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frazzle 's review for:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie
Fun to read a young adult book. It required a different kind of attention than the adult 'literary' fiction I'm used to. Took me a while to read it on its own terms, but once I did I was charmed.
A story about an American Indian boy who wrestles with feelings of betrayal, guilt, and confused identity when he leaves his tribe's reservation to pursue a better education in a 'white' school.
The book wrestled with some pretty gnarly themes, not least the issues faced by indigenous peoples. It was refreshing to read something that tackled these head on, at the risk of treading on toes. Teenagers have finely tuned BS detectors so this frankness was essential for the book's success.
Pitching humour for YA readers must be like playing darts with the lights off. I think on the whole Alexie pulled it off with a few grating exceptions.
I also loved the way the drawings were not just plonked into the text as an extra but formed a living part of the whole, being used instead of text sometimes. I think adult fiction should be less snobby about including illustrations.
I'm told this book features on US high school curricula, which is a cool thing. It's neat to overhear part of the formation of a generation of young minds.
A story about an American Indian boy who wrestles with feelings of betrayal, guilt, and confused identity when he leaves his tribe's reservation to pursue a better education in a 'white' school.
The book wrestled with some pretty gnarly themes, not least the issues faced by indigenous peoples. It was refreshing to read something that tackled these head on, at the risk of treading on toes. Teenagers have finely tuned BS detectors so this frankness was essential for the book's success.
Pitching humour for YA readers must be like playing darts with the lights off. I think on the whole Alexie pulled it off with a few grating exceptions.
I also loved the way the drawings were not just plonked into the text as an extra but formed a living part of the whole, being used instead of text sometimes. I think adult fiction should be less snobby about including illustrations.
I'm told this book features on US high school curricula, which is a cool thing. It's neat to overhear part of the formation of a generation of young minds.