Review: The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt

Written almost entirely without dialogue, The Underneath tells a story of love, survival, and triumph using animals as main characters, and nature itself as a supporting character. The lone human in the tale, a mangled, hate-filled creature named Gar Face by the townspeople, is a sad representation of humanity at its worst, himself a product of hate and abandon.

The present-tense story centers around Ranger, an old hound dog that lives his life in a 25ft circle on Gar Face's compound deep in the southern swamplands, a calico cat and her two kittens, Sabine and Puck. Woven into the tale of their troublesome lives is that of Grandmother, an ancient snake of magical blood, who has spent the last thousand years trapped in a clay jar under a massive tree. Both stories focus on love and respect, and the destructive hate that spawns when they are absent. This is the real heart of the story, played out both in present day and in Grandmother's memory, and the joining of the two at the end provides a resoloution that, really, is almost impossible to see coming until the last moment.

I was gripped by this story, which is NOT children's literature, or at least, not for children of the usual age who would be looking for a book about dogs and kittens. The story of the snake is not described on the book jacket, and the actual tone of the story is extremely dark at times, particularly in the chapters relating to Gar Face, who makes Cruella DeVil look like the Easter Bunny. I would let Josie read it, or I would read it with her, but not Patrick. Not only would the tone be inappropriate, but the deeper meaning, and probably much of the meaningful legacy story of the snakes, would be lost on him.

The literary style of the novel is also lovely, and quite different from typical children's literature. It is almost poetic, and reminds me of much older literature. There is a stream-of-consciousness aspect to it, and the phrasing is reminiscent of something much more classic, like Trumpet of the Swan or Watership Down. It is beautiful, and captivating, and entirely appropriate for the mystical, animal nature of the tale.

I love that I didn't know exactly how things were going to turn out. It isn't often, especially in children's fiction, that the plot turns aren't transparent. I honestly didn't know from moment to moment who was going to survive, or how to two tales were going to finally join together. As the pace got faster and faster, my heart was racing, and I was turning pages as quickly as I could while trying to restrain myself so I could honestly enjoy the wording.

This was a beautiful novel. I may actually read it again before returning it to the library, and will probably buy it to have in the house for the kids when they are ready. It's the kind of fiction I want them to read - not fluff, not talk-down, but excellent writing that expects the reader to rise to the moment, much like the characters themselves.

Rating: five stars. Excellent, excellent - read it yourself, with your younger children, or get it for your older kids (approximately grade 5+) It goes quickly, but every page is worthwhile.

The Verdict Is....

The Mysterious Benedict Society!!!! For anyone with kids, this makes an *excellent* bedtime read. Josie likes to color while I read to her, and we got through it in a couple of weeks doing a chapter or so a night. It's in paperback, so trot on over to the store and get a copy.

Questions will be posted next month during the week of the 15th.

Review: Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek

Tomato Girl is the story of Ellie, a young girl whose family is falling apart like the petals on a dying flower. Increasingly disturbing events take place, and through Ellie's eyes the reader witnesses her mother's staggering mental illness, her father's ever-bolder infidelity, and the intrusion of the immature Tomato Girl, her father's mistress, into the family. Ellie, being young, internalizes all of these events, sure that they are all somehow her fault, and just as sure that she can erase them and heal her family if she can only keep all the secrets straight that are being piled on top of her from all sides. The petals of the story fall faster and faster, until there is only a barren stump remaining.

This was one of the best books that I have ever read. The entire premise, that of a child dealing with a family's decent into madness, is fascinating. The characters are engaging, and the transition of the father's character from savior to a destroyer who is himself destroyed is absorbing. Ellie is a wonderful, heart-felt, entirely believable character, and her poor mother, though horrifying, entreats such sympathy and heartache. The secondary characters are well-integrated and equally well-written. The tale, while tragic, does end in a hopeful way, and I felt satisfied with its conclusion, yet it has remained swimming around in my head since I put it down for the first time, when I finished it. That's right - I read it in one sitting.

Rating: Five stars. RUN to the bookstore. Go on! GO!

March Book of the Month - Vote!

Input needed!

The book for March will be either:

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery and Alison Anderson. It sounds like more of an 'ensemble cast' novel, rather than focusing on just one person, which I thought would be interesting, and was originally published in France. It was tremendously popular in Europe, and is here in paperback now. This one leans towards the heartfelt, philosophical, personal-connection side.

or

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Stewart. This is an adventure novel that I just finished reading with Josie, along with its sequel, and it's wonderfully fun. Four orphans go on an amazing trip to save the world from the evil Mr. Curtain, who is trying to take over the world using mind control. This would be a more lighthearted, quicker read, after the seriousness of Edgar Sawtelle.

