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Title: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party
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Manufacturer: Candlewick
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| The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by Candlewick Can't wait for the sequel | Here is yet another work of astonishing originality from M.T. Anderson that is a brilliant combination of history, science, strange family dynamics and gripping storytelling. WARNING: Set in pre-Revolutionary War America the use of arcane language and diction takes some getting used to. For HS and adult readers.
Octavian and his mother are plucked from Africa for the slave trade but eventually end up as subjects of scientific experiment for a group of philosophers at the The Novanglian College of Lucidity set on proving that Africans, given a classical education in art, literature, languages, and music can learn as well as white Europeans. Young Octavian and his mother, a princess, excel at all they are taught and become something of a cause celeb. They are dressed in silk, attend lavish parties and live in luxury. But there are dark, sinister forces at play behind the scenes unknown to Octavian, until on day he enters a forbidden room...
Like nothing you've ever read before - you will be thinking about Octavian long after you close the covers. | | The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by Candlewick Courtesy of Teens Read Too | Even the title gives the reader a glimpse of the ostentatious nature of this incredible book. THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION is presented as a young adult title, which should in no way limit it only to the teen audience. Indeed, this book will be a challenge for many high school students -- a challenge well worth the effort.
M.T. Anderson immediately immerses his reader in the flowery, pretentious language spoken in the Revolutionary War period, a language that requires thought and concentration for today's reader. Once the reader is acclimated to the writing style, they are already hooked by Octavian's story. Octavian, an African prince, was sold while yet unborn, to one Mr. Gitney, referred to as 03-01, of the Novanglian College of Lucidity. He was dressed in fine silks and fed the finest of fares. His mother was treated as the African princess she was, entertaining gentlemen, playing her harpsichord.
It was not until Octavian turned eight that he realized his life was not normal, that he was indeed one of the College's experiments. No other human being had their intake, as well as their body's waste, measured and recorded. Every word spoken, every situation, was a challenge to excel, an experiment to determine if the African race was capable of advanced thought and skill. Not all children, especially black children, were given the opportunity for a classical education. Octavian was already an accomplished violinist. He read all of the great literature, in several languages, including Greek and Latin. He understood figures, physics, and sciences of the earth. No discipline was left untouched in the quest to determine the potential of a slave to learn.
THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION is written from Octavian's point of view. Some passages are as though written by his own hand, then scribbled through, as if Octavian, with his vast education, still could not find the proper words to convey the horrors he had lived. His life of seeming luxury changes when the college's benefactor dies. Mr. Gitney entertains Lord Cheldethorpe in hopes that he will see fit to continue to finance the college as his uncle before him. For a time it seems that he is the solution to the College's financial distress. Especially since he has taken an acute interest in Octavian's mother. It is when she violently opposes his offer of her purchase, rather than a royal marriage, that Octavian and his mother experience the outrage and beatings more typical in the life of a slave. To Octavian's great relief, Lord Cheldethorpe returns to England and a new financial supporter, Mr. Sharpe, is found.
But Mr. Sharpe changes the experiment. Now the lessons seem more designed to prove failure rather than success. When not engaged in his "lessons," Octavian is treated as a simple slave, along with his mother. Add to this the mounting unrest of the American nation, and fear is paramount. The entire household flees Boston to Canaan, Massachusetts. It is there that the most horrific experiment takes place. Mr. Gitney throws a pox party, whereby all, white and black alike, are "inoculated" against the small pox virus in hopes that they will be immune. Instead, Octavian witnesses pain and loss at the most personal level.
At this point the reader will identify with Octavian on a primal level, and feel enormous relief when, finally, Octavian makes his escape. We read about his life as a soldier in the Patriot's army through the letters of one of his co-patriots, one Private Evidence Goring. But it's not until his capture, and subsequent total isolation, that the reader truly understands the complete desolation and hopelessness in the life of a slave. When M.T. Anderson places the iron mask, which he so artfully described to the reader in an earlier chapter, on Octavian, the reader feels complete revulsion and aches for Octavian to be released from this abject misery.
