Book Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

 

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie

Since Banned Books Week is September 27 through October 3rd, our book club decided to read banned books this month. I started looking through lists, which are long and varied, and quickly found one I’ve been meaning to read for a while – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Warning: There are spoilers in the second half of this review, but I don’t believe they will take away from your enjoyment of the book. However, I will let you know when the spoilers are about to start.

I was under the mistaken belief that it was a biography, but quickly realized it was a novel. However, when I read the material at the end from the author, I found the book is largely based on his real experiences. Seems like it’s part-time fiction and part-time non-fiction.

As I was explaining to my husband the other night, just because something shows up in non-fiction, doesn’t mean it isn’t fictional literature. Good fiction also makes the reverse true as well, just because it is fiction doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole lot of truth in a book.

Arnold Spirit is the main character and he’s a goofy looking little guy, by his own statement, who was born with too much spinal fluid in his brain that had to be vacuumed out. He survived the surgery but did have some brain damage that created some anomalies in his body. Forty-two teeth is one anomaly that he claims was caused by this. One eye is near-sighted and one eye far-sighted, so he wears thick lop-sided glasses. He also had seizures regularly for the first few years of his life. Then there was the stutter and the lisp.

The author paints this picture in the first person with a huge dose of self-deprecating humor for Arnold. You can’t help but love this 14-year-old who is so funny right off the bat.

Then he sucker punches you with something sad, but often told in a matter-of-fact way. It’s an emotional roller coaster to be sure, but it’s Arnold’s life, and maybe was Sherman’s life? It gets a little confusing, so we’ll stick with Arnold.

Arnold draws cartoons which appear in the book. “I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats.”

Arnold lives on the reservation in Spokane. This is definitely a 14-year-old boy so imagine everything that goes with that is in this book. I imagine that may be why the book was banned in some places, but it isn’t gratuitous or overly specific, just mentioned.

Arnold also imagines what his parents would be if they had the same opportunities people off the reservation have. “Given the chance, my father would have been a musician.” His father is an alcoholic who goes on benders and disappears on the family, but he’s also there for a lot of important things and totally supports Arnold. Arnold appreciates him for everything he is able to do and doesn’t seem to hold against him what he isn’t able to be. It’s quite a forgiving and amazing dynamic. For example, his father, while on a bender, saves a five-dollar bill for Christmas, and Arnold knows how hard that must have been.

Then one of Arnold’s teachers tells him that in order to succeed he needs to leave the reservation. “Jeez, it was a lot of pressure to put on a kid. I was carrying the burden of my race, you know? I was going to get a bad back from it.” But he makes up his mind to go to Reardan, the rich, white farm town school that “sits in the wheat fields exactly twenty-two miles away from the rez.”

***Spoilers Below***

It isn’t easy, transportation isn’t reliable, and the people on the rez feel like he has abandoned them, but Arnold is smart and he makes it work. Life goes on, and there are many lessons to be found from it.

He goes up against Rowdy in basketball, which he is surprisingly good at. There’s a basketball game where he gets a concussion then one where he defeats his best friend Rowdy who is on the other team, and at the end of the game, when he should be celebrating, he looks at the defeated team from the rez and feels like shit because, that was all they had, and he had taken it from them with his rich white friends.

His sister runs away and gets married, then dies in a fire. His grandmother gets hit by a drunk and dies. His godfather Eugene is killed by his friend Bobby in a drunken fight over the last drink a bottle of wine. Then Bobby hangs himself with a bedsheet.

“I blamed myself for all of the deaths. I had cursed my family. I had left the tribe, and had broken something inside all of us, and I was now being punished for that. No, my family was being punished.”

Then he goes back to school and a teacher is incredibly rude to him, and the entire class gets up one by one and drops their book on the floor and walks out in protest.  “It all gave me hope. It gave me a little bit of joy.”

He starts making lists of things that give him joy.

Like I said, this is a roller coaster ride, and it was over way too fast. I highly recommend it.

