Customer Reviews

The Glass Cafe: Or the Stripper and the State; How My Mother Started a War with the System That Made Us Kind of Rich and a Little Bit Famous

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"So you know my name is Tony and I am twelve and my mother who is named Alice except nobody calls her that, they all call her Al, like she was a guy only she isn't, is a stripper, only it's called exotic dancing, at a place called the Kitty Kat, except that everybody calls it the Zoo on account of an animal act they used to have but don't anymore because the humane society said it was wrong to use snakes out of their "natural element" although Muriel, who danced with a seven-foot boa named Steve, swore that the snake slept through the whole dance except I know Steve who lives in the dressing room in a glass case and I can't tell if he's sleeping or not because he never closes his eyes."

THE GLASS CAFÉ (or THE STRIPPER AND THE STATE; How My Mother Started a War With The System That Made Us Kind of Rich and a Little Bit Famous), is such a captivating read aloud--truly a performance piece--that I have half a mind to return this morning for my third day of the IRA (International Reading Association) Convention and take a group of teachers (preferably middle school teachers) hostage so that I can have another audience with whom to share it. Fortunately, we have free nighttime minutes on our cellphone--Shari woke me up a little past midnight my/Orlando time (9:00 PM her/California time), which is when the free minutes begin, and like a jack-in-the box I bounced up out of bed, switched on the light, scooped up the book, and read twenty pages with nary a breath. This review will end shortly since, if I hurry, I can reach the Convention Center as they begin queuing up for the 9:00 opening time of the Exhibition Hall and corner a small crowd.

"I like school where I get pretty good grades in everything except gym and sometimes math when it doesn't make any sense to me like when we have to figure out two trains traveling at different speeds and which one will get to a place called Parkerville first. There is never a place called Parkerville in real life and hardly any trains go anywhere anymore and why would two trains be trying to get to a place called Parkerville in the first place? It's just silly."

Tony, the twelve-year-old narrator of THE GLASS CAFÉ (or THE STRIPPER AND THE STATE; How My Mother Started a War With The System That Made Us Kind of Rich and a Little Bit Famous), lives in Los Angeles, has a friend named Waylon, a girl he likes named Melissa, a penchant for dogs (which aren't allowed in their apartment building), and is an aspiring artist who "draws every chance I get." As he tells us the tale of what happened to him and Al, he includes a number of asides, explaining to us what he is doing in regard to his English teacher's instructions about writing a story:

"I'll talk more about that later after I do what Ms. Providge the English teacher calls 'developing the structure and character of the story.'

And I expect that adults who grab this book for a look, suspicious of having their middle school offspring read something with "STRIPPER" in the title will be rather surprised to discover the reality of Tony's mother, a single mom from whom many parents could learn a thing or two about parenting.

"...and sometimes when it's the worst day of my whole life and maybe Melissa is talking about somebody else or math is kicking my butt or I have a cold and the smog is making it worse Al can just laugh, a deep laugh that comes from way inside and I can't but smile and think of something good. Which makes what happened because of the drawings really, really stupid.

What the drawings are all about and what happened because of Tony's drawings are something you'll just have to find out for yourself...unless you happen to be one of the people in Orlando who I'll be cornering in about fifteen minutes.

Richie Partington...

The Glass Café is about a boy named Tony who decides that he wants to be an artist. His art teacher tells him that some of the greatest artists ever drew the female body. Tony decides to try for himself. Tony's mom is an exotic dancer and Tony asks his mom, Al, if he can go to the club that she dances at and draw the other dancers if they allow him. His mom says that's fine and he draws pictures of the exotic dancers. When his art teacher sees these drawings, she enters them in an art contest and he wins. The pictures are displayed in a museum. Eventually a complaint is lodged against Al and Child Welfare comes to investigate. Then this innocent art project becomes a hilarious adventure.
I am an 8th grader and I liked this book.

I laughed all through this book and I'm an adult (although my wife sometimes will disagree with that). It is somewhat of a farce, but tells a great, funny story. The story of a mother doing what it takes to raise and defend her son is told from the son's viewpoint.

Although the mother is a stripper and the son does draw some nude dancers, there are no descriptions of nudity in the book. Those who are looking for that as a reason not to let their kids read the book won't find it.

Read it, you'll laugh. (Unless you're a total prude.)

"So you know my name is Tony and I am twelve and my mother who is named Alice except nobody calls her that, they all call her Al, like she was a guy only she isn't, is a stripper, only it's called exotic dancing, at a place called the Kitty Kat, except that everybody calls it the Zoo on account of an animal act they used to have but don't anymore because the humane society said it was wrong to use snakes out of their "natural element" although Muriel, who danced with a seven-foot boa named Steve, swore that the snake slept through the whole dance except I know Steve who lives in the dressing room in a glass case and I can't tell if he's sleeping or not because he never closes his eyes."

THE GLASS CAFÉ (or THE STRIPPER AND THE STATE; How My Mother Started a War With The System That Made Us Kind of Rich and a Little Bit Famous), is such a captivating read aloud--truly a performance piece--that I have half a mind to return this morning for my third day of the IRA (International Reading Association) Convention and take a group of teachers (preferably middle school teachers) hostage so that I can have another audience with whom to share it. Fortunately, we have free nighttime minutes on our cellphone--Shari woke me up a little past midnight my/Orlando time (9:00 PM her/California time), which is when the free minutes begin, and like a jack-in-the box I bounced up out of bed, switched on the light, scooped up the book, and read twenty pages with nary a breath. This review will end shortly since, if I hurry, I can reach the Convention Center as they begin queuing up for the 9:00 opening time of the Exhibition Hall and corner a small crowd.

