Whereas these days our houses are filled with any number of objects meant to entertain (and hopefully inspire?) our children from wooden blocks to plastic dolls to electronic devices of one kind and another, the kids in Adenville spent their free time running around in packs and playing outdoor games, exploring, fighting, swimming or watching things happen. One of the things that struck me upon reading this book as an adult was the way in which different childhood was one hundred years ago. When the cranky town plumber arrives two days ahead of the installation to dig trenches for the pipes and build the cesspool, Tom puts his great brain to work. While this, as well as the reaction of the townspeople, could be story enough, the book isn't called The Great Brain for nothing. The book begins with the uproar caused by the installation of the Adenville's first indoor toilet in the Fitzgerald home. The father of the turncoat "decided that all male Fitzgeralds must bear the middle name Dennis to remind them of the cowardice of his son." What makes life in Adenville and the Fitzgerald family more interesting than a mere peek into the past is the fact that, besides being the only college educated man in town and the editor and publisher of the Adenville Weekly Advocate, Papa cannot resist ordering any new gadget or invention he sees advertised or in catalogs. Narrator John explains the middle names of the Fitzgerald boys with a story of a betrayal that occurred in his family in County meath Ireland over two hundred years ago. And yes, these books are loosely autobiographical.
The Fitzgerald family, part of the 500 non-Mormons in a town of 2,500, is made up of Mamma, Papa, Aunt Bertha (who is not a blood relation) and brothers Sweyn Dennis, Tom Dennis and John Dennis.
The Great Brain begins in 1896 in Adenville, Utah and, much like the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, is fascinating for the glimpse into a not-too-distant history that it offers. Sadly, only the first three books in the series are in print today, but I highly recommend tracking down all seven if you can. Upon rereading The Great Brain as an adult, I found it just as funny, suspenseful and hard to put down as I did when I was a kid. I read all seven of the books in Fitzgerald's series (an eighth, The Great Brain is Back, was published in 1995 after the author's death using notes left by Fitzgerald) as a child and still mourn the fact that they did not make it to adulthood with me. While the writing is vivid, Mayer's pictures bring the story to life.
Although I didn't read Wilder's books until I was an adult and reading them out loud to my daughter, I am sure that as a child I was predisposed to like The Great Brain books because of my familiarity and love of Mercer Mayer's illustrations.
First published in 1967, The Great Brain by John D Fitzgerald is a wonderful counterpart to Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series.
0 kommentar(er)
