Octavian Nothing
If you haven't read The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation (Volume 1: The Pox Party), you should check out the online reviews to try and get an idea of the scope of this amazing story. Beyond Anderson's talent with a turn of phrase, what I find most remarkable about his achievement here is his use of character. Octavian starts as a blank slate in such a unique position that readers are allow to "imprint" with his perspective...and yet he becomes an individual drawn to a depth that many writers aspire to and will never achieve.
The issue of whether it "stands alone" will of course come up in award discussion...so again I ask: where is that in the Newbery criteria?
The issue of whether it "stands alone" will of course come up in award discussion...so again I ask: where is that in the Newbery criteria?
posted by Nina Lindsay at 11:49 AM
3 Comments:
Yes, though it doesn't technically follow that, since committee members can't discuss other books in the series, that all readers should derive the same enjoyment, or that the book should stand alone. I suspect that it becomes effectively impossible to get a committee to agree that the book is "distinguished" in "delineation of plot...character" otherwise...but I'm so intrigued by the problem that we might just try it at the Mock Newbery for purposes of public experiment.
What about Runaway by Wendelin Van Draanen? This book is connected tangentially to Wendelin's "Sammy Keyes" books, but stands very much on it's own. It's stayed in my mind ever since I read the manuscript last year.
I just finished this and it is truly a remarkable work. I think it stands alone just fine, but Newbery? Seems older to me.
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