Mal Peet's first novel, Keeper, won the Branford Boase Award and the Bronze Nestle Children's Book Award; Tamar won the Carnegie Medal; and Exposure was the 2009 winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. A writer and illustrator, Mal has produced many books for children, most of them in collaboration with his wife, Elspeth Graham.
Mal Peet's first novel, Keeper, won the Branford Boase Award and the Bronze Nestle Children's Book Award; Tamar won the Carnegie Medal; and Exposure was the 2009 winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. A writer and illustrator, Mal has produced many books for children, most of them in collaboration with his wife, Elspeth Graham.
How do I admire this breathtakingly intricate novel? Let me count
the ways. There’s its beautiful, bittersweet evocation of rural
adolescence in 1962, so sensually done that you can almost hear the
fizzing hormones. There’s its sheer scope – Google Earth in a novel
- as we zoom out from the North Norfolk strawberry fields to land
in the testosterone-fuelled tensions of JFK’s cabinet room and the
humid jungles of Cuba and the Bay of Pigs. There are its gloriously
imagined characters: both the older ones who fold inside themselves
the disappointments and deprivations of wartime; and the younger
ones, starting to taste freedoms and opportunities of which their
parents can scarcely conceive. And there’s the fact that the whole
is utterly untainted by blinkering nostalgia. ‘Nostalgics want to
cuddle the past like a puppy,’ says Clem. ‘But the past has bloody
teeth and bad breath.’
... its spine-tingling, loin-buzzing, butterflies-in-the-stomach
evocation of what it feels like to be young, that extraordinary
time of having life, love, sex and the whole oyster of the world in
front of you. And so then what a blow it is when you realise that
world is also a dangerous one, run by stupid people who might just
cause mass destruction to your plans...
*Books for Keeps*
From the expansive opening section, which introduces several
generations of Clem's family, Peet moves us effortlessly through
time. His book jumps in chronology and shifts in scale: one
paragraph begins with the ship Granma bound for Cuba carrying Fidel
and Che, and ends with Brian Woods throwing Clem's cap on to the
back of a passing lorry. And it does so with pin-sharp humour. If
you're counting down to an imminent doomsday, you could do worse
than to spend a few of your remaining hours reading this.
*The Independent*
You know when a book has really got under your skin when you have
to remind yourself that no, the characters do not exist in real
life, and no, it would not be cool to ring the author and ask
whether Clem goes back to Frankie, that in fact you are really only
one step away from talking at characters in The Archers like your
mum…. But we defy you to read Life: An Exploded Diagram (Walker)
and not fall in love...World history and small moments of exquisite
tenderness pulled together in an enthralling narrative - Mal Peet
is a genius.
*http://ladybookbird.tumblr.com/*
Since 2003, Mal Peet has been quietly (too quietly, it might be
argued) producing many of the finest books in young adult
literature. His excellent historical novel, Tamar, won the 2005
Carnegie medal, while Exposure, a brilliant riff on Othello
transposed to the world of South American football, was awarded the
2009 Guardian children's fiction prize. With Life: An Exploded
Diagram, Peet has once more produced a winner: a subtle, minutely
observed novel with a huge heart and a bold historical sweep.
Somehow it all connects, thanks to Peet's cool eye, generous
sensibility and fierce intelligence. It doesn't hurt that his
storytelling prowess is more than a match for the lust of his young
protagonists, the inner workings of JFK's war cabinet, and the
gruesome conditions inside a Russian submarine, which "tipped and
slewed in the water like a drowned rocking-horse" (and also happens
to be carrying an atomic bomb with America's name on it).
The question that will undoubtedly be raised in relation to this –
and one that has been asked of Peet's work before – is whether it
really belongs in the young adult section. From the unpublished
writer who told me "If all else fails, I'll write a YA book", to
Martin Amis's pronouncement that he'd have to be brain injured to
write for children, the slight sneer that follows the category
often suggests it's a sub-valid form of literature, OK for those
not intelligent or mature enough for real books.
Life: An Exploded Diagram is a real book, a rare treat for
thoughtful readers of any age. Read it yourself. Then, if you can
think of a young person with the wit to appreciate it, pass it
along.
*The Guardian*
This deftly written book from an award-winning author will provide
an engrossing and thought-provoking read for teenagers and adults
alike.
*Booktrust*
Peet’s novel shines in it’s ‘young adult’ niche but also surpasses
it
*i newspaper*
Here is a gifted novelist who deserves the widest audience. His
autopbiographical account of Clem's school days at his
ultra-patriotic grammar school is just one of the pleasures of this
irreverent and compassionate novel. Read and enjoy.
