Today, I come to you thoroughly confused with an attitude of what the everliving hell did I just read? I'm so taken aback by it that I've decided to come up with a new ranking for these kinds of books. I don't like to swear, but the only internal and external expression that I can come up with is WTF?! Seriously? WTF? You'll understand more once you read through the review, but I'm just baffled.
I don't know if any of you have ever seen the movie, What Dreams May Come or The Cell, but, for me, the two are definitely in the WTF category. This little book has also joined the ranks. Rarely do I ever come across a movie or a book that makes me react this way. But I need to be prepared for next time. I don't want to call it WTF, because that's a bit crude, and I'm pretty sure kids read this blog sometimes when researching for school. I've toned it down a bit to
I think it pictorially conveys my utter confusion about this novel. For all posts that win this category, I will pretty much throw my typical format out the window and just include what I think is important.
The Nest
Kenneth Oppel
244 pages, reading time: about 5 hours
Back cover reads: She was very blurry, not at all human-looking. There were huge dark eyes, and a kind of mane made of light, and when she spoke, I couldn't see a mouth moving but I felt her words, like a breeze against my face, and I understood her completely.
"We've come because of the baby," she said. "We've come to help."
All Steve had to do is say, "Yes."
But "yes" is a powerful word. It is also a dangerous one. And once it is uttered, can it be taken back?
Initial Reaction: After turning the last page, my initial reaction was seriously, WHAT THE EF. What the eff did I just read? Overall, the book itself is written well. The plot is fluid and I didn't get bored. The vocabulary is there, and Oppel presents us with a disturbing, life-like reality that makes the entire thing just creepy.
I gotta tell ya, I don't go into any of these books with background information or foreknowledge. I just take them as they are after reading the short description by the publisher. If I had investigated The Nest a little further, as I will be more inclined to do in the future, I would have most likely shied away from it because, apparently and according to goodreads.com, these are the genres under which it falls:
First of all: No. no horrors. I have been enduring enough creepy as hell things lately, and I don't really think that I'd like to ignorantly venture down this path again. Horror stories, in my estimation, tend to glorify sin and evil. This story was not in that vein, luckily, but it was still incredibly weird and creepy. There is no swearing and no paganry. Secondly, "Magical Realism?" What the hell?
The story revolves around Stephen and his family. He lives with both of his parents, his younger sister, Nicole, and his newborn baby brother, Theodore. Throughout the book, we are left wondering whether or not Stephen has very serious mental problems. We know that he has anxiety and mild OCD, has seen a therapist, and has learned different coping mechanisms for his panic attacks. But when the plot thickened, I was really left wondering whether or not he was experiencing full blown visual and audio hallucinations.
Attitude toward Catholicism? There isn't really any faith present. Stephen's family is either an agnostic family or an atheist family. One of his night-time rituals is to think through his "lists" of people or things that he wishes good on. He believes that he is dreaming about angels and asks his mother if she believes in them:
"She smiled. 'When I was little, I think I might have.'
'Not now?'
'I don't know that I do, Steve. It's a nice idea. But I don't think so'"(43-44). This perpetuates the ignorant idea that people of faith are childish and brainwashed sheep who blindly follow nonsense. St. Thomas Aquinas would not be impressed with this argument. We have reason for a reason. We have will for a reason. Faith and reason complement one another.
"The act of believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the Divine truth at the command of the will moved by the grace of God." -St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, Q. 2 a. 9"When I was little, she and Dad had sometimes gone to church, but they pretty much stopped a few years ago. The occasional Easter or Christmas. We didn't talk about God or anything. Nicole blessed people at night, and she must have gotten that from Mom or Dad. But Mom also read her horoscope every day; she said it was just for fun, so I didn't think she took it seriously. Once I'd heard her say there was more than us in the universe, but I wasn't sure what she meant by that exactly. Aliens, or some kind of supernatural forces, maybe? I didn't know if she believed in a god, though" (26). I really dislike how many contemporary YA novels and juvenile fiction make this so commonplace.
