The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (24 page)

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Authors: Alexie Sherman

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spontaneous. I got cramps in my hand a lot.

Why did you use so many different drawing styles?

I used three drawing styles. In my own sketchbooks (and scraps of paper and backs of envelopes), I use different styles for different purposes, and I felt that Arnold would, too. Arnold's artwork needed to span different situations and moods, so his drawing style needed change as well.

First, the more scribbled-looking illustrations and comics suggest that Arnold is jotting down his thoughts in an immediate way, like he'd just had an idea and quickly wrote it down. Most of the artwork is like that.

Second, the slightly more realistic cartoons, like the annotated portraits of his family, suggest that he's giving more thought to what he's doing. Certain ideas would have been rumbling around his head and were well-developed by the time he put them on the page.

Third, the penciled portraits suggest two different types of intimate situations. Detailed, more realistic drawings can take a while, and in that way describe a span of time, so we know that Arnold was concentrating and focusing on his artwork and on whatever subject he was drawing.

time with those people, but for some reason—logistically, or emotionally—couldn't do it in person.

The pencil sketches of his friends suggest that he spent a lot of time with his friends looking at them intently and that they were comfortable with that intimacy. For example, I imagined that Arnold sketched his friend Gordy as he studied in the library, concentrating on the weird way Gordy rested his face on his hand with his intent facial expression and the curve of his shoulders.

Arnold was using his sketchbook to love Gordy, in a way.

Other pencil sketches, like the portrait of Eugene on a motorcycle, suggest that he drew them from a photograph. He wanted to spend time with those people, but for some reason—

logistically, or emotionally—couldn't do it in person.

One other detailed style was for the Penelope bird. When Arnold drew that, he was thinking about how he loved Penelope and how they both wanted to fly away. I thought he might sit with that feeling for a while and I imagined he was in the school library copying a bird out of a textbook. Arnold would sit and draw very meditatively in ink—all the feathers, using shading, crosshatching, and even little dots.

Can you explain how the portrait of Rowdy evolved from being a straight-on elegant sketch
to one that was defaced?

I actually did a similar thing in one of my own sketchbooks several years ago. I was in a terrible mood, and was drawing a self-portrait to get it out of my system. I was about half-done and I hated it, so I scribbled a big "X" over my whole face. When I looked at it later, I realized that it reflected my mood much better than if I'd actually finished the drawing.

The drawing of Rowdy is meant to be a vignette, describing the particular intimacy in Arnold and Rowdy's friendship. Rowdy was much more defensive than Arnold about bow close they

were, and was constantly pulling Arnold to him and pushing him away, often al the same time. I pictured the scene like this:

Rowdy was lying on the floor in an unself-conscious way. Arnold was sneakily drawing a

portrait of him, but when Arnold was only half-done. Rowdy looked up and snapped, "What're you drawing?!" The scene changed from intimacy to defensiveness with Arnold stopping and scribbling the cartoon face over Rowdy's face, with the word balloon of Rowdy's verbal slap.

I hadn't planned all that out when I started doing the sketch, but when I was half-done I realized that Arnold wouldn't have been able to pin Rowdy down for very long. I took a piece of tracing paper and scribbled an angry cartoon face over Rowdy's face, and that looked just right to me.

What do you feel is the biggest contribution your artwork brings to the book?

Arnold depends on his cartoons to express himself, be understood, to escape, and to survive. He says they are his "tiny little lifeboats." The reader needs to see what he's talking about and what he means by that.

Drawing in your own sketchbook is like writing in your own diary, which is very personal. And creative people can do some intense work when they're using their medium to express

themselves, just for themselves. Arnold doesn't even understand all these things he's getting down on paper, because so much comes through subconsciously.

I also did all of Arnold's handwriting. Handwritten text in general can have a lot of emotional power and charm. Like a handwritten letter, it's much more personal and individual than typeset text. There's also a sense of immediacy because you can't cut-and-paste or delete paragraphs; you only write and that's that.

The "crinkled scraps of paper" design was to make sure the graphics were set apart somehow so they didn't just look like illustrations drawn straight from the text. The look makes clear that Arnold doesn't have a nice, shiny sketchbook, but instead collects his artwork on scraps of paper.

What did you take away from this project?

I got to stretch my repertoire and deal with material that I wouldn't have come up with on my own. I really wanted to do justice to the story. Junior, Sherman, and to the complex issues Sherman evoked so beautifully with his words. The manuscript is so rich and vivid: I couldn't help but think, "What a task!" Doing this work was like running a marathon, eating a big rich feast, and walking into creepy basements with a candle.

My dad got a copy of the book as soon as it came out. He'd read a review that said he'd laugh and cry, which he of course shrugged off as marketing pap. The next day, he called me to say that he'd chuckled out loud and teared up a few times by the end. He was amazed.

Diary
has struck a chord with so many people, in so many different ways. It's accessible to all ages, all sorts of people. It's an honor to be a part of a work that so many people find inspirational.

An award-winning author, poet, and filmmaker, Sherman Alexie was named one of GRANTA

magazine's Best Young American Novelists and has been lauded by the BOSTON GLOBE as

"an important voice in American literature." One of the most well-known and beloved literary writers of his generation, his works of fiction, including RESERVATION BLUES and short

story collections TEN LITTLE INDIANS and THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO

FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN, have received numerous awards and citations. He lives in Seattle.

ADDED MATERIAL, INCLUDING A DISCUSSION GUIDE AND AN EXCLUSIVE

INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST!

Junior is a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation. Born with a variety of medical problems, he is picked on by everyone but his best friend. Determined to receive a good education, Junior leaves the rez to attend an all-white school in their neighboring farm town where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Despite being condemned as a traitor to his people and enduring great tragedies, Junior attacks life with wit and humor and discovers a strength inside of himself that he never knew existed.

Inspired by his own experiences growing up, award-winning author Sherman Alexie

chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one unlucky boy trying to rise above the life everyone expects him to live.

PRAISE FOR TRUE DIARY:

"Excellent in every way, poignant and really funny. …"

– Bestselling author Neil Gaiman

"I laughed consistently from beginning to end."

– Amy Sedaris, actress, comedian, and author

"Fierce observations and sharp sense of humor … hilarious language."

– Newsday

National Book Award Winner

NEW YORK TIMES Notable Book of 2007

#1 Book Sense Bestseller