*The Independent on Sunday*
Surely the finest young adult book of the year…This story has
indignation, passion and humour, always expressed with an
exhilarating choice of words.
*The Sunday Times*
Peet's warmth, humour and fierce intelligence are soaked into every
page as he moves effortlessly between first-time fumblings in the
strawberry fields of rural Norfolk and the wrangling for power at
the heart of the Oval Office. Is it a cliché for a reviewer to
label a book unmissable? Tough. Like me you'll probably read it
twice, just because you can.
*The Scotsman*
The beginning is gripping, the writing flawlessly beautiful and the
story fascinating...
...Mal Peet has created one of those rare stories where, while
enjoyable throughout, it is impossible to see the true genius of
the work until you turn the last page – at which point I defy
anyone not to be completely overwhelmed by its brilliance.
Falling into neither YA nor adult genres, this is a book that
should be read and absorbed by all because, as Peet so cleverly
leads us to see, we do not live merely off the world but also in
it. As we live our individual lives, the world at large whirls
around us in a maelstrom of conflict, dynamism and never ending
change and regardless of our awareness, it changes us with it. Do
not make the mistake of picking up Life: An Unexploded Diagram and
putting it down again – pick it up, stick with it and be blown
away, it really is extraordinary.
*The Mountains of Interest*
Life is one of those books you can devour in a matter of hours
despite its size (at just about 400 pages long it is a bit of a
monster). I was totally engrossed and found myself just wanting to
read more and more to find out what happened next.
*Feeling Fictional*
This is an outstanding book for older teenagers, unpatronising and
completely gripping. Mal Peet treats his audience absolutely as
adults...Very highly recommended.
*http://katymoran.co.uk/book-review-blog/*
You can’t really begin to describe this book (yes, I know I already
have). You just need to read it.
*Book Witch*
While being a moving Bildungsroman about Clem’s forbidden love for
the squire’s daughter, this is also an examination of broader
societal changes, and an elegant history of the Cuban Missile
Crisis. Peet’s novel ought to win prizes: it will suit any teen
with even the slightest interest in history and human nature.
*Daily Telegraph*
Peet handles this complex narrative with such confidence and skill
that the journey is almost seamless, and the darkness of the
subject matter is offset by a dry and clever wit...It’s a book for
older and committed teenage readers or adults of any age - quality
writing at this level defies an age-range.
*The Daily Mail*
Peet handles this complex narrative with such confidence and skill
that the journey is almost seamless, and the darkness of the
subject matter is offset by a dry and clever wit...It’s a book for
older and committed teenage readers or adults of any age - quality
writing at this level defies an age-range.
*The Daily Mail*
Particularly touching is the progress of Clem's parents'
relationship from first love to disappointment, as tortuous and
draining as their son's love for Frankie is short and sweet. Life:
An Unexploded Diagram has a good chance of next year's Carnegie
Medal.
*The Guardian Online*
A real book, a rare treat for thoughtful readers of any age. Read
it yourself. Then, if you can think of a young person with the wit
to appreciate it, pass it along.
*Guardian (UK)*
Peet moves us effortlessly through time. His book jumps in
chronology and shifts in scale…And it does so with pin-sharp
humour. If you’re counting down to an imminent doomsday, you could
do worse than to spend a few of your remaining hours reading
this.
*Independent (UK)*
Here is a gifted novelist who deserves the widest
audience….Irreverent and compassionate...Read and enjoy.
*Independent (UK)*
...one of the best books I've read for a very long time...There is
a map of Norfolk, in very fine detail, printed on the inside of the
cover, back and front. You will need a magnifying glass to examine
it properly, but these beautiful reproductions are the perfect
opening and closing statements for a novel, which, as ever at
Walker Books, is a beautifully-designed object and a pleasure to
hold in one's hands. I can't recommend it highly enough.
*http://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/*
Sometimes hilariously comic, sometimes desperately sad, this
totally engrossing novel exhibits ambition and confronts challenge
to equally telling effect.
*The Irish Times*
For adults, for teenagers, for anyone at all, Life: An Exploded
Diagram must be sought out. Concerning the pursuit of virginity
loss in 1960s Norfolk against the background of the Cuban missile
crisis, it's fresh, vital with an ending that still stuns, 11
months after I read it.
