Shaun Tan’s ‘The Red Tree’ A picture book focussing on depression in children

The Red Tree by Shaun Tan one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It is melancholic and sombre. It is a picture book of exquisite beauty. The blurb at the back sets the tone for the thought provoking read:

‘Sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to.’

In my opinion this book deals with the topic of depression and sadness in children. It begins with a picture of a girl waking up in a bleak room. Each image from then on is describing the emotions one feels when they are overwhelmed and lost with sadness. Tan does this expertly through the use of symbols and colours. Some of his descriptions for emotions are striking, as seen below. Two words accompany this image: ‘Nobody understands’ I think this haunting illustration perfectly sums up how one can feel so isolated and closed off from the world in times of stress.

Scale and perspective are used to excellent effect in the book. The girl is always dwarfed by monstrous shapes and beings to underline her powerlessness in spite of her feelings. The image below shows the sudden weight that depression could bring on a person ‘Darkness overcomes you.’ is the line describing the image.

I have looked many times at this book and I always find something new, there are literally hundreds of shapes and hidden signs interlocked in the background and in other objects. The artwork in the story is a thing to behold. One of the most vibrant and vivid pictures I have ever looked at appears below to describe how wonderful things pass us by when we’re overcome with grief or sadness.

I admire this book on so many levels. The text and the images combine to produce a powerful message. The book is bleak but has a hopeful ending which I felt was important to include. I admire Tan’s ability to produce a book which deals with the feelings of melancholy which develop in children. Tan himself refutes this, saying he completes his books without thinking of an audience but I think this book is a work of real merit. He is one of the top illustrators in the genre and I often wonder is it an injustice to call his books picture books as they are very hard to define. This is a book most people should try and read once. I think people will identify with it’s strange but hopeful message. I know everyone who reads this book will empathize and understand what the protagonist is going through.

This book is a marvelous achievement as I believe it breaks out of the genre of children’s literature in a way, it tackles the taboo topic of depression and grief in children. This is my interpretation, I would like to hear your view. Do you think The Red Tree is one of the greats? Would you agree that Shaun Tan’s talents don’t get the recognition they deserve? Please comment, I’d love a different opinion!

The Catcher in the Rye-Will we ever see the movie adaptation of Salinger’s Masterpiece?

‘I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful. If I’m on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I’m going, I’m liable to say I’m going to the opera. It’s terrible.’-Holden Caulfield

This is the quote I would pick out of the hundreds of excerpts you could chose to give a glimpse into the enigma that is Holden Caulfield. There has been so much written about The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger that a review of the book would be rendered redundant. Instead, I want to comment on the possible reasons why Salinger refused to make his book into a full length movie, despite the offer of tens of millions of dollars.The Catcher in the Rye is J.D. Salinger’s only published full-length novel. Around 250,000 copies are sold each year, with 65 million copies sold total. According to Modern Language Review Journal, the novel was the most censored book in high schools and libraries between 1961 and 1982. The novel has influenced notorious criminals like Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley Jr. as well as former presidents. George H.W. Bush said it was one of the books that inspired him. If it is so influential surely it would be possible to make a film out of it? A plethora of Hollywood stars including Rober Di Nero, Leonardo Di Caprio, Marlon Brando and Tobey Maguire have tried to buy the rights to the film, most recently Steven Spielberg and Harvey Weinstein made last ditch attempts to buy the rights before Salinger’s death.

It is my favourite book of all time and I don’t think it will be ever replaced. The main reason it appeals to me is based on the main protagonist,Holden Caulfield. He is the most intriguing character ever depicted in my opinion. I read the book recently and began to think how would a film on this book ever do Caulfield justice? Salinger refused to sell the rights to any film right up until his death despite a huge desire to see the manic novel depicted on the silver screen. Upon further contemplation I agreed with Salinger, he maintained that unless he could play Caulfield himself, he would never allow a film. No one could do it justice besides the author himself. He loved his character too much to let him be portrayed in another form and in a letter in 1957 maintained that ‘Holden Caulfield, in my super biased opinion, is essentially unactable. A sensitive, intelligent, talented actor in a reversible coat wouldn’t be nearly enough.‘

Salinger wrote Caulfield in such a way that making the transition to film would be exceedingly difficult. A lot of the beauty in the book lies in Caulfields non stop dialogue which ebbs and flows and is erratic and off the point ,randomly going from one thought to the next without reason. This aspect of the book is another reason why it is hard to see how that beauty would transcend onto a film. His peculiarities and his quick wit to point out the flaws in every other character in the book whilst not recognizing any of his own make Holden one of the most infuriating characters of all time. He changes his opinion and judgement on characters he meets in the story flippantly depending on their actions and conversation .Some people after reading the book complain about his constant moaning and cursing, others embrace his peculiarities and revel in his open rebellion and impulsiveness to do anything he wants in New York according to how he feels at that very moment. It is one of those books which create a love/hate reaction among readers.

I don’t think I will ever see a Catcher in the Rye film in my lifetime. The only possibility of a film is if Salinger’s estate come into financial trouble and are forced to sell the rights for a film. The only likely outcome is a film will be shot once the copyright runs out on the novel in many years time. I would prefer not to see a film being made as I have such an estimation of  what Holden Caulfield would do and say and how he would react in some of those legendary confrontations he has with characters that any film could ruin this book for me. I think, like Salinger, that no actor could do Caulfields complexity and peculiarity any justice. That said I also felt the same about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby but I have to admit Baz Luhrmann certainly did a fine job of remastering that particular literary classic.

