Part of my assignment for the new Kids On Wheels magazine is writing serial fiction. I haven't written fiction in many years, and when I did, it was for teenagers; the KOW audience is 8-12 years old. I'm quietly freaking out, wondering how on earth I'm going to meet this challenge. I know I'll come up with something, but will it be anything anyone would ever want to read? To start my mind working along age-appropriate lines, I've been re-familiarizing myself with classic books for the reading level. I chose five: The Phantom Tollboth by Norton Juster, A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle (one of my favorites when I was that age), the incomparable Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, From The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg, and the modern classic Holes by Louis Sachar. Everyone should read Holes , it is brilliant. It was also make into an excellent movie, with a screenplay written, thank goodness, by the author. All this r...
Well I'm already scared, a little more won't matter.
ReplyDeleteMy son works for a bookseller and can "check out" new books. I'll read it and then decide if I want to own it.
It's the fear we should all have: the fear that is a warning. If you do read it, drop me a line, let me know what you think.
ReplyDeleteWow. I'm reading this on a Monday morning, and that just added a little more scary into my day.
ReplyDeleteStill interested though, so will check to see if it's at my local public library.
Cheers, and all good things to you,
Cin
Thanks Cin! Nice to see you here.
ReplyDeleteJust how good is the history in it? I like some alternate histories, but others just set my teeth on edge because their history is weak to begin with. "If we can prevent the attack on Pearl Harbour we'll prevent World War 2" is a classic, as is any story where the Germans sound like Colonel Klink and the Americans like John Wayne.
ReplyDeleteJust how good is the history in it?
ReplyDeleteIt begins with 100% historical accuracy.
Then something happens - something fictional but, in my opinion, extremely plausible. And it goes from there.
To me, it was all completely credible. I kept thinking, thank god I'm in Canada already - then had to remind myself that it didn't really happen.
Now, this book may have affected me more deeply because I am Jewish, and from the exact type of background (one generation later) that Roth describes. That's one reason I'm very interested in other people's impressions. Allan is reading it now. If you choose to, please report!
Oh, there is also an appendix at the end with factual information on each character, for those who might not know where the fact ends and the fiction begins.
If we can prevent the attack on Pearl Harbour we'll prevent World War 2" is a classic, as is any story where the Germans sound like Colonel Klink and the Americans like John Wayne.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Philip Roth is too good for this. He's a great thinker and a great writer, far too complex for caricatures.