On Tuesday April 28th, we met to discuss two books at Pam's place over crock pot lasagne and all sorts of delectable items.
We read Octavian Nothing along side the George Washington: Spymaster book and I felt the two were complementary texts. This one is a young adult novel which has a rather elevated vocabulary and explores some difficult issues. There was some discussion in our group as to whether or not we'd even call this a "YA book." It's meant to be written in the Gothic style and I think it's a very successful effort in that regard. It's quite neat, actually.
Much of the story is set in Pre-revolutionary war Boston at the home of Mr. Gitney or 03-01 as he prefers to be called (in his numerical system he's devised). There, young Octavian lives with his mother and it's not too long before we discover things are a bit unusual at the Novanglian College of Lucidity which is the official name for Gitney's "operation" in Boston. He has a team of researchers in science and all sorts of philosophical pursuits who come and go and are apparently studying Octavian as well.
The story explores the science and beliefs of the era, racial tensions, mounting tensions between the British and the Patriots, and personal freedoms and responsibilities. Most of the story is told through Octavian's eyes, but there is one section which I rather liked in which a young soldier named Evidence writes letters to his sister Fruition and we learn the events of the story that way.
A great scene in the story, which occurs just before all hell breaks loose, is the Pox Party which lends its name to the title of the book. In this scene Gitney rounds up friends and family and they infect themselves with a low dose of the small pox in an effort to become immune. One book club member commented that the scene reminded them of The Masque of the Red Death.
While not everyone in the group was finished with this book, I understood others to find it as engaging as I did.
George Washington, Spymaster:
How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War by Thomas B. Allen
While this book had a cool premise and lots of great resources I felt it was dry, too brief, and confusing as a result. I am all about the spy world and so learning about a founding father through that lens was neat.
The book is aimed at young readers and maybe if they were already studying the Revolutionary War this would make sense to them. However, I felt like there were so many names thrown at me with little sense of who they were or how they connected. It was a lot to keep track of and it just seemed like the author could have have delved a little deeper with each one to bring the reader into the personality and character of the various players in the story.
The notes at the end of the book that corresponded with the chapters were particularly fun. I also can see how some might get a real kick out of trying to write things in Tallmadge's code which is provided in the back of the book. The author includes a lot of websites where one can view other primary source materials and I thought that was a real bonus.
Another revolutionary book that was recommended by both Larry and Brian was Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fisher.
We read Octavian Nothing along side the George Washington: Spymaster book and I felt the two were complementary texts. This one is a young adult novel which has a rather elevated vocabulary and explores some difficult issues. There was some discussion in our group as to whether or not we'd even call this a "YA book." It's meant to be written in the Gothic style and I think it's a very successful effort in that regard. It's quite neat, actually.
Much of the story is set in Pre-revolutionary war Boston at the home of Mr. Gitney or 03-01 as he prefers to be called (in his numerical system he's devised). There, young Octavian lives with his mother and it's not too long before we discover things are a bit unusual at the Novanglian College of Lucidity which is the official name for Gitney's "operation" in Boston. He has a team of researchers in science and all sorts of philosophical pursuits who come and go and are apparently studying Octavian as well.
The story explores the science and beliefs of the era, racial tensions, mounting tensions between the British and the Patriots, and personal freedoms and responsibilities. Most of the story is told through Octavian's eyes, but there is one section which I rather liked in which a young soldier named Evidence writes letters to his sister Fruition and we learn the events of the story that way.
A great scene in the story, which occurs just before all hell breaks loose, is the Pox Party which lends its name to the title of the book. In this scene Gitney rounds up friends and family and they infect themselves with a low dose of the small pox in an effort to become immune. One book club member commented that the scene reminded them of The Masque of the Red Death.
While not everyone in the group was finished with this book, I understood others to find it as engaging as I did.
George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War by Thomas B. Allen
While this book had a cool premise and lots of great resources I felt it was dry, too brief, and confusing as a result. I am all about the spy world and so learning about a founding father through that lens was neat.
The book is aimed at young readers and maybe if they were already studying the Revolutionary War this would make sense to them. However, I felt like there were so many names thrown at me with little sense of who they were or how they connected. It was a lot to keep track of and it just seemed like the author could have have delved a little deeper with each one to bring the reader into the personality and character of the various players in the story.
The notes at the end of the book that corresponded with the chapters were particularly fun. I also can see how some might get a real kick out of trying to write things in Tallmadge's code which is provided in the back of the book. The author includes a lot of websites where one can view other primary source materials and I thought that was a real bonus.
Another revolutionary book that was recommended by both Larry and Brian was Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fisher.
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