This book is so sad, and so funny. Through it all, the teacher takes you inside the story and makes you feel it instead of just telling it to you which makes a great book.

“When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing.”

Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give 

by Angie Thomas

I first found this book when I was researching book trailers last year. The trailer was so compelling that I immediately jumped over to Goodreads and put it on my to read list. Sadly, I forgot about it and never picked it up, until now.

(Fan made book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuCNYnt--sA )

There is a trailer for a movie as well. I have not seen the movie, but the review of it sounded to me like there was quite a lot of divergence between the book and the movie. Honestly, if you’ve seen the movie, PLEASE give the book a chance. You’ll get so much more out of it, I’m willing to bet.

Recent events made me start looking for a book to read that would take me inside the perspective of a contemporary black woman. I saw this one and remembered how much I had wanted to read it.

The wonderful thing about fiction is the way it can take you inside someone else’s head and help you not only see what they see but feel what they feel. You can be inside their existence and experience a level of empathy that you may not be able to experience any other way. It makes the information and feelings more accessible. 

Starr is a high school girl at a party where she doesn’t feel comfortable. She comes across an old friend, Khalil.

“I feel like I’m ten again, standing in the basement of Christ Temple Church, having my first kiss with him at Vacation Bible School.”

They are just chatting and catching up when a fight breaks out and a gun is fired. They don’t stop to find out what is going on, they run with everyone else.

“I don’t try to see who got shot or who did it. You can’t snitch if you don’t know anything.”

They escape, and are headed home, listening to some music, when they get pulled over by the police. Khalil is annoyed and Starr is scared. He tries to reassure her that it’s going to be alright, but when he opens the car door to check on Starr, the cop shoots him. (The cop later claims he thought the hairbrush in the pocket of the door was a gun.) Starr watches Khalil die. Then the cop holds the gun on her until back up arrives.

Her parents come and get her. She is sick and numb.

“I’m lying in bed. Khalil is lying in the county morgue. That’s where Natasha ended up too. It happened six years ago, but I still remember everything from that day.”

Starr had watched another friend die. Natasha was killed in a drive by shooting by a gang member as the two of them played in the water from a fire hydrant on a hot day. The three of them had been friends. “Tighter than the inside of Voldemort’s nose.”

“I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice, making sure the world knew what went down. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.”

At first they try to keep it quiet that Starr is the witness, she doesn’t even tell her friends at school, but as situations and events pile up, she steps forward.

We see the warmth of a close-knit family, and the traditions echoed in communities everywhere, taking food to the home of the bereaved grandmother after she loses her beloved grandson.

“Cameron holds his grandma’s hand as he leads her into the living room like she’s the queen of the world in a housecoat. She looks thinner, but strong for somebody going through chemo and all of this. A scarf wrapped around her head adds to her majesty – an African queen, and we’re blessed to be in her presence. The rest of us stand.”

I love the way we get to know all different types of people in the book who are multi-dimensional. There’s Starr’s older brother, Seven, and her younger brother Sekani. Her father, Big Mav, and her mother, Lisa. There’s a list of characters too big to name in a little book review, it’s a whole neighborhood and then some, but it never gets unmanageable. Sometimes it gets confusing when authors introduce too many people, but not here. Thomas introduces them one by one into the action with situations and characteristics that make them stand on their own like real people.

There are so many facets to the story, I couldn’t possibly cover them all here, but she tackles it all beautifully. Starr’s uncle, Carlos, is a cop himself. Starr is dating a white boy from her school named Chris, and they care very much about each other. Music is a major strand, the dating life of teens, social interactions, being one of the few black kids in a mostly white school her mother enrolled her in, and PTSD. The fear that Starr lived with that something bad could happen when they were stopped by a cop. The guilt Starr feels for living and for not speaking up right away. Thomas clearly depicts how Starr gets to the point where she wants to riot, but also sees the damage that the rioting does to her neighbors and neighborhood.

