(no subject)

[lizzybennet]

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As if I needed any more convincing of MT Anderson's amazing writing abilities! This book is both beautiful and thought-provoking on many levels. It takes place at the cusp of the Revolutionary War in Boston. Octavian and his mother are outcast royalty who live in the home of a group of scientists. He's given the best education of the day, constantly exposed to Latin, science, art and music. However, there is one room in the house that he's forbidden to enter and the warning sign on the door is his own face, frozen as if screaming. Once he enters, his whole life changes as he begins to understand the true nature of his situation.

The book is written as if it is a collection of historical documents. Most of the chapters are memoirs, written by Octavian himself. Some are newspaper clippings, some are letters of various characters or published articles. The insight into the instability of the time period, with the Revolutionary War starting to brew is very interesting. The language is also quite reminiscent of the time period, with some Characters using Capitalization very Frequently in their Writing.

This is book one of a trilogy.

View all my reviews >>

Comments

[arrctic.livejournal.com]

nice review. I'd heard a lot of good press on this series and have been contemplating picking it up for awhile. Glad to see you like it too.

didn't know Frequent Capitalization was ever an Issue during any Particular time period. Interesting.