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

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian... Isn’t just the title alone intriguing? And so is Arnold Spirit Jr.’s  life. 

This is a story about Arnold. Arnold lives on an Indian reservation. He was born with brain damage and has a lisp and stutter. You could say he is on the awkward end of the scale, and he knows it. His best friend was Rowdy, who always protected him through everything. After having a conversation with one of his teachers, who said he needs to “get off the rez”, he decided that he needed to get off the reservation in search of ‘hope’. He transfers to Rearden High School the next day. This changes everything, not only is the reservation mad at him because they feel he betrayed them, but he doesn’t have any friends at his new school either; they are all white, and think that he, the Indian, is a complete freak. These things are hard on him, but there’s more. His father is an alcoholic, his sister (and best friend) ran away to get married, and his family is beyond poor. But worst of all, he lost his life-long best friend Rowdy. Rowdy hated him now. That hurt him the most, but it didn’t stop him. The story is about his adventures through high school; making friends with a nerd named Gordy, crushing on a beauty named Penelope, being on the basketball team, and losing the ones he loved the most. 

This story is in a modern-day town, mainly at a small high school and on the Spokane reservation, or as Arnold calls it, the “rez”. The environment on the rez is not always the most pleasant- most people drunk most of the time. Then whether or not drunk, there are always fights breaking out. The ‘big shots’ like to pick on the easier targets like Arnold, not making it a safe or comfortable place for him. At Rearden, though, it isn’t the physical fights he had to worry about, it was the verbal abuse. Name calling and straight up disrespect from students as well as teachers was what he had to deal with when he first transferred. 

I would give this book a 7 out of 10 if I were to rate it. It had an interesting story line, my interest wasn’t lost throughout it. That being said, it was hard for me to relate to.  I don’t know what any of his experiences are like- they haven’t been in my life. Also, it wasn’t completely my style of preferred books- it was a little... different. This book is an easy read though, you can get through it in just a weekend. It is also an interesting fiction story which adds to the ease of it; it’s probably at the reading level of middle schoolers. But throughout the book, there are some more mature items mentioned that might not be appropriate for middle schoolers. 

Arnold is pretty down on himself especially at the beginning of the story. First because of his awkwardness, for lack of better words. He just didn’t fit in with the rest of the teenagers. That, and he was raised in a community where everyone “knew” that whites were the successful ones, not Indians. Near zero Indians on his reservation went or were going to go to college, and the education they do get isn’t the best quality. This is why his history teacher told him that he needed to get away from the reservation; for that is the only way he will find hope. And he did. In my mind, this is the main purpose the author is conveying. Hope, even when you don’t think there is any. 

Throughout the book, there are illustrations relating to the story. This was the most interesting thing style wise in the book. Arnold loves drawing cartoons, it is how he makes his points and lets all his stress out. These illustrations included labeled pictures of people he was describing, quotes people would say, exaggerations of something in his story, cartoon strips of situations, and conversations between people. It made the story much more captivating and incorporated more humor into it. 

Not only did the pictures add amusement but the tone of the most book was humorous and somewhat flippant. But some times, though, it would be more serious and somber. I think it reflected the attitude of the Indians that was described in the book.  As Arnold said while referring to his dearest grandma’s funeral, “ When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing” (Alexie, pg. 166). 

Im not sure I would necessarily recommend this book to my close friends, but it was an interesting journey that Arnold took me on. While he went on these major adventures- ups and downs- he learned a lot. And most importantly, he gained hope. 

Source:
Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. Print.

Marley and Me

In the book Marley and Me, John Grogan tells the everyday adventures of having a mischievous dog. John and Jenny buy Marley when he was just a puppy, and fit him into their young lives. He takes them on all sorts of adventures. He is there when they need comfort or protection, he is terrified of the lightening becoming destructive at any storm, and even gets kicked out of obedience school. John takes you on the emotional roller coaster of his life throughout the story.

As the book is obviously about the Grogan’s dog Marley and the ways he is a ‘bad dog’, I think it is even more about the love one can have for a dog as well as how much a dog can love their owner. This story is about how a relationship can become so strong with a pet, and how big a part of your life they are. It being written in the point of view of John, the reader gets a sense of his close connection to his dog, and being a true story helps this even more. John and Jenny have troubles with Marley throughout the book. Everything from him eating and digesting Jenny’s gold necklace to getting dog beach closed. Yet they still learn to love him.

At the time of the book, not too long ago, Jenny and John were a young couple living in Florida. When Jenny couldn't even keep a plant alive, she worried she wouldn’t be able to take care of kids, either. John and her decide they need a dog, first. So as a young, newly married couple, they go pick out the perfect one for them. This is significant because as they are starting out their lives together, Marley does as well right there with them. He is there with them through everything as they go through the ups and downs of life. He not only get them through those times of life, but he was such a big part of their lives at that time making it memorable. He also helped the Grogan family get so much closer. Who knows how he did it, but as John says, “He joined us as we grappled with what every couple must eventually confront, the sometimes painful process of forging from two distinct pasts one shared future” (Grogan, 287).

Individuals of all ages would be able to enjoy this book. It has the ability to touch those of any age. It is possible to argue girls may a bigger audience of this book because of all the emotion. But anyone could enjoy it, especially those that are dog lovers. I, personally felt that I could relate to this because I have had two dogs. My main childhood dog died two years and 5 days ago. Although she wasn’t as reckless and destructive as Marley, there were times when I was frustrated because she wasn’t the perfect dog I sometimes wanted her to be. As John and Jenny, and I learned though, no matter what, you are going to love them because the good moments outweigh the bad by far. And no matter how much you want them out, you know you couldn’t live without them. Another lesson I think we both learned is that their precious lives are short, so we need to love them and enjoy them while we can. 

