Alexie a Winner in New York
(Photo: Robin Laananen)
By Brian Miller
Congrats to Sherman Alexie, who picked up his first National Book Award last night in New York for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The second book of 2007 for the prolific and widely admired author, it follows Flight, which we didn't like so much. In fact our review prompted an irate email from the guy, after we compared it to a young adult novel--not exactly damning criticism--and that's the category ATDPTI won: young adult fiction. It's a coming-of-age tale with plenty of autobiographical import, about a Spokane kid who defies low expectations and social conditions to attend a white high school off the rez. It's obviously aimed at other bright young misfits (as Alexie once was), and it's illustrated by Seattle's Ellen Forney in a cartoony style as if scribbled on crumpled notepaper passed beneath school desks. It's accessible, as a book should be for developing minds, but never dumb. Given that he already has some 19 books to his credit, the YA category--as it's called in the industry--definitely represents a growth market for Alexie. He doubtlessly has more life experience to mine, and future young fans will also appreciate the fact that he's such an entertaining reader on stage.
Somewhat related: Alexie and other nominees read from their works earlier in the week in NYC. It's been noted that Brit pundit Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great) was hissed during one such appearance when he (again) defended the Iraq War and spoke in favor of Veterans Day--supporting the troops, as it were, both past and present. I just wonder if Alexie was in the audience. Because it was U.S. Army troops, after all, who helped steal the land from Native Americans and forcibly incarcerated them on reservations. But that's another book and, I hope, a future debate between Alexie and Hitch.
Gawker Update! The invaluable Manhattan media gossip site reports from NBA that the booing and hissing directed at Hitchens prompted this response: "Sherman Alexie, who later won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, had characterized the sound as 'self-important liberalism escaping the body,' to applause."
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