the astonishing life of octavian nothing traitor to the nation

14 & up)Īfter surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself. Prefaced by an outline of volume one, this can stand alone, but readers who finish both will feel that they have been part of a grand and special adventure.

Elegantly crafted writing in an 18th-century voice, sensitive portrayals of primary and secondary characters and a fascinating author’s note make this one of the few volumes to fully comprehend the paradoxes of the struggle for liberty in America. In so doing, Octavian receives a first-hand education quite different from his classical training and offers readers an African-American perspective neglected in most sources on the period. He not only fights the rebels but records the stories of his fellow Africans and escaped slaves so their names and stories will not be lost. With an eye trained to the hypocrisies and conflicted loyalties of the American Revolution, Anderson resoundingly concludes the finely nuanced bildungsroman begun in his National Book Award–winning novel.In the sequel to The Pox Party (2006), Octavian Nothing escapes the College of Lucidity and flees to British-controlled Boston, where he will swear fealty “to whoever offers emancipation with the greatest celerity.” When Lord Dunmore offers manumission to slaves joining the British counterrevolutionary forces, Octavian joins the Royal Ethiopian Regiment off the coast of Virginia. Readers will marvel at Anderson’s ability to maintain this high-wire act of elegant, archaic language and shifting voices. The story’s scope is immense, in both its technical challenges and underlying intellectual and moral questions. It's layered, it's full of historic reference, and it's about slavery and equal rights. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)Ī serious look at Boston, pre-Revolution. Octavian's narration.quickly draws readers into its almost musical flow, and the relentless action and plot turns are powerful motivators. įascinating and eye-opening… this powerful novel will resonate with contemporary readers. Anderson’s imaginative and highly intelligent exploration of the horrors of human experimentation and the ambiguous history of America’s origins will leave readers impatient for the promised sequel.Ī historical novel of prodigious scope, power and insight.This is the Revolutionary War seen at its intersection with slavery through a disturbingly original lens.

The astonishing life of octavian nothing traitor to the nation