John Grogan is a writer, so it wasn’t unexpected for him to write a book. The reason behind the book may be to was simply tell a story. That alone would be enough, but I see more of a purpose than just to tell a story. It is the story about: family life, adapting to change, finding joys in unexpected challenges, unconditional love, and commitment. At times, keeping Marley in their lives was a major impediment and caused many problems for the whole family, especially when they started to have children. But they loved him anyway. Unconditionally. They gave him many chances and adapted to his needs and behaviors. They had to adapt when they got him, they had to adapt each time they had a child, and they had to adapt the 3 times that they moved. They promised him that they would love him and take care of him, and that’s exactly what they did. 

As was mentioned, John uses his firsthand life experience and first person point-of-view to make his purposes stronger. Since he was the one going through these adventures daily with Marley, he has credit to tell about them- he knows what he is talking about. Another interesting element he uses style wise is he makes it real. It is a real, imperfect life he is telling about, so it becomes more relatable. This is what makes its so heartwarming and genuine; the challenges and triumphs of everyday life. 

Tying into the style of the book, the tone is very...real as well. It is very matter of fact, and doesn’t try to hide the flaws throughout life, avoiding the flowery, fairy tale-ish feel. Throughout the book as Grogan tells about Marley’s behaviors, he comes off as frustrated, soon to have had enough of Marley. Being mad at Marley for how he ruined the day this time. At the same time as this, though, there is still this love for Marley no matter what he did; knowing that he wont let Marley down, because he has promised it; and never giving up on Marley. His reminiscing diction-of the good and bad- gave it much more emotion. 

John Grogan makes his story of his dog relatable as well as interesting. I enjoyed reading his story. On a scale of 1-10, I would give this book a 9. You get a good sense of imagery, he puts you in the story. It kept me interested because you never knew what would happen the next day. It made me smile, and it made me cry. But most of all, it helped me remember my childhood dog- my best friend.

Sources: 

Grogan, John. Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog. New York: Morrow, 2005. Print.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

At the beginning of Jeanette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle, she is in New York, having finally moved there with her sister, Lori, and landing an exceptional job. One day, she sees her homeless mother who was dumpster diving. She then looks back on her life, now realizing the harsh reality and how dysfunctional it really was.  Though her father was very intelligent man who had high hopes, he was really a drunken man who could never keep a job. That meant they had to move often, leaving Jeanette and her sibling's lives very inconsistent. They didn't attend school and were instead home schooled; the Walls-parents style. The behavior of her father, Rex, could be explained by the possibility of him being abused by his mother when he was younger, though it is no excuse. He also got very angry very easily, sometimes even enough to hurt his wife and even his kids. Because of his inability to keep a job, the family struggled financially. Sometimes, they wouldn't even had food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But like her dad, Jeannettes mom, Rosy Mary, was very merciless and free-spirited. Also, even though the Walls parents had very different was of acting and treating their family, they had some good values. For example, Jeannette once said about her mother, "She added that you should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies, 'Everyone has something good about them," she said. "You have to find the redeeming quality and love the person for that.'" (144). This shows that though her parents might come off as 'heartless', they have good ideas, maybe even intentions.

The book is in Jeanette's point of view, as the speaker. I think that the first-person perspective gives the book an effect of being even more realistic as well as even more sad terrifying. When she was younger and surrounded by all the chaos that happened in her life, she was completely naive. She had a sweet spirit and still saw the good in her parents, despite all the evil. She looked up to her father's hopes and dreams, because he dis sincerely want a better life for his family. Rex wanted to get a sufficient job, make money so he could build a glass house for the family- a glass castle. Jeannette was a very smart girl when she was younger, even though the only education she had was her homeschooling and that shows in the book how she reacted to certain situations and she thoughts about them. 

The occasion of the book is very non specific. It is a reflection on her childhood though, being written as an adult. Because of the inconsistency of her father's jobs, they are always on-the-go, going from place to place. As Jeannette recalls, "We were always doing the skedaddle, usually in the middle of the night. I sometimes I heard Mom and Dad discussing the people who were after us." (19). Sometimes they were in the city, sometimes in the desert, etc. Two specific places mentioned were Phoenix at their (abusive) Grandma's house, and Las Vegas. 

Personally, I thought that the appropriate audience for this book should be mature and older. It mentions some very emotionally heavy and sensitive things. At a high school level of maturity, it was manageable, but it is more-so directed to adults. 

One of the main purposes of this book in my eyes is hope. Jeanette always believed in the father, and hoped for a better life. Even though that never got achieved within her family life, she and her sister left and fulfilled that themselves. And she came to be very successful. She is also a good example to always see the best in situations and in people even if they seem only bad. 

I thought that style wise, it was interesting that she not only told her story from her own point of view, but as a flashback from when she saw her mom in New York. That, putting an interesting effect on the story, making you analyzing the stories and situations, not just reading them. The tone of this story gives a good sense of the sadness and fear of the situations. Also, knowing that it is realistic and it really happens in life, has a big affect of the reader. The way they think as well as they continue reading the book. 

Jeannette Walls wrote down her story very well. And it was one to be shared.  Overall as a reader, I would give this book an 8.5 out of 10. You never know what will happen next, because of the movement of the story. That's why the book The Glass Castle kept me interested and on my toes, wondering what will happen next. It was sad many times throughout the book, but there were times of happiness and it concluded with things falling into place- making it all worth it.


Source:
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. London: Virago, 2005. Print.