Who is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him?
First Person (Central)
Reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian feels like a conversation with your closest friend. Arnold tells us everything going through his big, big head, all of his hopes and dreams and fears and anxieties. We hear all about his disappointments and his triumphs. He feels real, he feels close.
Warning, though: when we say we get close to Arnold, we mean close. How close? Well, um, Arnold doesn't have much of a filter, so we hear it all. We learn about everything going on in this teenage boy's head. This includes lusting after his semi-girlfriend Penelope (16.1-16.6) and how much he really loves to masturbate (4.2). In other words, get ready for an overdose of TMI.