Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers



After reading the Wilderking Trilogy by Rogers, I was so very happy to see that he was writing another book and more happy to discover it set in Corenwald! The story of Grady (aka Grado) is adventurous, laugh out loud funny, heartwarming, and yet a bit sad. Not knowing where he came from, what his last name is, or where his place in life is, Grady is searching for answers. But without anyone to tell him the truth, he doesn't get to far in that particular quest. For a long time he believed that he was an actual Feechie, so when Floyd- his "foster-father" of sorts- declares that Grady is a plain ugly boy whose own mother must not have wanted him, things fall apart for Grady. Since he has no where else to go, he stays with Floyd and they search for different ways to trick and "skin" the people of Corenwald seeing as how no one believes in Feechies anyway. From there, they proceed in many adventures and after a couple years, decided to start another Feechie scare, then they could get their show back on the road.

The Charlatan's Boy was full of very funny moments. A couple of my favorite chapters are "In which I ruin a feller's hair-do and nearabout get smashed for it," (if I'm remembering the title correctly), "In which I get mistaken for a panther" and "In which I tell the truth and hear it." As you can tell just from the names of these chapters, this tale is told in a fun accent that adds personality to the story and Grady.

There were not as many mentions of God in this book as there are in the Wilderking Trilogy- there are a few mentions of prayer and a "praying machine" (being sold by a trickster who even Floyd doesn't like) and it is not an allegory. However, full of adventures, laughs, betrayals, and truths, The Charlatan's Boy is a book not to missed.

No comments:

Post a Comment