Also, one of the characters, the antagonist, explains how our society only wants "perfect" children. Stephen's baby brother, Theodore, has a congenital disease and, as far as he can tell, isn't quite "normal." The antagonist hatches a plan to replace the "defective" baby with a perfect one. The prolife warrior in me was completely up in arms about this kind of theme. It's so true, though (see quotes below). It makes perfect sense to speak out about this in our throw-away culture, but part of the dread of this novel was wondering what the hell was going to happen in the end. Would Stephen let his "defective" brother be replaced with the "perfect" one? I was just waiting for a huge let down, because that's what I've been experiencing with these books lately. I was pleasantly surprised, but that feeling was dwarfed by the final reaction of "wtf?"
Appropriate age? Because of the creepy and disturbing nightmares that Stephen faces, along with the psychological problems that he endures, I wouldn't say that this is appropriate for anyone under 14/15. I would encourage any parent to read this before giving it to their kid, regardless of age.
Writing Style: Oppel's writing style is fresh and fluid. He is an excellent writer. I'm just troubled that he put his talent to such use with this kind of story. After looking at some of the reviews on goodreads.com, others who were unimpressed by The Nest did praise Oppel for his other works. I did enjoy the advanced vocabulary, and how compelled I was to keep reading the story. His description is en pointe. At no point did the novel become boring or tiresome. I can appreciate that, even if I was completely flabbergasted by the content of the story.
Notable Quoteables:
"I hated it when her eyes got wet. It made me scared. Like she wasn't my mom anymore but something fragile that might break" (41).
"We have feelings! We have aspirations! We're not just little bugs!" (78). Oh yes you are just little bugs. And you have mortal, animative, and irrational souls that act on instinct only. You will cease to exist as soon as you die. No Heaven for you!
"You're not ready to give him a name because you don't know if he'll live. It's a bit like admitting he's not a real person. And he's not, is he? Not yet. Not until we're done. I think you know what that means" (130).
"You think they'll care when they discover he's healthy? You actually think they'll wonder, 'Hmmm. How can he be so healthy all of a sudden? How worrying! How suspicious!' They'll just be so grateful. And it will be Theo. Just healthy. And before you know it, you'll forget all about that crappy little broken baby" (131). This is the point in the story when I started to get really pissed.
"Who wouldn't want a perfectly healthy child? And a very, very clever one, I might add! The IQ of this one here is going to be off the charts! A baby who won't get sick. And won't be anxious. And won't feel lonely and depressed. Someone who's fearless! And courageous! Someone who can make the world a better place! That's what we're giving you. It's Christmas come early! It's what every parent wants. It's what everyone wants" (173).
"No, it's not--it's not right." I stepped back from the queen's antenna, but it snaked after me. "You can't just take away our baby like he's trash. It's not right" (178). BOOM.
"Don't you see how ridiculous this whole argument is? [...] And tiring. You must be so tired, Steven. You're fighting a losing battle. People lie and say they don't want perfect. But really they do. Perfect bodies and minds and comfy chairs and cars and vacations and boyfriends and girlfriends and pets and children. Above all, children. Why do we lie and say we don't? Because we're afraid people will think we're mean or vain or cruel. But we all want it. Me, I'm just helping it come true. I'm at least telling the truth. No liars here, no sir" (218). This is a monologue straight from the bowels of hell and the mouth of satan if I've ever read one. Not only does the antagonist use Stephen's own "deficiencies" and insecurities against him, but she tries to convince Stephen that she's telling the truth.
Final Summation:
While Oppel writes a beautifully crafted story that is a compelling page-turner with excellent vocabulary and fluid plot, the content that he uses to achieve those factors is just mentally disturbing.
I also have the feeling that this book really submits/adds to the throw-away mentality of our society when it comes to the most vulnerable members of it. Yes, Stephen stands up for his baby brother and saves his life, but the arguments of the antagonist are so blatantly truthful in regards to the pro-abortion agenda that it makes it all the more terrifying.
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It's not that I think the book is a waste of time, it's just confusing and unappealing. I don't enjoy books that are creepy, horrifying, or leave me asking:
I think I should go revisit The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict just to help myself get over this book.
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