Le premier qui pleure a perdu (2007)

Arnold Spirit was born with hydrocephalus, which has made his head more prominent than usual. He is a member of the “black eye of the month club” because he is beaten up frequently. He lives on the Spokane reservation as a member of the Native American tribe. His parents are both alcoholics, and he lives in poverty. His family is like many other families on the reservation, where this is common. The high school on the reservation is underfunded, causing Arnold to decide to transfer to a nearby town’s school instead. That is, this school is in a majority-white farming town. He is suddenly the only Native American student in school. Arnold writes about his struggles to survive in a comedic way. Because the characters are in high school, this would be best for high school readers who are able to comprehend the content.

My quest to only read banned books this year continues. While I understand that the references to masturbation and some terminology are a bit inappropriate for some audiences, they are also great ways to have discussions about word choice and appropriateness. Stop banning books.
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Writing a review of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie today presents a moral dilemma that would not have been the case just a couple of years ago. There is the book: excellent, well-written, funny, sad, poignant and absolutely authentic both as a book about a young man coming of age and about the experience of being an Indian (the term HE uses) in America.
And, then, there is the man, the author: a married man accused by as many as ten women of sexual harassment and who used his notoriety, some of it based upon this book, to win or attempt to win sexual favors. A particularly reprehensible behavior from someone who knew what it was to be victimized by others with more standing and social currency.
I am a man myself yet I still wonder why so many men are willing to sacrifice so much, including family and happy marriage, based upon thinking done below their belts, yet it is not just that. The wrong does not just arise out of sexual desire, it rises out of being in a society that has so little respect for the dignity and worth of other people. In fact, it exactly the kind of disrespect Alexie himself portrays in this book. Perhaps he should re-read it.
Years ago, when I was in college, I remarked in one of my graduate classes that it was good that we knew so little about Shakespeare because it compelled us to evaluate his work solely on the quality of the work. It is only now, with this author, that I feel the full force of what I was saying.
I wish I didn't know about Alexie's reprehensible conduct. I feel compromised by it and left incapable of issuing an honest yet responsible review of his books.
In the end, I cannot justify in any shape or form his conduct. On the other hand, I think we too often judge the whole of a person based upon their greatest foibles and misconducts.
I leave my 5 star rating based upon the book alone. I offer my comments and moral judgment based upon what I've only now heard Alexie himself admit in an interview. And I award him a negative 5 stars for so horrifically betraying the very essence of the moral theme of the book. ( )

Junior was encouraged by his teacher, Mr.P, to go to school off the reservation, in order to find a more hopeful learning environment. He follows this advise, and this book is an account of his experiences as a Native American attending a mostly white school. He experiences exclusion, and friendship, and everything in between. The books title gives way to part of the theme of this book which is how his experience at the white school making him feel like a "part-time Indian." Junior is a full-blown adolescent, and the author does not shy away from mentioning topics of a sexual nature, nor does he shy away from using language that describe, and reflect the life, and goings-on of an adolescent. I think that this book was wonderfully realistic, and would be incredibly helpful for bringing to light, and using humor for discussing and addressing what could feel like very touchy, or even embarrassing topics that all adolescents go through. This book also covers many issues that are common on the reservation, and could help to provide a connection, and validation for students who are living through, and living in, similar issues, and environments. ( )

Hilarious and heartbreaking, all at the same time. ( )