- Several generations of loveless (or at least romance-less) marriages
- Star-crossed young lovers
- The Cuban Missile Crisis
- Our world on the brink of destruction
- A look at the role both politics and religion play in the end of the world
- Some pretty life-changing explosions
Review:
Oh, what to say about Life: An Exploded Diagram...
It has received all kinds of glowing reviews.
It bested Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls in the first round of the BOB.
Author Mal Peet excelled in revealing a very specific world through the use of the characters' dialect. One example: "You put that ole coat on, if yer gorn out. There's a wind'd cut yer jacksy in half."
As I read, I was struck repeatedly with the thought, "Wow. This man can write." There are tons of writers who can tell a good story, but Mal Peet has a particularly affecting way with words.
All things considered, I can appreciate Life: An Exploded Diagram.
But did I really enjoy reading Life? That's a different story. My major issue is that I sincerely feel that this is an adult novel. The vast majority of the characters are adults. The narrator is an adult, reflecting back on a certain period in his teen years. The issues and themes that many of the adults dealt with felt completely out of place in a YA novel. When the story focused in on Clem and Frankie's teenage forbidden love, it felt a little more YA, but then the ending wandered back into adult territory again.
And does the YA/Adult distinction matter so much? Perhaps not. But. It just won a round in the Battle of the Kids' Books. And this is not a book I would hand to most kids.
The overall mood of the story felt gloomy to me. Every scene I envisioned was brown, gray, and dreary. I found myself looking forward to the scenes with the different political leaders during the Cuban Missile Crisis because those were the only passages that hinted at any action. And because I thought Peet's sense of humor really came through as he described different conversations and reflections that were had by Kennedy, Castro, and Kruschhev.
And the end. What in the world happened there? Bizarre.
If you've read Life: An Exploded Diagram, I would love to talk to you about it. Please leave a comment and let me know!
Recommendation:
I would recommend Life to mature readers who appreciate adult, literary fiction or historical fiction.
Posts
The concept is interesting, but I have such a qualm with novels that claim to be YA and are actually VASTLY too mature for the audience. Unfortunately, this sounds like it fits the bill. I appreciate your honest take on it though! Brilliant review :)
ReplyDeleteI have it checked out right now, so I'll get back to you after I read it!
ReplyDeleteI didn't buy this for my YA department because I too felt it was much more an adult novel. I didn't see it having a wide range of teen appeal and frankly wanted to spend my money on other items for my collection. I know there are teens who would enjoy this book but I saw it sitting on the shelf more than anything. You definitely hit the nail on the head with this review.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. You're right. Sounds very mature. Great honest review. I hadn't heard of this one before.
ReplyDeleteI bought this book for my summer reading so I'll put a sticky note inside it to remind me to come back here after I've read it.
ReplyDeleteI have read Exposure by Mal Peet, though, (loved it) and would agree that Exposure is a crossover book - one that appeals to teens and adults. Exposure also has a wide cast of characters from different age groups. Traditionally, we expect a children's/YA protagonist to be a child/young adult. But I'm not sure that HAS to be the case. My favorite Golden Book when I was little was The Happy Man and His Dump Truck. There weren't any kids in that.
I see your point entirely and thought many of these same thoughts while reading the book. I loved the book so much in the end because of all of these things. It was a rich, literary read and why not introduce this type of writing to YA readers? I realize not all adults are drawn to literary fiction, and certainly not all YA readers be would either. However, to dismiss it for that reason would disallow the chance to introduce writing of this nature to a sophisticated YA reader, one who having suffered through any number of classics that were mandatory assignments, might find more enjoyable?
ReplyDeleteI could relate to the book because I'm a 50-something book professional and appreciate the structure, symbolism, voice, surprising twists and introspection that Peet brought to this novel. He embraced each relationship with honesty and love and that certainly isn't a bad thing to represent to YA readers.
I say let anyone and everyone try it and see if you like it. One might find a whole new genre of fiction to enjoy and it could lead to the discovery of many more wonderful authors in an adult reading life.