Reader Response to 47 by Walter Mosley
Back cover (excerpt from preface) reads:
"The story you are about to read concerns certain ebents that occurred in the early days of my life. It all happened over a hundred and seventy years ago. For many of you it might sound like a tall tale because I am no older today than I was back there in the year 1832. But this is no whopper I'm telling; it is a story about my boyhood as a slave and my fated encounter with the amazing Tall John from beyond Africa, who could read dreams, fly between galaxies, and make friends with any animal no matter how wild."
My response:
The cover is incredibly deceiving. I thought that it was going to be about the underground railroad. it kind of is. It's uncle tom's cabin meets a wrinkle in time. It's got this historical fiction/weird stream-of-consciousness/science fiction thing going on. The only thing I really didn't like about it was the ending. Authors take note: it ended very abruptly, with one of those damn happily-ever-after things. It seems like the author was either 1) too lazy to finish the work or 2) didn't know how to. I hate it when authors do that.... it jars me out of the story prematurely. not a great way to end the book. There's a difference between the type of ending that leaves you hanging... and this that leaves you with nothing... everything is tied up in a pretty package. PUKE.
It was pretty stellar. I liked how it read really fast. finished it in about 3 hours. Lots of christian imagery... lots of imagery. Wonderfully written. I would recommend it to students ages 13-18. The seniors might understand some of the weird abstract things... and the younger kids will just like it because it's a great story.
I, however, do not think that it's a timeless work. But who cares! It wins the Word Nerd Seal of Approval.
a nice quote:
"Flies zipped around them and the sun beat down like Satan's hammer on their backs" (93).
out
Back cover (excerpt from preface) reads:
"The story you are about to read concerns certain ebents that occurred in the early days of my life. It all happened over a hundred and seventy years ago. For many of you it might sound like a tall tale because I am no older today than I was back there in the year 1832. But this is no whopper I'm telling; it is a story about my boyhood as a slave and my fated encounter with the amazing Tall John from beyond Africa, who could read dreams, fly between galaxies, and make friends with any animal no matter how wild."
My response:
The cover is incredibly deceiving. I thought that it was going to be about the underground railroad. it kind of is. It's uncle tom's cabin meets a wrinkle in time. It's got this historical fiction/weird stream-of-consciousness/science fiction thing going on. The only thing I really didn't like about it was the ending. Authors take note: it ended very abruptly, with one of those damn happily-ever-after things. It seems like the author was either 1) too lazy to finish the work or 2) didn't know how to. I hate it when authors do that.... it jars me out of the story prematurely. not a great way to end the book. There's a difference between the type of ending that leaves you hanging... and this that leaves you with nothing... everything is tied up in a pretty package. PUKE.
It was pretty stellar. I liked how it read really fast. finished it in about 3 hours. Lots of christian imagery... lots of imagery. Wonderfully written. I would recommend it to students ages 13-18. The seniors might understand some of the weird abstract things... and the younger kids will just like it because it's a great story.
I, however, do not think that it's a timeless work. But who cares! It wins the Word Nerd Seal of Approval.
a nice quote:
"Flies zipped around them and the sun beat down like Satan's hammer on their backs" (93).
out
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