The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie

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Arnold "Junior" Spirit has always had it rough. Born with a nearly fatal brain condition that left him physically deformed, he has seizures, brain damage, and is nearsighted in one eye, while being farsighted in the other. Because he looks a little lopsided, he's also been picked on and beat up nearly every day of his life. His dad's a drunk, his sister hides in the basement, and his best friend, the only person who doesn't beat him up every day, is violent and angry all of the time.

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On top of all of that, Arnold is destined to be a nothing because he lives on a reservation where most of the members of the tribe die early deaths related to booze.

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He's going nowhere fast and he knows it.

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Until one day, after breaking his teacher's nose with the very geometry book his mother had used at least 30 years before, he's convinced that he can be something more.

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So, with his parents' encouragement, he decides to enroll in a white high school 22 miles outside the reservation. Getting there is difficult. Staying there is even more so. And finding acceptance in the tribe, where leaving the rez is tantamount to betraying your ancestry, is going to be the most difficult thing he's ever done.

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What do you do when you're a part-time Indian?