review has been revised and can now be found at sitelinkExpendable Mudge Muses Aloud.
Sequels always a little less exciting, Put it this way no amount of praise, ever, in a million years, could come close to doing this book justice.
I mean, holy crap. It might not be a pageturner, per se, and I certainly had to keep my dictionary handy I mean, how often do you find dialogue like "I can see that if we allow the slightest divagation on the subject of your charms, we shall never have time to hear the tale of your escape" in YA lit but wow, was it worth it.
I might have enjoyed this book even more than the first installment everyone's characters seemed more fleshed out, Octavian came into his own, and it chilled me to the bone in a way that The Pox Party never did.
But maybe I liked it better because I knew what to expect I remember having to pick up The Pox Party several times before I made it all the way to the end, which for the record, never happens to me.
Either way, in The Kingdom on the Waves, M, T. Anderson's narrative is at once terrifying and breathtakingly beautiful in its prose, casting a harsh eye on the hypocrisy of our Founding Fathers' ideas of liberty.
I was also impressed with the extensive mythological and literary sources Anderson drew from.
Octavian's voice was authentic and polished in a very Colonial American way that had me forgetting, at times, that I was reading fiction.
Yes, that's a cliche, but in this case it was true, With his nickname of Buckra and his desperate attempts to find belonging, Octavian won me over.
Even though on the surface we're very different, I started compiling a mental list of the ways we were the same overachievement, perfectionism, social awkwardness, etc.
, etc. The fact that I was able to do that is a testament to what an incredible writer M.
T. Anderson is, for sure!
Sad is not a strong enough word to describe how I feel after reading this, and knowing that there's not going to be another sequel.
What makes it worse is knowing that the author has carved out a niche so deep and so unique that I will probably never find another book like this in my life.
But that's what rereading is for, right
The Final Verdict: Bar none, one of the most wellwritten novels I have ever read YA, adult, whatever.
Definitely not an easy read, but a very worthwhile oneout ofstars, Wow. I have been looking forward to this sequel for a long time, and it did not disappoint.
If you have NOT read the first book, there WILL be spoilers here otherwise writing a review will be nearly impossible.
We catch up with Octavian and Dr, Trefusis pretty much from where the first book ended, with their flight to Boston, From there, Octavian finds work as a violinist with a British orchestra, All too soon, war breaks out, and Octavian and his tutor flee to join Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian regiment after hearing that Great Britian will free the slaves who have enlisted to help the King.
Of course, there are a couple of problems, One, we all know how the Revilutionary War played out, and who wins, Two, where Octavian is concerned, Lord Dunmore is woefully incompetent, Octavian learns bit by bit that Great Britain's promises for freedom are not at all based in good will, but are merely a strategic move.
Dr. Trefusis says something early on about altruism being like a pie you conver with gravy and check carefully the kidney it has been stuffed with, and that seems ot be the overall theme.
Octavian turns more and more bitter as his hopes die away,
This was a very thoughtprovoking story, You don't often read tales that paint the Patriots here, the rebels in less then glowing terms.
Also makes you wonder: What if Great Britian would have won We know the negative things that could have happened but could there have been some positive outcomes as well The author's notes are an interesting read he wonders, as do I, if the nation would have survived without slavery and the neargenocide of Native Americans.
His conclusion is the same as mine: probably not,
"Octavian Nothing" is not a light, fluffy read to take to the beach.
But for a meatier, substantial read that will leave you thinking and debating for hours, you don't get much better than this.
Powerful and moving stuff. Much bleaker than the first book, I have to admit that I was very reluctant to read this book, It's been on my toread list since it came out, and I would repeatedly pass it by in the library.
Eventually, it stared me down and I was forced to check it out, The reason I kept putting it off was because I didn't particularly enjoy the first one.
Yes, I appreciated its artsiness, but it was very long and quite boring,
In this installment, we follow Octavian as he runs away once again, but this time with his tutor Dr.
Trefusis. Instead of joining up with the rebels, he becomes a soldier in Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment with the promise of his freedom.
I can honestly say this novel surprised me, I was expecting this novel to be even more dull than the first one since it was even longer.
Instead, I ate it up, I think its because I actually got it this time, Perhaps I didn't like the first one because I was distracted and couldn't get into it.
This time I realized the humor and was genuinely invested in Octavian's journey, It was funny, tragic, and philosophical, Nothing was sugarcoated, and sometimes the writing was brutal, The writing, tedious in the first book, was fully appreciated here, Theth century style fitted the story and time period perfectly, Octavian grew up in this book, He really loosened up in this one and was finally showing some emotions,
Also, through out this whole book, it reminded me of something else I read.