The story is masterfully written and researched. It is one of the most difficult books I've ever read, both in vocabulary and realism. That I made it through to the end makes me feel smart, educated, humble, and indeed amazed, nay fortunate, to have been given a glimpse into the mind of a genius, M.T. Anderson. I'm quite confident that the readers' desire to find out the fate of Octavian Nothing will still pulse within by the time Mr. Anderson shares Volume II with the world.
Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger | | The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by Candlewick Extraordinary Book | What a great book! After years of looking through my Young Adult section in the library for something other than mind-numbing chick lit, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Despite other reviews, I must say I thought it was perfectly acceptable for a Young Adult book. I dunno, I'm a teenager and I didn't find it difficult reading at all. I was delighted with the philosophical and historical references. It was a lot of fun to read while taking a philosophy course, that's for sure! Wonderful prose, catching characters, witty... I laughed and laughed, I cringed, cried... The ending left me in breathless silence, quickly followed by an outburst of "Noo!! When is the sequel coming out??"
| | The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by Candlewick Fantastic literature; one of my top books of all time | I am blown away by the brilliant, lush style and more brilliant ideas and intellect of this coming-of-age and bildungsroman novel. I was delighted by the mystery of it and the growing horror, how the limited point of view of the little hero worked as he gradually makes his discoveries about the realities of his world. It reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel, which I have used as a textbook when teaching teenagers. It reminds me of The Matrix and My Ishmael as the viewer/reader learns through innocent eyes, as the veil begins to be pulled back.
It is fascinating to read reviews from people who find it abominable. What kind of minds do they have? What kind do I have? How can I be so utterly different - on the opposite pole - from these readers? This book is on my top ten favorites of all time and I am pretty old by now, and have read thousands of literary novels starting from 7, when I read To Kill a Mockingbird. People say it should't be read by teens. I fervently disagree; I would have been thrilled to have had Octavian on hand in high school. I wish my daughter had read it. Kids are very smart with powerful intuitive radars, just like the main character in the novel. They "know something is happening...they (just)don't know what it is". They don't like being condescended to, having things over-explained; in fact, that might be one big reason kids don't much like reading anymore, because so much that is published for them these days is dumbed down and prettified, "whitewashed". The erudition and historical reference, the chaos and mystery of Octavian Nothing wouldn't have thrown me off when I was 12 but intrigued me to find out more. I've heard parents say they were too shocked by the sickness and brutality of the story; they had to put the book down and forbade their progeny from reading it. My goodness, parents, what about what is on the news every night? The evil in this delectable, astounding novel is disturbing, sure, but it is the true history of this country,and a brilliant look into the human psyche and ability for denial, to do evil in the name of "good" or of scientific research. To censor this book from youth would be like not letting them find out about Hiroshima or the Holocaust. Overprotect them from history and you end up with white kids not knowing why hanging a noose is a hate crime. Why not give them our history in the form of a great literary work, through great art? Octavian Nothing is destined to become a classic, and someday will be required reading everywhere, mark my words.
~ by Lesley Thomas, author of coming-of-age novel Flight of the Goose | | The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by Candlewick I am in awe | This book was profoundly disturbing to me on so many levels. At various points in the book, I almost had to put it down because I was so heartsick. (Before I begin my praise of this amazing work - I do have to ask...this is a work for young adults? Seriously?)
When I added this book to my list - I tagged it as Fiction and Science Fiction. When I started the book - I was sure I was reading some sort of Gothic, maybe post-apocalyptic cautionary tale. When I found out the book was set in pre-Revolutionary Boston - I was shocked.
Once I got over that...I was then shocked to find out that Octavian and his mother were slaves. I kept having to change my mindset as I went through the book...one of the reasons I think I was so affected by it. I was just starting to wrap my mind around the "knowledge for knowledge's sake - consequences be damned" philosophy of the "college" when the sickening reality of Octavian and his mother's imprisonment set in. The frills and finery were torn away to reveal the true inhumanity of their situation.
Again - this book was disturbing on so many levels. Was I more bothered by Octavian's defense mechanisms when confronted by despicable acts" "...after I saw the philosophers of this college acquire a docile child deprived of reason and speech...beat her to the point of gagging and swooning; after such experiments as these, I became most wondrous observant, and often stared unmoving at a wall for some hours together." (Reading that passage again turns my stomach.)
