Klett English Editions - unabridged text with annotations

Arnold 'Junior' Spirit is 14 years old, small but intelligent and witty - and a Spokane Indian. He wants to make something of his life, but, being brought up on an Indian reservation in the state of Washington, USA, this is not going to be easy. So one day he decides to change his life by changing schools and leaving the 'rez'. His new school is full of successful white kids. Predictably, the boys there decide to beat Arnold up. By defending himself and discovering a talent basketball (and for attracting girls), his horizons widen. But what about his other world on the reservation? How will his family and friends there react to his betrayal'?

Mitbringsel für litrajunkie

Got this book as a controlled release during yesterday's meetup in Nuremberg. From a previous meetup and a common thread, windhexe seems to have remembered that I'm interested in Native American history as well as a fan of Alexie's.

Thank you very much for the pleasant surprise!

My other books by this author

This book was even more gripping than the "Ten Little Indians" that made me "discover" Alexie. The reader learns about his childhood health problems, his speech impediment and the very unromantic life on a reservation. Hopelessness, poverty, joblessness, and alcoholism make life hard on everybody. Fellow tribesmembers who denouce aspiring people as "apples" (red on the outside, white on the inside), white lovers or traitors make it an environment that is very hard to escape from. Drunks come in two varieties: those who destroy themselves by drinking too much, and those who also actively destroy others because the become violent while under the influence.

Despite all that's working against him: (poor, (ex-)alcoholic (though not violent)) parents, a place almost at the bottom of the tribal pecking order and the nearest place offering hope (Reardan High School) 22 miles away, the young hero of the story succeeds in extracting himself from the place he was born into. (Grand-)parents and friends help, teachers and coaches offer support, and some of his white classmates turn out to be normal human beings, they overcome their (and their parent's) prejudices and give young Arnold Spirit, Jr. a chance to succeed. He works hard, overcomes his own fears and makes his way into the world despite of some setbacks and the many hardships that seem to be his destiny.

Quotable Quotes
• I draw because words are too unpredictable.
I draw because words are too limited.
If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning.
But when you draw a picture, everybody can understand it.
If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, "That's a flower."
So I draw because I want to talk to the world. And I want the world to pay attention to me. (p. 15)
• But she was lying. Her eyes always got darker in the middle when she lied. She was a Spokane Indian and a bad liar, which didn't make any sense. We Indians really should be better liars, considering how often we've been lied to. (p. 19)
• Seriously, I know my mother and father had their dreams when they were kids. They dreamed about being something other than poor, but they never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams. (p. 21)
• [Image of] Naked woman + right hand = happy happy joy joy (p. 35)
• I was good at being hated by guys who could kick my ass. It's not a talent you really want to have. (p. 78)
• Of course, ever since white people showed up and brought along their Christianity and their fears of eccentricity, Indians have gradually lost all of their tolerance. (p. 160)
• "I used to think the world was broken down by tribes," I said. "By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn't true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not." (p. 181)

This edition is intended for classroom use, but several of the explanations provided at the foot of the page were imprecise or downright wrong, eg.:
• rifle - a long shotgun used for hunting. NO: a rifle fires bullets, not shot; a rifle is called a rifle because its barrel is rifled, not smooth like a shotgun's - and a rifle may also be used in war or for sports (p. 20).
• cleavage - decolletage. NO: cleavage is the hollow or separation between a woman's breasts - you need a low neckline (decolletage) to see it, but it is something completely different ;-) (p. 49).
• to gag - to laugh (with surprise or shock). WHAT? To gag means to experience the onset of the vomiting reflex if something is pushed down your throat. In the text, Alexie states that he almost gagged on the words of a certain statement he has to pronounce.

For tonite's meetup.