alcoholic father (and their many alcoholic friends and family members), his over-protective, clingy, yet highly intelligent mother, his smart, introverted, older sister, and his insightful grandmother. Born with 'water on the brain,' Arnold - also called Junior - had many health issues, not a lot of friends, and too many bruises from being beat up to count. One day, after he throws an extremely outdated book at his teacher, it's suggested to him that he take his intelligent self and get out of the reservation before it kills him. So, taking the advice to heart, Arnold enrolls in the local all-white school twenty-two miles away. This decision, though it's only meant to help Arnold better himself, causes great animosity, and he becomes even more alienated from his tribe. His best friend pretty much abandons him (and, later, turns violent against him), his sister runs off and gets married, and Arnold becomes torn between his new life and friends and his old loyalties. And that's all before his loved ones start dropping like flies.
While reviewers said this book was comedic, I disagree or, at least, think that the humor was just there to soften all the heartache. Yes, Arnold finds ways to laugh through some of the most painful moments of his young life - his grandmother's death, his father's best friend's death, his sister's death, and all the ostracism he faces just for being different, but, for me, the humor is just there to lighten a very heavy load. It's a compliment to the drama, not the focus. Perhaps I'm missing something, though. Perhaps this book is funnier than I personally thought. After all, the narrator is a fourteen year old boy, and I certainly am not. I don't find fart jokes funny. I don't think masturbation is humorous. And I don't enjoy pooping commentary. Arnold did, though. So, maybe, if read by a teenage boy, this book would be a comedy, but, for me, it was more about the serious rather than the hilarious.
With that said, though, I oftentimes find myself torn as to when to consider a book one of humor. Most of the time, whether a book has funny moments or not, there is more to it than that. Despite the fact that I have read hundreds and hundreds of books over the years, including story after unpublished story online, I rarely term a tale a comedy... even when others might. So, this was a difficult genre for me. Even when I read works that I thought might be humorous, I often considered them toa better fit somewhere else... just like I did with this book. However, I needed to comment on this thread, so I allowed others to pick the book for me (by reading what reviewers listed as comedy books) and decided to just share my opinion about the challenges of this genre with my book response.
With that said, though, I did find it to be extremely profound. I adored the fact that Sherman Alexie did not try to erode the idea of races, that he maintained them and their importance but shifted their focus, portraying races as characteristics, likes and dislikes, rather than the color of one's skin or one's religion, because, in today's day and age, when we think about the people who we are most alike, the people we relate to, the people we identify with, at least for me, it's the people who I have things in common with, and I can tell you right here and right now that those individuals are not necessarily my family members. Just as Arnold "belonged to the tribe of American immigrants. And to the tribe of basketball players. And to the tribe of bookworms. And the tribe of cartoonists. And the tribe of chronic masturbators. And the tribe of teenage boys. And the tribe of small-town kids. And the tribe of Pacific Northwesterners. And the tribe of tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers. And the tribe of poverty. And the tribe of funeral-goers. And the tribe of beloved sons. And the tribe of boys who really missed their best friends," I, too, belong to many different tribes. I belong to the tribe of graduate students. I belong to the tribe twenty-something year olds still seeking a career. I belong to the tribe of writers. To the tribe of television junkies. To the tribe of Ben and Jerry's worshipers. To the tribe of women who still like to wear dresses. To the tribe of Welsh Corgi lovers. To the tribe of older sisters. And, like Arnold, I belong to the tribe of bookworms, too.
Though The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian isn't a book I would normally read, and though I'm not going to go out and buy all of Sherman Alexie's other works, I am glad that I read this novel.