Reading Job with Sherman Alexie

Rev. Betsy Simpson
Published 15 November 2024

Intrigued by Sherman Alexie’s book title, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I added it to my reading list when I saw that it has appeared on the ALA’s top ten challenged books repeatedly since its publication in 2007.

Anticipating a serious read, I found myself treated to an alternately disturbing and hilarious story of a young Spokane Native American growing up on a reservation. After being bullied by his peers for effects stemming from a variety of congenital birth defects, Junior, the protagonist, pursued cartooning as a way to express and amplify his feelings about his life. Being bright and wanting the best education he could obtain, Junior enrolled in the nearby, but off the reservation, “white” public school. For his four years of high school, he had to travel 22 miles each way every day, often being driven by his father, but many times walking and hitching rides. Being the only Indian in an otherwise all white school was quite difficult at first, but over time he won over friends and teachers. Back on the “rez” he was disowned by his best friend and shunned or worse for going to the white school, hence his term “part-time Indian.” In the most serious ways, he felt he didn’t belong in either community.

His struggle, oddly enough, reminded me of Job’s struggle. Despite the ‘advice’ of his friends, Job held on to his faith and his claim of innocence in the face of losses of family, community and his health. Even when suffering from increasingly painful bodily conditions, Job wanted to argue his case before God. When that confrontation finally occurred, Job came to understand that only God is God and, as a human being, he was subject to all the ups and downs of life like any other human being. He hadn’t earned special treatment, nor could he. His strong faith, however, had brought him to new understanding and eventually Job began to return to the joys of life and family and community. His struggle was hard, but his knowledge and gratitude brought him to a more profound relationship with God.

As for Junior, although he didn’t go through an explicit encounter with God in the same way Job did, I did feel he was trying to navigate his own spiritual journey, alternately encountering obstacles in the Indian world and also the white world. Along the way, he did finish high school and went on to college. He reconciled with his old best friend on the rez and his life found meaning in ways he never imagined having lived in two different cultures. Cartooning continued to be a source of communication and humor dealing with his growing understanding and desire to find ways to justice for his people. Like Job, he made his way to a transcendent self understanding. As the reader I was moved to consider my own resilience while navigating my own spiritual journey.

All in all a great read. The cartoonist, whose work is sprinkled throughout the book, also adds to the specialness of the story.

More on the banning of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: https://bannedbooksweek.org/banned-spotlight-the-absolutely-true-diary-of-a-part-time-indian/