Or was I more disturbed by the complete lack of hope that permeates the book: "Do you feel it child?" he asked. "The wall is gone. Space is gone from behind us." I could feel nothing. "He said, "All that is there now is the eye of God." He shivered. "The pupil is black, and as large as a world." And later, "At long last, you may no longer distinguish what binds you from what is you."
Or was I most saddened by the hideous irony that the men who gave Octavian freedom of the mind were the ones that denied him the freedom of his body. "They gave me a tongue; and the stopped it up, so they would not have to hear it crying." And "...they told me of color, that it was an illusion of the eye, an event in the perceiver's mind, not in the object, they told me that color had no reality...And then they imprisoned me in darkness; and though there was no color there, I still was black, and they still were white; and for that, they bound and gagged me."
And I don't even have the words to address the powerful juxtaposition of the colonists struggle and cries for "Freedom from tyranny!" against the silent reality of slavery.
The way that Anderson phrases the most hideous of realities in the most matter of fact ways is by turns, startling and beautiful. It makes me think that there are no other ways these words could be put together - that the way they are set upon the page is the only way they can exist together.
"What have you observed?"
"The solidity of shackles. They increase the solidity of the body. When I walk free, I am not conscious of my solidity."
"Yes. Shackles, like all matter, are defined by resistance."
"Do not tell me," I said to them, "what is defined by resistance."
As I start into the above paragraph, I am observing as Octavian does. Then I am considering the truth of what he observes - that one does not FEEL freedom until one loses it. That it is difficult to experience a positive without knowing the negative. And then - with a killing blow - my eyes absorb that final sentence...and I feel ridiculous for not mourning Octavian's shackles with him...and then I feel a fierce admiration of his spirit and his refusal to accept shackles of the mind along with shackles of the body. All this - in under 50 words.
I am in awe.
This book made me feel like I do when watching movies like "Schindler's List" or "Saving Private Ryan". Every molecule in my body and soul rebels against the horror I am a witness to. All I can think about is turning my eyes away, making it stop, which is the one thing I am not allowed to do. These atrocities existed, they were real. Humans were and are capable of such evil, such cruelty, such viciousness. It is important to me that every once in a while, I remind myself of this. I am so incredibly lucky to have been born in the circumstances I was, and to have been given the privileges I have, and to have lived in the time an place I do. The least I can do is to acknowledge the pain of those who are not as lucky as I.
This book, like those movies, is one where the reader cannot put aside after finishing and think, "It was just a movie/book." These times and events were real. These things happened, even if details have been changed.
Octavian, and those real people he is representative of, experienced horrors I hope I never do. Horrors that most of our world would say happened in the past..and yet we all know are happening every day - somewhere, to someone. My soul aches for those who are robbed of their humanity by beings inhuman themselves.
Because I am who I am, I must end this review with a beautiful and tragic set of passages - mirror images of the same truth:
"I lifted up the first, blank, page, and surveyed those beneath, to see, as Bono quoth, what the man on the street was wearing. It was a catalogue of horrors. Page after page of Negroes in bridles, strapped to walls,...masks of iron with metal mouth bits...razored necklaces...collars of spikes that supported the head..."
"...Mr. Gitney burned Bono's fashion catallogue an hour later."
"Let us rid ourselves," he said, "of this noisome object."
"But I could not rid myself of it. It was the common property of us all."
Previous to this - there was one of the few glimmers of hope in the book:
"Music hath its land of origin; and yet it is also its own country, its own sovereign power, and all make take refuge there, and all, once settled, may claim it as their own, and all may meet there in amity; and these instruments, as surely as instruments of torture, belong to all of us."
Octavian and his story belongs to all of us. Though not as fully to those who experience such events in their lifetime...it belongs to those of us who must make sure that the realities contained within the fiction become less and less prevalent. We need these "noisome objects" today more than ever.
Any time I find myself feeling complacent about our world? I need only look at the cover of this book. |
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