Customer Reviews

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux

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This is an old fashioned, outlandish and brilliantly written tale of Pepper Roux who has the misfortune of being predicted to die before manhood by an aunt who has a vision the night before his birth. He is neglected in all ways except for his overly harsh religious instruction as his family believe it's a waste of effort spending any time on him. Rather than wait around Sleeping Beauty style for the prediction to come true at age 14, and with a family who accept his fate, Pepper decides to run and takes on new identities as he goes. He takes risks as he feels he is cheating death every day and feels guilty when others around him die: he believes their sorry ends were meant for him. He slips into other peoples identities, turns up for jobs he hasn't been employed to do and creates amusing chaos as he goes by always trying to do the right thing. Pepper Roux disappears rather than dies that day.

Some parts of the book I absolutely loved but others especially when ship bound fell flat for me. The preposterous settings where matched with events with questionable motives (such as when a ship crew member tries to kill him early on) were a let down. The final collision of all the characters made up for it in the end. The constant shifting of settings and characters made this book highly entertaining. It's a really preposterous book in the best imaginative kind of way. If adult books can get away with this kind of storyline I don't see why why this childrens' story can't although because of the young age of the hero the situations are doubly preposterous. An innocent Sommersby section when the hero is 14 might be a step too far for some though.

It's a clever book about fate, identity and peoples habit of never questioning what perhaps should be questioned.

Recommended for readers age 12+

read reviews that raved about this book. I personally found it dark and dull. Can't imagine teens and tweens would find this that enjoyable. Give me Jacky Faber!

I was introduced to Geraldine McCaughrean through the Amazon Vine program when I selected, almost randomly, her latest book "The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen". Right away I was hooked and wanted to read more. Her writing style is so fluid and simultaneously outrageous and believable. Her characters are larger than life and utterly impossible, yet utterly irresistible and lovable. "Sunshine Queen" was one of the wildest rides I've ever been on and I wanted to go again and again.

"The Death-Defying Pepper Roux," while quite different in setting, plot and tone, still showcases McCaughrean's zany style, and this book was no disappointment.

Paul "Pepper" Roux wakes upon his fourteenth birthday knowing that today would be the day of his death, as foretold by St. Constance through his Aunty Mireille before his birth. Pepper tries to be sanguine and accept his fate as dutifully as he's accepted everything else in his truncated life - thrice-weekly confession, calloused knees from excessive praying, his aunt's constant chastisements and remonstrances. But, really, when you're being chased, what do you do? You run, right?

And so Pepper does. Fleeing from the saints and angels, he runs right out of his own life. First he takes up his father's life as captain of the "L'Ombrage" where the doting steward Duchesse ("the Duchess") cares for his every need. Unfortunately, the saints and angels catch up with "Captain" Roux, but they miss and kill another man (one who was rather in need of killing, but that doesn't assuage Pepper's guilt). When the ship sinks (not exactly accidentally), Pepper decides, Jonah-like, to save the others by going down with the ship himself so that the saints and angels won't inadvertently harm anyone else in their pursuit of him.

But again the bumbling angels can't seem to manage their simple assignment. Pepper wakes up aboard a Malay ship and ends up in Marseilles where he becomes "Pepper Salami", counter boy at the delicatessen of a large department store. Pepper figures that by working around meat slicers and other sharp implements, he is giving the angels fair chance at him. However, an unfortunate misunderstanding involving notes in an overhead pneumatic cash system compel Pepper to once again flee for his life. Poor Pepper, he was only trying to bring everyone happiness. (Warning: don't read that scene in public. It is laugh out loud funny and people will wonder what you're smoking.)

And so, like a French version of "Catch Me If You Can", Pepper sprints through a series of other lives - the journalist "Pepper Papier" who writes happy stories, the horse boy who doesn't understand the nature of the horses he cares for - or where they're headed for, the telegram boy "Zee" who only delivers good news, the husband of Yvette Roche - whose real husband died on L'Ombrage, and "Legion Roche" the French foreign legion recruit. In life after life, Pepper seeks only to keep the saints and angels at bay while dispensing happiness along the way. But time after time his attempts to dispense happiness only get muddled and make him more and more enemies. And as if that many human enemies isn't enough, the saints and angels keep catching up with him. Well, in their own bungling way, that is. But no matter how bad the troubles, there's always a sense that we shouldn't get too mournful.

