Arts & Entertainment

Review: Alexie's 'Diary' of a nerdy Indian

Monday, September 24, 2007

"If you've seen the film "Smoke Signals," if you've read some of Sherman Alexie's short stories, and especially if you've dipped into anything about Alexie's life, you'll recognize Junior a k a Arnold Spirit, the endearing, nerdy Spokane Indian with big goofy glasses who's the hero of Alexie's foray into Young Adult territory. That's not a bad thing. The little guy born with water on his brain (just like the author) deserves as broad an audience as he can get, especially in his present incarnation.

Why? Well he's a hoot. Arnold's laugh-until-you-cry adventures of getting off the Washington state rez to pursue a better education in a white school in a white town -- while making enemies of just about everyone left behind -- will prompt root-for-the-underdog cheers. His warm and wry portraits of the people around him are also just wickedly cool. You gotta love a grandmother who sells beaded keychains on eBay, calling her work "Highly Sacred Aboriginal Transportation Charms" and advises Junior about his tussle with the alpha male at his new school thus:

"He was bullying me."

"You should have just walked away."

"He called me 'chief.' And 'squaw boy.' "

"Then you should have kicked him in the balls."

Rendering the book much more than a humorous romp though, are the heart-stopping alcohol-fueled tragedies that sneak up on Arnold (and the reader) when least expected. Referencing Tolstoy's maxim about unhappy families, Arnold writes, "Well, I hate to argue with a Russian genius, but Tolstoy didn't know Indians. And he didn't know that all Indian families are unhappy for the same exact reasons: the fricking booze.""

Get the Story:
Review: A year in the life of a nerdy American Indian (The Chicago Sun-Times 9/23)