I couldn't put my finger on it until I saw the title in another person's review.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, They were alike in the sense of style: both were written inth century style, and featured letters as a technique.
And the plot was alike too when I think about it, Octavian and Frankenstein's monster are both elegant experiments searching for their place in the world, I have to say I did enjoy this book more though, so if you hated Frankenstein feel free to read this one.
I wholeheartedly recommend this novel, It is a very unique young adult book and a must for historical fiction fans looking for a challenge.
It is in no way an easy read, for both the prose and material is difficult.
I felt like I needed a dictionary a majority of the time, Whether you liked or disliked the first one, give this second installment a shot, When I read the first volume of the Octavian Nothing series, I knew I'd read something extraordinary, but I didn't know what to do with it, and so I only mildly enjoyed it as you'll notice from my rating.
However, in the intervening years, Octavian's story, and M, T. Anderson's masterful use of narrative, language, and historical theory, got under my skin, and it became the contemporary book I used as a touchstone for excellence in fiction writing not just Juvenile fiction writing perhaps more than any other.
So when the New York Times Books announced the sequel, Vol.
II The Kingdom on the Waves, I was thrilled, Though it's been out for several months, I've finally had the time to devote to the work, the first book I've been excited about in more than a year.
And it did not disappoint,
Early in the novel, Octavian sets the stage for the themes of the book when, in the midst of an interrupted theatrical production he notes that "An anxiety at what was real and what was display beset us.
" He has discovered that the life he lived in the Novanglian College of Lucidity was not real, but now, he must set about the more difficult task of defining himself.
When Octavian enlists with Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia, he expects freedom, However only after seeing his friends sacrificed in battle, after seeing the chaotic order of the rebels and the ordered chaos of the Loyalists, does he learn understand himself as not a traitor to, but an emblem of the Nation itself: always in conflict, always in a state of flux.
In his closing reflections on the nature of history, Anderson explores the complexity and myriad options that faced slaves during the Revolutionary War: "The decision to emancipate or leave them in bondage," he notes of both sides of the conflict, "was not based on abstract principles, but on strategic interests.
" Octavian's story gives Anderson the opportunity to explore the troubling uses of the word "Liberty" in Colonial America.
Octavian himself is fond of noting that those who cry loudest for freedom from tyranny are the sniveling slave masters, and no one, not even General George Washington, escapes his damning critiques.
Octavian's search for dignity and humanity forces Christian readers to ask serious questions about the idea that we were founded as a
"Christian" nation, and pushes all readers to think about the ways that we have constructed the story of our Nation in what we hope will be our own image.
This is only a part of reality, Anderson suggests, On the other hand, Octavian knows "How awful it is to contemplate the accidents that determine one's fate.
" He poignantly notes that "History is not a pageant arrayed for our delectation, We are all always gathered there, We ourselves are history. The moment, is always now, "
This second volume does not fit in the same category as the first of the Octavian Nothing story.
The gripping philosophical questions that M, T. Anderson raised in "The Pox Party" are not only left in limbo, but are also replaced by scenarios and rantings all too prevalent in most modern historical fiction.
I understand that the past was not a rosyhued age of perfection, but realism does not require bitter, acidic despondency either.
Warning: If the first volume was questionable as being suitably labeled YA, the second volume certainly should not be so promoted.
War, disease, murder, rape, and a host of other evils are portrayed in a spirit of dark realism.
Octavian and his friends struggle in a maze with no way out,
The disappointing thing is that he should have a way out, for he has the riches of education.
His mind is filled with stories, languages, and music, But the author is bent on showing that oppression crushes all, and perhaps for him that classical education is simply another form of oppression, though he hardly presents a consistent picture of the value of such education one way or the other.
At times it saves Octavian, but as the book progresses, he seems to revert to craving some primitive life.
What is the point of this bookand especially of the pair of stories together I thought at the end of volume one the point was to explore whether education could change a person, lift and buoy him despite other circumstances.
Volume two proved me wrong, though, It made clear that the point was to screech out the evils of slavery, This terrible and dreadful topic has been treated before in many ways and in great detail.
By the end I wanted to scream back at the author, "What do you want me to do!" The book spirals into near hopelessness.
Anderson's superior writing style remains in this volume, but the book as a whole is too long significantly longer than the first volume and drags in stagnancy of wars unwaged punctuated with calculated shocks of cruelty and baseness.
Unlike the neat interweaving of different texts in "The Pox Party," "The Kingdom on the Sea" plods with mostly a straightforward diaryentry style, overused in recent historical fiction as it is.
Judged on its own merits, without its partner volume, I must conclude that this book isexcuse my seemingly insensitive phrasejust another book about the historical evils of American slavery.
.