From: Kathleen T. Horning <horning>
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:29:32 -0600

Sue, I hope you'll have a chance to read Volume Two of "Octavian Nothing" before our discussion ends on Nov 30, because it may answer some of your concerns as described below, and I'd like to hear what you think. I enjoyed reading Volume One very much, and found Volume Two even more enjoyable and thought provoking because Anderson addresses Octavian's identity (or lack thereof) as an African and as an American. His sense of loss on both accounts is immense and profoundly moving. I also found myself weeping when it became clear that the British were going to lose the Revolutionary War.

I admit that both volumes were slow going for me, but that wasn't a bad thing. The prose was so beautiful that I wanted to savor every word, and there were many sentences I read more than once, just for the sheer joy of the English language. What a gift M.T. Anderson has given readers!

KT

Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706

Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933

horning at education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/



Smithhemb at aol.com wrote:
> These no doubt sound like quibbles when what's being praised is complex and
> challenging text for teens. But I found it hard to willingly suspend
> disbelief in this case. And I missed what I love best about history -- the
> challenge of learning to see a world through a subjectivity radically different from
> ones own.
>
> Sue Hemberger
>
>
Received on Mon 24 Nov 2008 03:29:32 PM CST