Starred Review. Grade 7–10—Exploring Indian identity, both self and tribal, Alexie's first young adult novel is a semiautobiographical chronicle of Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, a Spokane Indian from Wellpinit, WA. The bright 14-year-old was born with water on the brain, is regularly the target of bullies, and loves to draw. He says, "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats." He expects disaster when he transfers from the reservation school to the rich, white school in Reardan, but soon finds himself making friends with both geeky and popular students and starting on the basketball team. Meeting his old classmates on the court, Junior grapples with questions about what constitutes one's community, identity, and tribe. The daily struggles of reservation life and the tragic deaths of the protagonist's grandmother, dog, and older sister would be all but unbearable without the humor and resilience of spirit with which Junior faces the world. The many characters, on and off the rez, with whom he has dealings are portrayed with compassion and verve, particularly the adults in his extended family. Forney's simple pencil cartoons fit perfectly within the story and reflect the burgeoning artist within Junior. Reluctant readers can even skim the pictures and construct their own story based exclusively on Forney's illustrations. The teen's determination to both improve himself and overcome poverty, despite the handicaps of birth, circumstances, and race, delivers a positive message in a low-key manner. Alexie's tale of self-discovery is a first purchase for all libraries.—Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Arnold Spirit, a goofy-looking dork with a decent jumpshot, spends his time lamenting life on the "poor-ass" Spokane Indian reservation, drawing cartoons (which accompany, and often provide more insight than, the narrative), and, along with his aptly named pal Rowdy, laughing those laughs over anything and nothing that affix best friends so intricately together. When a teacher pleads with Arnold to want more, to escape the hopelessness of the rez, Arnold switches to a rich white school and immediately becomes as much an outcast in his own community as he is a curiosity in his new one. He weathers the typical teenage indignations and triumphs like a champ but soon faces far more trying ordeals as his home life begins to crumble and decay amidst the suffocating mire of alcoholism on the reservation. Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience, and he doesn't pull many punches as he levels his eye at stereotypes both warranted and inapt. A few of the plotlines fade to gray by the end, but this ultimately affirms the incredible power of best friends to hurt and heal in equal measure. Younger teens looking for the strength to lift themselves out of rough situations would do well to start here. Chipman, Ian --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"Sure to resonate and lift spirits of all ages for years to come." ( )
"This is a gem of a book....may be [Sherman Alexie's] best work yet." ( )
"Nimbly blends sharp with unapologetic emotion....fluid narration deftly mingles raw feelings with funny, sardonic insight." ( )
"Deftly taps into the human desire to stand out while fitting in." ( )
"[Alexie] has created an endearing teen protagonist in his own likeness and placed him in the here and now." ( )
"Exceptionally good....Arnold is a wonderful character." ( )
"Fierce observations and sharp sense of humor...hilarious language." ( )
"Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience." ( )
"Few writers are more masterful than Sherman Alexie." ( )
"What emerges most strongly is Junior's uncompromising determination to press on while leaving nothing important behind." ( )
"The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally-and hilariously and triumphantly-bent in this novel." ( )
"Realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic-all at the same time." ( )
"Breathtakingly honest, funny, profane, sad....will stay with readers." ( )
"A Native American equivalent of Angela's Ashes." ( )
【美】薛曼•亚历斯:薛曼•亚历斯
华盛顿州立大学毕业,海明威文学奖暨美国国家书卷奖得主。撰写的喜剧电影剧本《以烟传讯》,曾赢得“最佳观众票选”及“制片人大奖”两项荣誉。在诗文的创作上,他于1998年“世界重量杯诗人创作竞赛”获得首奖,之后创下连夺该奖四年冠军的记录,至今无人可匹敌。
得奖记录
★1993年海明威文学奖(最佳首创小说)
★1998年达科玛公共图书馆年度文学奖
★1999年获选“纽约客杂志21世纪文学20强”之一
★1999年欧•亨利文学奖(O. Henry Award)
★2000年亚马逊短篇故事奖
★2001年美国诗学会“雪莱纪念讲”
★2001年获得福克纳基金会颁发的马拉默德文学奖
★2005年普世卡诗奖
★2006年入选Miles Franklin奖
文字简单,行文很快,两三天就能读完,一开始我还觉得一本讲印第安少年的小说肯定不适合我的口味,但完全被那种幽默的、带有脱口秀式的文风抓住,常常捧腹爆笑,但其实本书的主题一点都不轻松——贫穷,暴力,死亡,逃离,个体,家庭,种族…… 故事有三个重要人物,“我”在re...
评分 评分在这本书中,特别喜欢两句话。 一是二世在高弟的引导下所领悟到的一句话:如果书中的每一刻都该被认真对待,那么生命的每一刻也该被认真对待。 是啊,也许你的人生总是遇到很多出乎意料的意外,在你追逐梦想的路上设下诸多埋伏,但我们也不应该对接下来的一切采取任其发展的态...
评分从博物馆蛾子先生的twitter发现这本书,小印第安人的冒险,走出rez,到白人的世界,健康又好看的白人们的世界。the wired one,distinguished one。想到自己来到美国,那些高大又aggressive的美国同学,能说会道的美国同学,没有毕业就纷纷拿到offer的美国同学。再看看自己,个...
评分和Robert一起读的,正好他就住在Rez,所以帮我补充了好多背景知识,关于Rez关于美国。(自己一个人估计读不完。。。)
评分It is so funny and sarcastic that I was laughing almost all the way to the end. It is also very touching, and I couldn't help shedding tears at times. It is really a great book for young adults!!!!!
评分今天读关于indigenous的visual sovereignty的时候想到以前高中读的
评分1011-1017语言生动有趣。配图很搭。来来去去的旅途,笑中带泪的人生。
评分马马虎虎
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