msbunnylicious's Full Review: M. T. Anderson - The Astonishing Life of Octavian ...
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Volume I: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson was an exquisite read wrapped around an intriguing, eventually gripping and thoroughly odd subplot. The plot overall is very thick and does take a bit of time to develop into excellence. Yet, I was taken from the first page on; the steady unfolding of the substantial story has a sort of Gothic intrigue to it, and a wonderful depth, the 1700's setting so vivid while slavery, war, and revolution shape the quiet, off beat protagonist, Octavian.
Octavian Gitney lives in a large house with his mother and no father, but countless father-y figures. His mother was formerly an African princess but went to live with Mr. Gitney, the owner of this strange house, when she was thirteen years of age and big with child, her entire world shattered and lover slain. The terms of which she came to live with Mr. Gitney under are mysterious to say the least, Octavian soon enough learning of these terms which in turn cause him to question his entire existence within the house.
Octavian is taught the arts, beloved music among his studies. He is learned in Latin and Greek, histories of all sorts. He is also a slave and a science experiment. For what exactly, Octavian does not yet know.
The heavily layered plot and somewhat-far-in-between-yet-intense-all-the-same twists and turns emanatea subtle, steadilyrising sense of excitement in the story. The writing is enthralling in the same sense, somewhat slow to get into, but filled with lots of details and emotions, and a steadiness of intensity. It is smooth although the grammer and such is taken from the 18th century. There are not over abundance of thee's and thou's and what not, although the language is aged. This alone gives the writing a wonderful vividness in tone without being stiff or difficult to understand.
Slavery is a distinct part of the story. Science and small pox also work into the subplots. The book isn't overwhelmed with these issues however, and nor does one such issue take center stage or dominate the story. It is more like Pox Party is flavored with these topics, adding additional depth and sense of meaning. The several subplots and themes combine and blend with the mystery/war aspects of the story, making this a heavy read, even though it's not a terribly long book.
Octavian as a character is wonderful. He is a very unique character, quiet and somewhat timid under the peculiar circumstances of his upbringing. Most interesting is the relationship between Octavian and his mother, which I enjoyed observing up to its....end. The character development for all of the characters is very rich, good, and, towards the end of Pox Party, I found myself feeling emotion toward a few characters (including a simmering anger for a particular Mr. Sharpe, which is incredible I think, seeing how he is entirely fictional in existence).
For the majority of Pox Party, the story is relayed through Octavian's first person recollection. However, a stint of it is relayed through letters to and from select characters. This letter perspective switch took place during a very high peak in the story so, at first, I was a little miffed to have been cut off from Octavian's point of view. But the letters were impactful still and got the job done while offering an alternate veiw point. After the letter stint, the book resumes on Octavian's first person account at which I realized just how much I liked Octavian's curious, scholarly persona. Overall, I give The Pox Party a four star rating and am off to read the sequel.
A gothic tale becomes all too shockingly real in this mesmerizing magnum opus by the acclaimed author of Feed .It sounds like a fairy tale. He is a bo...More at HotBookSale
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