The gang activity in the community is a large part of the story, as the head of one gang is married to Seven’s mother. The story is never simple, and yet it is clearly told and easy to follow. We see the good and the bad in the neighborhood. How belonging to gangs can provide for people even as it contributes to the decay. The way the gangs are part of the community, like it or not. Starr’s father is the former head of a gang and went to jail for three years to get out of the gang. Thomas touches on the system of drugs, addiction, selling, jails, and poverty.

It is a very rich story that brings these characters beautifully to life. You half expect you could start driving and eventually pull up in front of their house.

I don’t think I have a single negative to give about this book. It is wonderful – insightful, accessible, and expressive. I want everyone to read it. If I could give it more than five stars I would. 

It is another solid example of why I say that some of the best authors out there are writing young adult literature and everyone should read some.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein

Wow.  I just finished Code Name Verity and I feel on the verge of crying again.  I feel wrung out, like I just lived part of this with them.

I did not cry through most of the book, until I got to the scene where the Frenchwoman treats one girl so kindly, and then again when the author is describing how the children saw a classmate being guillotined to death. It wasn't the fact of it, it was how she brought the reality home in a way that was easy to relate to.

“...what if it had been my old friend Beryl? Or Beryl's sister? Because that's what it's like, schoolmates being guillotined as spies. I didn't understand before – really didn't understand. Being a kid and worrying that a bomb might kill you is terrible. But being a kid and worrying that the police might cut your head off is something else entirely. I haven't words for it. Every fresh broken horror is something that I just didn't understand until I came here.”

Fresh broken horror. Yes, there are horrific things about this book, but they really happened to someone during that war. They are made fresh and immediate in the first person voice and that voice rings true. The first two- thirds of the book is told by one person and the last third is told by another.

It’s hard to know what to say about a book like this.  I don't want to give much away because I don't want to rob anyone of the experience that they would have in reading it, but I must tell you something to let you know how good it was.

It begins with Verity in a Gestapo prison, during World War II, having been caught as a spy.  She has been tortured and has agreed to give them information in exchange for her written confession and knowledge.  She is giving them the sets of wireless codes and you will have no idea what that means until you are three-quarters of the way through the book, but it’s important, so keep reading. 

This is a spy novel, remember that.  People are never who they seem.

Verity is very flippant at times, gallows humor.  “(About the paraffin, kerosene, whatever it is.  I do not really believe you have a liter of kerosene to waste on me.  Or do you get it on the black market?  How do you claim the expense?  1 lt. highly explosive fuel for execution of British spy.  Anyway, I will do my best to spare you the expense.)”

There's so much detail that brings the story to life, even ones that have been smudged. Everything was plausible, and it was clear the author did a great deal of research and that she loved her subject. It was fantastic, truly.

There are things that some reviewers said they just didn’t buy but when they elucidate, I hear them saying that it didn’t fit into their stereotypical view of what a Nazi was or how they acted, such as Von Linden letting Verity write out all this information.  If you accept that people are individuals, who were drawn into the Nazi war machine, then it begins to make much more sense.

The person who performed this book on CD (read just isn't strong enough a word) was exceptional. Even now, as I go back to read a passage or two at the beginning, I can hear Verity’s Scottish accent, light at times and stronger when she’s angry.

As a writer I felt I learned something about the craft in this book. How clearly the voice of the character, not the writer, comes through. That is what to strive for.

I don’t think I can recommend this book strongly enough.  Every book is not for every reader but this one was definitely for me.  I hope it is for you too.

Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio

Icy Sparks
by Gwyn Hyman Rubio

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. This covers a wide range of disabilities and our library is working with the ARC of Steuben County to bring information on these issues to light. That immediately brought the novel, Icy Sparks, by Gwyn Hyman Rubio to mind for me.