Would you like a film to be made of The Catcher in the Rye? Is there any other literary classics you would like to see made into a film? Please comment, I would love your thoughts.

Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness- As good as Tolkein’s or Pullman’s trilogies?

 

People dismiss Young Adult books to the teenagers of this world, but you are missing out on some of the best books around if you do.The Chaos Walking Trilogy is a series of books by American born British writer Patrick Ness. I think this trilogy will get the recognition it deserves. After a period of time, I believe it can sit proudly on the same shelf as J.R.R Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings and Phillip Pullman’s Dark Materials. Now I know readers, especially fans of Tolkein would say that nothing can compare to the Lord of the Rings but I believe the Chaos Walking series is similar in the way the protagonist goes on a physical and spiritual journey to save the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the series. It is made up of three books- The Knife of Never Letting Go, the Ask and the Answer and the final book Monsters of Men. 

The first book of the trilogy is the best in my opinion, it centres on a boy called Todd Hewitt who grows up in a world where no females exist, and everyone can hear each others thoughts. Even the animals thoughts can be heard. Todd lives in a dystopia of fear and suppression under the rule of the ‘Mayor’ who is the arch enemy. An incident forces Todd to go on the run from the government and the adventure begins. The fact that everyone can hear each other was a brilliant idea. I felt this was the author suggesting that we are all connected nowadays, that we have no privacy with social media and therefore we ‘hear’ each others thought. I loved the relationship that existed between Todd and his loyal dog Manchee. I also thought one of the many evil characters in the story, Aaron was a supremely complex and complicated person.

The Ask and the Answer is a very different book. Todd is situated in a town where he must decide which side he must join in the middle of the war. Ness once again makes it very hard for the reader to distinguish what might be the ‘good’ side and what might be the side to oppose. I enjoyed this feature as you could easily empathize with one army and make an argument for their cause. The ambiguity of empathy creates an uneasiness to the book, leaving the reader constantly torn between the opposing factions. I felt this book however lost the cutting edge and fast pace of the first. The plot meanders along and it is very unclear what the end point might be. The book is merely a prelude to the concluding book where all the questions are answered.

Monster of Men is the final book in the trilogy, it is a continuation of the second book as the war rumbles on, Todd begins to become a man and is forced to make huge decisions as both a leader and as an individual. Todd begins to hone his own mental strength in order to use it against people. He is faced with many moral decisions. The ending is brilliant to the trilogy and brought great closure to the story.

Because all the males of the planet can hear each other, the book is written in a very unusual style where one must adjust. The narrative is a running commentary on what Todd is thinking so nothing is left out. We also get to hear what the other characters are thinking which makes the book clear and focussed. The most interesting aspect of the book is it is laden with bad grammar and spelling mistakes when Todd is thinking. This was done to remind the reader that we are reading Todds mind, it plays on his accent it also also that he was illiterate in the story and couldn’t spell. This made me empathize with Todd straight away but I know other readers find it frustrating and wish to correct the mistakes as they are reading the story.The trilogy is full of love, misery, cruelty and above all suspense.

These three books are some of the best pieces of writing I have read. I encourage you to read the first book and get started. I think they will go down as modern classics. I would argue they are as good as anything Pullman or Tolkein has written. Do you agree? If you don’t, even better! Please leave a comment.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness- The True Meaning of Grief

I have been reading a lot of Patrick Ness‘ work lately, the Chaos Walking trilogy was exceptional and More Than This was certainly another thought-provoking book, it  had a poor ending unfortunately but was a great read nonetheless. A Monster Calls by Ness is a terribly sad and cruel book but deals with the raw human emotions one would feel with a dying parent.

Ness was asked by the family of deceased author Siobhán Dowd to complete the book based on the manuscript Dowd had started before passing away from cancer. The young protagonist in the story Conor is going through the turmoil of watching his mother die slowly and painfully before his eyes from cancer.  Conor has other worries though, he is visited frequently by a horrific monster outside his window most nights. The monster is both a hindrance and a help to young Conor and he struggles to see if the ghoul is real or is it just simply the manifestation of his troubled mind. I loved guessing whether the monster was real or imaginary in the story, it never becomes clear but it fades into insignificance as the book draws to the end. The monster flips from being both friend and foe depending on it’s humor,this lead to an edge of uneasiness in the narrative which kept one guessing.

The book is dark and desperately sad. It is a compelling read as it takes the form of a fairy tale, the monster tells three stories in the book which are entirely unconventional stories which are supposed to teach Conor some meaning in his battle with grief. However, the stories are cruel and puzzling, I enjoyed this aspect of the book, I also felt that the book really dealt with the true emotions of death, not the typical Hollywood style grief. Conor is not heartbroken, nor does he mope around and feel sorry for himself. He is angry and embarrassed. He hates the attention of being the only child of a sick mother. He hates feeling different. As harsh as it sounds, he is almost relieved by his mothers death in spite of loving her as much as any son would.

The book is short, it could be easily read in an hour or two, the illustrations in the book by Jim Kay are haunting and powerful. They are some of the most moving pictures I have seen in any book. The monster is enormous and grotesque, the pictures are dark and grainy. The illustrations underlines the enormity of the burden Conor feels as he stumbles through the story.It really added to the book. A Monster Calls is a book every person who grieves should read. It is also a book I would recommend to a teenager or young adult who is experiencing the loss of a parent or an ill relative. One could not have but a heavy heart when finishing this book.