*Guardian*
Set mainly in 1960s rural Norfolk, against the threatening Cuban
missile crisis, this novel focuses on the childhood and adolescence
of working-class Clem, with fascinating throwbacks to earlier
generations of his family
*Irish Times*
Gr 9 Up-Mal Peet's memorable novel (Candlewick, 2011) juxtaposes first love between Clem, from a working class family, and Frankie, the daughter of a wealthy British landowner, against the fragility of world peace during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Despite their differences, they begin to explore all that young love has to offer. The novel involves three generations for whom war had a defining presence. Clem's grandmother is a World War I widow and his Mum married his Dad while he was serving in World War II. Now, Clem and Frankie's relationship is backlit with the threat of another war. Clem and Frankie finally consummate their love and, when returning to their respective homes, happen upon a land mine. They are hurt but survive, and their romance goes the way of most first loves. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Clem, who is living in Manhattan, hears from Frankie once again. Simon Vance does a superb job of voicing the variety of British dialects. His somewhat matter-of-fact reading mirrors the straightforward personality of Clem as he matures. Teens will enjoy the romantic elements of this coming-of-age novel and will gain an understanding of how love and war intersects in all of our lives.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
How do I admire this breathtakingly intricate novel? Let me
count the ways. There's its beautiful, bittersweet evocation of
rural adolescence in 1962, so sensually done that you can almost
hear the fizzing hormones. There's its sheer scope - Google Earth
in a novel - as we zoom out from the North Norfolk strawberry
fields to land in the testosterone-fuelled tensions of JFK's
cabinet room and the humid jungles of Cuba and the Bay of Pigs.
There are its gloriously imagined characters: both the older ones
who fold inside themselves the disappointments and deprivations of
wartime; and the younger ones, starting to taste freedoms and
opportunities of which their parents can scarcely conceive. And
there's the fact that the whole is utterly untainted by blinkering
nostalgia. 'Nostalgics want to cuddle the past like a puppy,' says
Clem. 'But the past has bloody teeth and bad breath.'
... its spine-tingling, loin-buzzing, butterflies-in-the-stomach
evocation of what it feels like to be young, that extraordinary
time of having life, love, sex and the whole oyster of the world in
front of you. And so then what a blow it is when you realise that
world is also a dangerous one, run by stupid people who might just
cause mass destruction to your plans...
Since 2003, Mal Peet has been quietly (too quietly, it might be
argued) producing many of the finest books in young adult
literature. His excellent historical novel, Tamar, won the
2005 Carnegie medal, while Exposure, a brilliant riff on
Othello transposed to the world of South American football,
was awarded the 2009 Guardian children's fiction prize. With
Life: An Exploded Diagram, Peet has once more produced a
winner: a subtle, minutely observed novel with a huge heart and a
bold historical sweep.
Somehow it all connects, thanks to Peet's cool eye, generous
sensibility and fierce intelligence. It doesn't hurt that his
storytelling prowess is more than a match for the lust of his young
protagonists, the inner workings of JFK's war cabinet, and the
gruesome conditions inside a Russian submarine, which "tipped and
slewed in the water like a drowned rocking-horse" (and also happens
to be carrying an atomic bomb with America's name on it).
The question that will undoubtedly be raised in relation to this -
and one that has been asked of Peet's work before - is whether it
really belongs in the young adult section. From the unpublished
writer who told me "If all else fails, I'll write a YA book", to
Martin Amis's pronouncement that he'd have to be brain injured to
write for children, the slight sneer that follows the category
often suggests it's a sub-valid form of literature, OK for those
not intelligent or mature enough for real books.
Life: An Exploded Diagram is a real book, a rare treat for
thoughtful readers of any age. Read it yourself. Then, if you can
think of a young person with the wit to appreciate it, pass it
along.
The beginning is gripping, the writing flawlessly beautiful and
the story fascinating...
...Mal Peet has created one of those rare stories where, while
enjoyable throughout, it is impossible to see the true genius of
the work until you turn the last page - at which point I defy
anyone not to be completely overwhelmed by its brilliance.
Falling into neither YA nor adult genres, this is a book that
should be read and absorbed by all because, as Peet so cleverly
leads us to see, we do not live merely off the world but also in
it. As we live our individual lives, the world at large whirls
around us in a maelstrom of conflict, dynamism and never ending
change and regardless of our awareness, it changes us with it. Do
not make the mistake of picking up Life: An Unexploded
Diagram and putting it down again - pick it up, stick with it
and be blown away, it really is extraordinary.
Ask a Question About this Product More... |