Thursday, June 27, 2013

Me All Alone at the End of the World by M. T. Anderson

This review was originally published on my other blog in 2007.

The online book group that I belong to, Adbooks, is discussing M. T. Anderson's work this month, so I decided to read some more of his books. This one is a picture book illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. The main idea is that a young boy lives at "the end of the world" by himself. He does things all day that put him in harmony with his environment and he is happy. Until, that is, a man shows up who transforms the end of the world into a pleasure park and brings fun, fun, fun to his life. At first, he is enticed by friends and fun, but gradually he misses the wind. In the end he leaves to live by himself at the top of the world.

I am not sure who the audience is for this story. The plot would seem to go over the heads of children who are normally the target of picture books, but perhaps not.

M. T. Anderson is a hard one for me to figure out. His books are so diverse. Some seem shallow, some silly, some profound, some grim. For me, Feed is his best book. Feed is a devastating near future look at the consequences of our current technology and seems frighteningly prophetic. Another of his recent books, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party, is getting good reviews, but I didn't like it that much - too grim for me. He is obviously a talented and bold author, trying out various styles and themes with audacity. I respect him for that, even if not all of his books hit the mark for me.

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