In addition to being as wild a ride as you're likely to find, this book is also both endearing and philosophical. Rarely in literature do you find characters as deeply lovable as Pepper, Duchesse and Yvette Roche. This is, of course, because the characters are not really human - they are better than human, more human than any real human could be.

The book is also both darkly pessimistic and brilliantly hopeful at the same time. Pepper confronts very grim realities of human nature for such a young, naïve and trusting soul: death, fraud, theft, capriciousness, injustice, greed, and, ultimately, personal betrayal by the very people closest to him (or rather, those who should have been closest to him). But through it all, Pepper retains his own goodness, his trust and his desire to help and spread happiness.

McCaughrean has a flair for endings. Every element of the story, even those which the reader has forgotten, falls neatly into place. And although the ending is remarkably chipper and fairy-tale perfect for such a grim book, it doesn't at all feel forced or cheesy. It feels simply inevitable, as if there were no other possible way the story could end.

Because of a number of mature themes, I'd recommend parental guidance for younger kids (those under 12 or 13 perhaps), but I highly recommend it nonetheless. Geraldine McCaughrean appears to be sadly underappreciated, at least in the U.S. Do yourself a favor and discover her writing - you'll be hooked.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. The Death-Defying Pepper Roux combines delightful, heart-warming whimsy with sudden bursts of reality to lead the reader into odd and surprising adventures. You can never guess which way this story will go, making this a children's book that adults will also treasure. A classic.

It really was Aunt Mireille's fault. She had been the first to look into her nephew's face when he was born and proclaim that he would be dead by 14. Saint Constance had told her so. Thus, young Pepper Roux had grown up with his parents emotionally detached and an unseen clock slowly ticking his life away. When he awakens on his 14th birthday, Pepper is scared to open his eyes, let alone face the day. After a breakfast where his mother won't even look at him, Pepper makes his way into town to find his father --- and say goodbye.

Instead of tears and speeches of loss, Pepper finds his father, famed captain Gilbert Roux, in a drunken stupor at the local bar. Rather than wait around for the end, Pepper steals his father's jacket and hat and sets sail on his father's ship, posing as the new captain. Expecting death at every turn, Pepper spends his time indoors being tended by the steward, Duchesse, and avoiding the ill-tempered Roche. Roche, however, seems bent on making Pepper's life miserable and taunts him at every turn. After an unexpectedly rough night at sea, Roche has an unfortunate mishap and is found dead. Thinking the accident was meant for him, Pepper immediately takes responsibility for Roche's life and all future disasters that may be meant for him.

Unfortunately, the tragedy doesn't end there --- it only begins. Pepper has escaped death's clutches and literally finds himself on a sinking ship. Being the captain, Pepper decides to go down with the ship but instead wakes up to find himself transported to a city on the French coast, far from home. Rather than wait around for death, Pepper decides he might as well live while he has the chance. And living proves to be much more interesting than death could ever be.

With nowhere to go, Pepper begins to work a series of small jobs that take him on some wild adventures. He starts by working in a department store in which he inadvertently wreaks havoc on the employees' personal lives. Then he becomes a journalist, where making up stories is a lot more fun than reporting the real news. After that he's off to horse whispering, delivering telegrams, and more. Although Pepper is enjoying his short time left on earth, it always appears as though someone or something is watching him, waiting to snatch him away. Pepper can't shake this feeling --- or the fact that he wasn't supposed to live this long.

Just like Pepper, some people get so caught up in the fear of dying that they forget how to live. Geraldine McCaughrean crafts an engaging and often humorous story about what happens when someone truly embraces life. Complete with vivid descriptions and a journey along several small French coastal towns, THE DEATH-DEFYING PEPPER ROUX is an endearing tale that reminds the reader how unexpected --- and fun --- life can be, as long you're willing to truly enjoy it. This is great bedtime reading.