So, which will it be? Or, we could do one this month, and one next. Questions for whichever is chosen will be posted during the week of March 15th. Vote until Sunday the 22nd!

Review: Stop Dressing Your Six Year-Old Like A Skank, by Celia Rivenbark

Stop Dressing Your Six Year-Old Like A Skank, And Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom is another of Celia Rivenbark's collections of essays discussing everything from the title topic to 'Politicians Serve Up McValues'. Because it was published in 2006, some of her humor is dated by certain election humor or public persona references, but that makes it no less funny. The last few essays in particular had me laughing out loud like a fool.

Rivenbark is one of those writers who can charm a snake while simultaneously making it into a nice pair of shoes. She skewers everything and everyone, but in a warmhearted way that makes her seem more on the Erma Bombeck side rather than Joan Rivers. Her southern drawl, written into the text, makes her snide remarks that much funnier.

Review: four stars: a funny, light read good for travel, bedtime, or between-serious-books breaks

Review: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

The hype about The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski, has been huge. Many celebrities have come forward to gush about the novel, from Oprah to Stephen King. It's gotten great reviews. That having been said, as I finished the book, I had to wonder if perhaps some of these people were more in love with the hype than the book itself. Any novel that stands firmly on the back of another great story (Hamlet) is bound to stir admiring memories and expectations in a reader, and in particular I think that people enjoy picking out the similarities between the two, matching characters and plot lines.

Certainly it's prose is beautiful, and the detail is engrossing. I liked how Wroblewski wove in little threads continually throughout the book, pulling tidbits across the pages. The dogs' perspectives are beautifully written in particular. However, for such a lengthy book, there are things that aren't really pulled all the way into the story, such as why the entire beginning of the story exists at all (the death of the baby and puppy, in particular - really, why were they necessary?), the introduction of the secrecy about how Edgar's parents met as a seemingly important plot line (which is then subsequently dropped), and characters that really aren't developed enough, such as Claude's villian character. I would have much prefered to read a few additional chapters that portrayed events through his eyes. Also, given his past, why was he basically welcomed back into the community? A small discussion on that would have been good. Edgar's trip could have more impact, as well. His portion with Henry is interesting, but the rest is oddly distanced from the rest of the story.

Also, the end. What a horrible, apocalyptic, devastating ending. There is no redeeming anything, no resurrection of awareness by those left behind. I think the story could have benefitted greatly from an epilogue. What happens to Edgar's mother? Where are the dogs going? I'm not saying that it isn't well-written, or that it is misdirected, because it is very well-written, and not inappropriate in some sense, but as a reader, I wanted more.

There are parts of the story that shine through the darkness of the tale, such as Edgar's training of the dogs to perform the hypodermic needle actions, which is described in parts but only comes together for the reader as being the indictment that it is at the last minute, as he is having the dogs perform for a potential buyer. That was slick, shivering genius.

Depressing though it is, I still found myself returning to the story repeatedly once I had started it. Every time I had to walk away and take a break, within hours I would return. The basic story was engrossing, and in the end I was drawn in deeply by the descriptions of the family, the unfolding drama, and the dogs.

Review: four out of five stars: a darkly engrossing story, depressing but at times beautiful

Edgar Sawtelle, Question #7: Remarks

Did you like this book? How did you feel when you finished it? Do you think it was worthy of all the praise it's received?

Edgar Sawtelle, Question #6: The Dogs' Departure

Where do you think the dogs are heading while the barn burns? Why do they abandon Edgar's mother, and in fact never become involved in the human's drama inside or outside the barn at all?

Edgar Sawtelle, Question #5: The End

What do you think happens to Trudy after the end of the story? Is she dead? Insane? What about Glen?

Edgar Sawtelle, Question #4: Edgar's Travels

Did Edgar's travels change him? Did they add to or detract from the story?

Edgar Sawtelle, Question #3: Claude's Perspective

Why do you think that we hear nothing from Claude's point of view until the final few chapters of the novel? Does his perspective make you see him differently?

Edgar Sawtelle, Question #2: The Dogs

Trudy and Edgar both say that the Sawtelle dogs are different from other dogs, yet never specify the characteristic that makes them so. What do you think makes them that way, and why? Is Almondine different even from the other dogs, or just more mature?

Edgar Sawtelle, Question #1: Senses

How do you feel the concept of 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' applies to this story?