Banned book review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

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

This National Book Award win­ner was pub­lished in 2007 and has been mak­ing waves ever since. It has been banned for a longish list of rea­sons, includ­ing pro­fan­i­ty, bul­ly­ing, and sex­u­al innuendo. 

The impact of this book for good can­not be mea­sured, because like every oth­er clas­sic for chil­dren and ado­les­cents, the results it bears will not be eas­i­ly evi­dent.  It can take years for young folks inspired by lit­er­a­ture to reach matu­ri­ty and make a vis­i­ble impact, but the seeds are plant­ed by books like this one.

Protagonist Junior uses humor to describe some tru­ly dire sit­u­a­tions.  He is a teen res­i­dent of an Indian reser­va­tion who attends a white high school.  He receives bul­ly­ing and big­otry at both ends, from whites, and from oth­er Native Americans.

The book takes on racism, alco­holism, vio­lence, abuse, depres­sion, and more; yet the author was care­ful to include sparks of humor.  Perhaps Sherman Alexie per­ceived that read­ers could digest and absorb urgent needs more eas­i­ly when laugh­ter occa­sion­al­ly broke up the ten­sion. The plight of the poor is indeed acute, but the plight of the Native American poor is so much worse. 

The book’s impres­sive list of hon­ors and awards include:

• 2008 American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults. 
• 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Fiction and Poetry. 
• 2009 Odyssey Award as the year’s “best audio­book for chil­dren or young adults,” read by Alexie
• National Book Award
• Boston Globe Horn Book Award

I high­ly rec­om­mend this book for ado­les­cent and adult read­ers, espe­cial­ly those who feel the need to under­stand Native Americans, their his­to­ry, and the cur­rent sta­tus of their nations, with­in our nation.

A per­fect non­fic­tion con­cur­rent read would be An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.  This young adult book is eye-open­ing, and in my own case, life changing. 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is avail­able at the Clark County Public Library in book and dig­i­tal form. It can be pur­chased at most book­stores or online from Bookshop.org, a con­ve­nient way to buy books and sup­port inde­pen­dent booksellers.