I just finished reviewing Sherman Alexie's National Book Award winning The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian for my December column. I almost thought at this point that it would be overkill to write about the book - everyone and their third cousin has called it brilliant by now (and they are all right), so another review isn't exactly important to sales I imagine. But I think I got a few things out of the book that maybe some others missed - or at least I wrote about it a bit differently. Anyway, I loved it and wanted to review it and hopefully will convince some readers who are on the fence to read it. There was something that Alexie said in his interview at Finding Wonderland that really resonated with me, and then when I found that argument in the final pages of the book it really hit home hard. Here's the bit from the WBBT interview:

For many years, I've said that my two strongest tribal affiliations are not racially-based. My strongest tribes are book nerds and basketball players, and those tribes are as racially, culturally, economically, and spiritually diverse. And, like Arnold, I also belong to a hundred other tribes, based on the things I love to read, watch, do. Ever since 9/11, I have worked hard to be very public about my multi-tribal identity. I think fundamentalism is the mistaken belief that one belongs to only one tribe; I am the opposite of that.

Here is more along the same vein from Absolutely True Diary:

I realized that I might be a lonely Indian boy, but I was not alone in my loneliness. There were millions of other Americans who had left their birthplaces in search of a dream.

And the tribe of cartoonists.
And the tribe of chronic masturbators.
And the tribe of teenage boys.
And the tribe of small-town kids.
And the tribe of Pacific Northwesterners.
And the tribe of tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers.
And the tribe of poverty.
And the tribe of funeral-goers.
And the tribe of beloved sons.
And the tribe of boys who really missed their best friends.

It's in this declaration of tribal belonging that transcends religion, nationality and ethnicity that I really think Alexie makes a jump of epic proportions. He sees himself far beyond how so many others try to see him (and see each other). He sees the universality of human relationships - how all of us have at least one tribal affiliation in common. And I got then who I am - who I have always been.

I belong to the tribe of hardcore body surfers, the tribe of Alaskan aviation (a way of life I know better than nearly any other); the tribes of Jimmy Buffet, Johnny Cash and U2 lovers; the tribe of Buffy addicts and Star Trek geeks and old movie fans. My people are book lovers and comic book readers and writers of all kinds. They are dog lovers and ice tea drinkers and overly fond of both cheese and chocolate (but not together). They have walked the same trek to two Thanksgiving and two Christmas dinners that I did, as part of the broken home tribe; they are cancer survivors; they are worried parents of sick children.

My tribes are a long list of their own, although I see that Alexie and I intersect from time to time; as all of us do when we think about it - when we allow ourselves to see the bigger picture that humanity truly is.

The wonder that is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is not only that it is a great coming-of-age story, or that it portrays modern day reservation life so effectively and poignantly; it is that I found myself connecting with Arnold Spirit Jr as a fellow member of some of my tribes. Alexie brought us together, and I hope that countless others will find that connection with him and his characters by reading this book. That's how you make the world a better place - another tribe I dearly hope to belong to.