I picked up Icy Sparks years ago when I was substitute teaching and needed something to read while a class took a test. I found it fascinating. Icy Sparks details the onset of Tourette’s Syndrome for young Icy. Growing up during the 1950’s in rural Kentucky, Icy’s condition is inexplicable to most people. Her loving grandparents, who are raising her, are at a loss as to what to do. As the symptoms become more and more pronounced, she ends up being sent to a state asylum where her grandparents hope they will be able to make her better. They aren’t able to cure her but in the end they do give her some ways to cope a little better. Back at home, life goes on. They still don’t really know what to do with her. Growing up is never easy for a teen and it’s no different for Icy. First love, losing her grandfather, finding her place in the world - Icy does it all in her own style.

After reading through many reviews on Amazon.com, I found the reviews weighted towards five stars, but spread throughout the five star system. I find this often happens with a book which challenges your thinking. Reviews from people who have Tourette’s Syndrome, or live with someone who has it, differ widely on whether they thought the author was realistic in her portrayal. I suspect this is because Tourette’s Syndrome has many different symptoms and levels of severity. It would be impossible to say what the “typical” manifestation is.

Much of the dissatisfaction with the book voiced by reviewers came from the ending, feeling the religious angle was too blatant and the ending too abrupt. I had the feeling that the reviewers wanted a happy ending where she was fixed but, from the reading I’ve done, Tourette’s Syndrome isn’t like that. It may get a bit better as people age and they learn to cope, but it simply is. It doesn’t make you sick and it generally isn't curable. You simply learn to get on with life. In the end, Icy learns what her condition is, to cope with it and not let it define her. To my mind, it was a very affirming ending.

We all have different abilities and challenges in life. This author took on a challenging topic and created a fascinating character learning to deal with something that is outside the scope of most people's experience. Icy Sparks is at once different, unique, and also like every other teenage girl growing up. I think that makes it a perfect novel for people who want to experience something outside their own limited life experience.

I am the Messenger ~ Markus Zusak

I am the Messenger
by Markus Zusak

I have a confession… I enjoy Young Adult Literature.  I don’t think people should eschew books simply because they are “labeled” for a younger reading group.  There are beautiful picture books, incredibly funny books for middle graders and amazing books written for young adults.  YA writers are often willing to take risks, present harsh realities and ask hard questions about life.  I have always found that YA writers create some of the most engaging and intricate stories but more people are starting to catch on.  J.K. Rowling’s success with Harry Potter was followed by Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series and now The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collin’s.  This is not everyone’s cup of tea, and they are not representative of all that YA Literature has to offer.  YA books cover the gamut but many are quick, engaging reads that hook the reader immediately.  They can be fluffy light reads or intense reads dealing with harsh social issues.  I am the Messenger has both the humor and the harsh issues.

Meet Ed Kennedy.  He’s a nineteen year old taxi driver.  He lives in a shack with a seventeen year old dog named Doorman who has a rarified stink.  He plays cards with his friends Ritchie, Marv and Audrey regularly.  He loves, and lusts after, his friend Audrey.  He also just managed to catch a bank robber, without really meaning to.  It just sort of happened.  After the robbery, he receives an Ace of Diamonds in the mail.  It has three addresses and three times on it.  It takes some time to work up the courage, but finally he goes to the first address.  This isn’t an easy case he’s facing.  It is hard, harsh reality and he has to figure out how to help.  He steps back and walks away, scared.  He’ll be back.  The second address offers something completely different, a lonely old lady who seems very kind.  The third one is a fifteen year old shy girl who likes to run.  It’s all a bit of a mystery.  Ed will help them though and, when he’s done, there will be another card.  

To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure whether this was a Young Adult title that appeals to adults or an Adult title with appeal for Young Adults.  What I can tell you, is that it’s a fascinating story which received the American Library Association’s Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.  Part of the appeal to me is that Markus Zusak is an Australian author and I think you get a bit of a unique flavor there.  Writers from different countries tend to have a slightly different way of looking at things.  I have compared the humor in American sitcoms to Canadian sitcoms to British sitcoms and it is a little bit different for each.  I suspect the author would be a talented writer whatever country he came from.  It’s not that he’s writing about Australia, but maybe the landscape, the nature of the air, somehow changes how the words sound.

My verdict is simple, I really like this book and many other people have too.  Give it a try.