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Fallen Angels
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From: Ginny Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 14:19:00 -600
On Sept. 10, Cathy Retzer commented on the impact of reading Fallen Angels, on how disturbing it was to read. Yes, it is disturbing. Can we forget passages such as the one on pages 231-2 when Peewee is making a little doll juxtaposed with the death of a soldier to whom a booby-trapped child was thrust? On Sept. 16, Pat Enciso wrote about readers becoming witnesses. Readers witness much through Richie Perry's eyes.
When Fallen Angels was first published, we asked two Vietnam veterans to read it and respond. Both appreciated it. One of them mentioned how "tame" the language was, compared to the vernacular of actual soldiers, especially in that situation. They agreed that Myers skillfully described the steamy heat and its effects on the soldiers. Another comment related to Myers' success at recreating the feeling of long, tedious, anxious hours of waiting for something to happen along with the sudden chaos and terror of a few minutes of action. They were glad to know that someone had written so well about what they knew firsthand. One of them commented that Fallen Angels was more honest than any of the "Vietnam" novels or films for adults so far. They suggested recommending it to middle school readers and older.
What are your comments and experiences regarding some of the realistic elements in Fallen Angels? Your own reading? That of young readers you know? Ginny
******************************************************************* Ginny Moore Kruse CCBC-NET e-mail: gmkruse at ccbc.soemadison.wisc.edu Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) A Library of the School of Education University of Wisconsin - Madison Personal e-mail: gmkruse at macc.wisc.edu
Received on Mon 25 Sep 1995 03:19:00 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 14:19:00 -600
On Sept. 10, Cathy Retzer commented on the impact of reading Fallen Angels, on how disturbing it was to read. Yes, it is disturbing. Can we forget passages such as the one on pages 231-2 when Peewee is making a little doll juxtaposed with the death of a soldier to whom a booby-trapped child was thrust? On Sept. 16, Pat Enciso wrote about readers becoming witnesses. Readers witness much through Richie Perry's eyes.
When Fallen Angels was first published, we asked two Vietnam veterans to read it and respond. Both appreciated it. One of them mentioned how "tame" the language was, compared to the vernacular of actual soldiers, especially in that situation. They agreed that Myers skillfully described the steamy heat and its effects on the soldiers. Another comment related to Myers' success at recreating the feeling of long, tedious, anxious hours of waiting for something to happen along with the sudden chaos and terror of a few minutes of action. They were glad to know that someone had written so well about what they knew firsthand. One of them commented that Fallen Angels was more honest than any of the "Vietnam" novels or films for adults so far. They suggested recommending it to middle school readers and older.
What are your comments and experiences regarding some of the realistic elements in Fallen Angels? Your own reading? That of young readers you know? Ginny
******************************************************************* Ginny Moore Kruse CCBC-NET e-mail: gmkruse at ccbc.soemadison.wisc.edu Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) A Library of the School of Education University of Wisconsin - Madison Personal e-mail: gmkruse at macc.wisc.edu
Received on Mon 25 Sep 1995 03:19:00 PM CDT
