Category: Fiction

The Forgetting Room (w/spoiler)

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Bantock, Nick. The Forgetting Room. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. 1997.

I have always been a fan of Nick Bantock’s work. I fell in love with Griffin and Sabine and reread the trilogy a thousand times over the years. When I found out Bantock had more to offer I jumped on the chance to read them all. I just finished The Forgetting Room. Part fiction, part art and all mystery, The Forgetting Roomis one man’s journey to Spain. It’s his nine day journal about unraveling mysteries surrounding his grandfather and the life he led.  In true Bantock fashion there are glorious pages of artwork and of course, voyeuristic letters to unfold.

Spoiler: Armon doesn’t completely solve the mystery. There is romance is the air.

The Chocolate War (w/spoilers)

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Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War. New York: Dell, 1986.
I hated this book. Not because of the way it was written, well, maybe that added to it a little. I hated the premise. How can a school be overrun by bullies? How is it possible that an educational establishment can become so out of whack? I didn’t believe in the power of The Vigils as much as I believed in the bullies behind it.
Then, there’s the character development, or lack of it. I was itching to write out a chart of who was who. Who were the good guys? There wasn’t enough detail to really make me feel sorry for, or like, or hate any of them one way the other. Even Jerry, the “main” character lacked depth. I felt bad for him because he was the kid without a mom, he was the weakling who decided to stand up for himself…or something. I have no idea why he did half the things he did. All I know is that he wanted to play football and he had a strained relationship with his dad.

Spoiler: I can only assume he died in the end.