Reviews

• 邦訳は難しい？

  母親と共に、アフリカのとある王国からアメリカへ連れてこられた少年。奴隷という身分ながら、高級な洋服をあてがわれ、超一流の教育を施されていた・・・。 そのせいか、使用単語もレベルが違う。ＹＡだとみくびっていたので思ったより読み終えるのに時間がかかった。 ポイントはこれが実話に基づいているということと、大河的物語の一部に過ぎないということ。ところどころ千々に乱れる文章に心が痛む。今後どうなっていくのだろう・・・。

• Arrived on time and in perfect shape. Was a great read. No complaints.

• ...then perhaps, you are nothing. M. T. Anderson's fine novel, "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing" allows the reader to explore this premise through the eyes of Octavian Gitney, a young boy who has not yet come to the realization that he is a slave. Set in pre-Revolutionary Boston, "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing" highlights the often ignored fact that slavery existed not only in the southern colonies, but also throughout the northern colonies. While these individuals may have been referred to as "servants," the fact is they were slaves, owned by those who had purchased them. The story is narrated by Octavian, personalizing the work and making the events occurring throughout the text intimate and very intense, much more so than a third person narrative would have done. Octavian and his mother are the subjects of an experiment being conducted by the Novanglian College of Lucidity, a group of scholars. The experiment seeks to determine whether individuals of African descent are able to be taught and accomplish the same niceties as individuals of European ancestry. Ironically, in treating Cassiopeia and Octavian as experimental "animals," the College negates the possibility of proving whether the premise is valid or not. Further, Octavian, his mother, and the other servants are the only individuals, initially, who are referred to by name. Members of the college have been assigned numbers, which dehumanizes those individuals in the same way they have attempted to dehumanize others. It is only as the novel proceeds and individuals begin to show some sympathy for Octavian that a name is given the particular individual within the story's context. This is an extraordinary novel. The provocative themes which run throughout the book cause the reader to pause and consider what might have been had slavery not existed for nearly 100 years following the American Revolution. Written partly as a personal narrative, but also incorporating fictionalized examples of newspaper clippings and postings, the era in which the novel is set is reinforced in both its tone and attitude. While the novel is purported to be geared toward readers from ninth grade and beyond, it is really a novel for any reader who seeks literature that is thought-provoking and intelligently written. I recommend "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing" for anyone who loves to read. This is a novel that will stay with you long after you have placed it on the shelf.

• Ich stehe diesem Buch etwas zwiespältig gegenüber. Objektiv gesehen kann ich zugeben, dass es sich um ein sehr gutes Buch handelt. Die Sprache ist hervorragend, und zwar dadurch, dass sie an den Stil des 18. Jahrhunderts angelehnt ist. Die Thematik "Sklaventum" ist angemessen verarbeitet worden. Das Genre liegt etwa zwischen historischem Roman und gothic novel. (Ich kann nicht verstehen, warum es als Jugendbuch gekennzeichnet ist. Nur sehr wenige Jugendliche werden hier durchkommen.) Der Autor verwendet nach Art des gothic novel verschiedene Perspektiven, Zeitungsartikel, Briefe etc., was der Geschichte Dynamik verleihen sollte. Subjektiv gesehen hatte der Roman für meinen Geschmack aber einige sehr große Längen im letzten Drittel. Nachdem Octavians Perspektive verlassen wurde, was dem Spannungsbogen nicht sehr gut tut, geht es zum großen Teil nur noch um langweilige Kriegsdarstellungen. Dafür sind die ersten zwei Drittel sehr interressant, und auch der Schluss enttäuscht nicht. Vergleicht man Anfang und Schluss, so eröffnet sich für den Leser die Spannung zwischen Illusion und Wirklichkeit. Octavian wächst in einem Kreis rationalistischer Wissenschaftler auf, erhält eine hochkarätige klassische Bildung, ist bei vielen wissenschaftlichen Experimenten dabei, seine Mutter wird von allen Männern angebetet. Am Schluss liegt er gefesselt und kotzend am Boden. Er trägt eine Metallmaske vor dem Gesicht, die ihn am Sprechen hindert, die ihn daran hindert, das, was er über den Menschen, seine Rechte, über Moral und die Welt in seinem Unterricht gelernt hat, für sich selbst einzuklagen. Er ist nur ein Sklave, der Teil eines Experimentes war. Ein Höhepunkt der Geschichte ist sicherlich die Darstellung der pox party. Das es so etwas gab! Für eher zartbesaitete Leser will ich noch hinzufügen, dass es recht grausame Stellen gibt.

• Nicely written but a bit of a slog to be honest.

• I read "Feed," by M.T. Anderson years ago and loved it. I hadn't read anything else of his until "The Pox Party," so I was very excited. I loved the story, the plot, and the characters. My only complaint is that the second part of the book, told from multiple points of view via letter, moves a bit slowly, especially after the first part. It's a good idea and it got better as it went along, but I found myself scanning and moving forward without actually reading. It felt a bit sluggish, although, as I said, I appreciate the artistry in the approach. I enjoy well done historical fiction, and this is certainly well done. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

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