"I like school where I get pretty good grades in everything except gym and sometimes math when it doesn't make any sense to me like when we have to figure out two trains traveling at different speeds and which one will get to a place called Parkerville first. There is never a place called Parkerville in real life and hardly any trains go anywhere anymore and why would two trains be trying to get to a place called Parkerville in the first place? It's just silly."

Tony, the twelve-year-old narrator of THE GLASS CAFÉ (or THE STRIPPER AND THE STATE; How My Mother Started a War With The System That Made Us Kind of Rich and a Little Bit Famous), lives in Los Angeles, has a friend named Waylon, a girl he likes named Melissa, a penchant for dogs (which aren't allowed in their apartment building), and is an aspiring artist who "draws every chance I get." As he tells us the tale of what happened to him and Al, he includes a number of asides, explaining to us what he is doing in regard to his English teacher's instructions about writing a story:

"I'll talk more about that later after I do what Ms. Providge the English teacher calls 'developing the structure and character of the story.'

And I expect that adults who grab this book for a look, suspicious of having their middle school offspring read something with "STRIPPER" in the title will be rather surprised to discover the reality of Tony's mother, a single mom from whom many parents could learn a thing or two about parenting.

"...and sometimes when it's the worst day of my whole life and maybe Melissa is talking about somebody else or math is kicking my butt or I have a cold and the smog is making it worse Al can just laugh, a deep laugh that comes from way inside and I can't but smile and think of something good. Which makes what happened because of the drawings really, really stupid.

What the drawings are all about and what happened because of Tony's drawings are something you'll just have to find out for yourself...unless you happen to be one of the people in Orlando who I'll be cornering in about fifteen minutes.

Richie Partington
...
BudNotBuddy@aol.com

This book was pretty funny. Even though the issue that it addresses and the problems that are going on are pretty serious, it doesn't feel that way. Since Tony is only 12 he doesn't realize how serious the situation is.

I expected this book to go all deep and emotional but it didn't. The description of the book makes it sound like a huge court thing. Really half of the book is Tony talking about himself and his life. The other half wasn't nearly as serious as it was made out to be.

The story was interesting though. It makes you think how some things can get totally out of hand. It also brings up several issues on parenting and what is appropriate. Innocent drawings of women spark the attention of social services. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On one hand the pictures weren't very dirty, and did look more like art than porn. On the other hand, should a child be allowed in the back of a strip club? Is it right for him to be exposed to things at such a young age? These are some of the things that this book addresses.

I wish the book was longer but overall I was happy with what it gave me. I would recommend this book to someone who likes a little controversy.

Tony's mom is an exotic dancer in order to pay the bills. When she encourages Tony's love of drawing by allowing him to sketch some of the other dancers, she is reported to the child welfare office. This very short novel is a great tale perfectly written to capture the voice of a teenager and a snapshot into an often misunderstood world. Grade: B+

Writen from the boy's point of view, the writing style is free and uninhibited. A great story on innocence and perception, this is an enlightening read for anyone, whether 12 or 50. While the book is a short, and classic Paulson, as an easy reader, you will read it time and time again. A very enjoyable book, and as a fan of Gary Paulson, I think this is one of my favorites.

Tony is the average 12-year-old boy with an average life plan: be an adult, become successful, have Corvette, and marry Melissa. The trouble begins when he adds becoming an artist to the list. With only innocent and professional intentions, he gets permission to sit in a strip club dressing room, where his mom works, to use the strippers as living models. His mom is a stripper by the way. The drawings are not only amazing but impress his art teacher who has them entered in a public show. A few days' later social services are responding to a compliant of child abuse and are at Tony and his mom's door. I read this 99-page book in 1 hour and 15 minutes. It's a fast, fun and bumpy ride. Tony is written true to form has a rambling teenager who give us a glimpse of his life normal yet not normal world. The ending is maybe a little too resolved and neat.

While this book is a fun, easy read, there's not a lot of substance to it. It's written in the style of a 12-year-old boy, which makes it highly authentic but slightly irritating when applied to run-on sentences. It also perpetuates the idea of the "good woman in the bad business" stereotype; in this case it's Al, mother of Tony, who dances in the Kitty Kat Club but reads the classics, holds an English degree, and is a wonderful mother. All of this gives the mature Tony an opportunity to draw "the girls" from life without being sexually excited. So while the book is meant to be fun, and is at times funny, it's a bit too formulaic to rate more than 3 stars.

This story is about Tony, whose mom is a stripper at the Kitty Kat Club. He had a dad but hasn't heard from him in a while. His mom gets in some non-since trouble (in my opinion) for no reason, but you know how the state can be sometimes.
This novel is about a boy named Tony and how good of an artist he is and how that gets him and Al (his mom) in some big trouble. Read this book to find out what trouble they get in and how they get out of it you will be very surprised.

I would recommend this to any boy that is at least twelve or older to really get and enjoy it.
Gary Paulsen the author of this book he has also written other books like NightJohn, Woodsong, The Car, and Soldier's Heart.