Customer Reviews

Noah's Castle (Cadenzas)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I do enjoy a good post-apocalyptic tale before my bedtime. Nothing like hearing about society as we know it disintegrating into a pile of gibbering goo. Some of these futuristic stories say the end will come with disease. Others say it'll be an enormous war. But far more chilling (perhaps because it's the most realistic of the scenarios) is John Rowe Townsend's deadly, "Noah's Castle". Carefully extending his tale to show the disintegration of a family alongside that of society at large, Townsend's book focuses on one man and his struggle to protect his unwilling kin.

Barry Mortimer doesn't know what to think when his father purchases an enormous house for himself and his family members. As the patriarch of a family of six, Barry's father has been acting particularly strangely as of late. After moving into their new home, Barry and his sister Nessie discover that their pop has been carefully constructing shelves in the basement. After seeing this odd arrangement, Mr. Mortimer explains his reasoning. The economic situation of the world at large has grown significantly unstable as of late. After judging there to be rough times ahead, Mr. Mortimer has taken the precaution of hoarding copious amounts of food and bartering items for the months ahead. As predicted, this turns out to be not a minute too soon. Food prices begin to soar and people grow hungrier and more desperate as the days trickle on. As Barry watches the misery around him (both within the family unit and in the world at large) he must wrestle with his inclinations to betray his father. Should he turn over their food to those that would give it freely to the poor? Or should he obey his dad, thereby keeping the family well prepared for the future?

What the book really boils down to is an examination of how a family's quality of life can disintegrate even if they have their basic necessities. Though Mr. Mortimer is adept at keeping the family well fed and clothed, he is utterly incapable at maintaining their state of mind. As these members begin to disappear from the home, Mr. Mortimer's bafflement is clear. I've rarely read a young adult novel that so clearly examined a domineering father with so much care. The dad in this book is written in such a way that you completely understand Barry's simultaneous disgust, pity, and pride in the man's dealings. I loved how a final glimpse of Mr. Mortimer's past gave such a clear insight into his driving principles. Though he may be old fashioned, a bully, cruel to his wife, a sexist chauvinist pig, and incapable of basic affections, he's still a man that cares deeply for his family members.

I was also impressed by how riveting I found the tension in this tale. As Barry's guilt and wariness increase, so too did my own guilt and wariness. I guess the best way to describe this book is to say that the reader is perfectly in synch with the narrator. How often do you find that to be the case in the books you read? Honestly, I think it's an often sought after and rarely realized goal on the part of writers everywhere. But Barry's the ultimate everyman. You can't find a flaw in his thought process that you wouldn't find in your own were you in the same situations as he.

"Noah's Castle" is one of the best written young adult novels I've ever had the pleasure to read. Engrossing to the point where you begin to wonder about the nature of human civility itself, the story is both believable and a great tale. This book is written expertly. If you want to read something that asks not only "what if" but also "how could", you couldn't do any better than this. A truly wonderful forgotten classic.

I was recently contacted by a publisher asking if I was interested in reading a title that they had available. The book was Noah's Castle by John Rowe Townsend. This offer came from the review I did of One Second After, and Noah's Castle walks in the same general genre. Even though this was initially released in 1975 and was targeted as a young adult offering, it aged well and speaks to all readers regardless of age. I found myself reading "just one more chapter", and this morning I'm suffering a bit for not going to bed earlier.

The story is set in England, and life is hard (and getting harder). There's an economic crisis, and inflation is starting to make it harder to afford basic goods. Barry Mortimer, a 16-year-old typical teenager, lives with his three other siblings, his mother, and a very controlling and autocratic father. Norman, the father, sees the deteriorating economy and buys a large fortress-like home without consulting anyone. He moves the family to their new abode (something that didn't go over well with any of them), and then starts becoming secretive about his activities in the basement. It turns out he's starting to buy and barter to obtain a massive store of food to weather the crisis. As hyperinflation kicks in, millions go hungry, but the Mortimer family is still doing fine. But Norman's dictatorial obsession over hoarding is driving his family away from him as they see others going without. To increase the tension, hoarding is now considered a crime, and Norman knows that a single phone call could destroy everything he's done to provide for his family. As people start to notice his family's lack of activity to gather food, Norman's world becomes more fragile (along with his mental stability).

The reason this is considered a young adult novel is that it's written in first-person from the point of view of Barry. He's been raised to be loyal to his father and to obey, but he has major problems reconciling his abundance with the poverty and need around him. He's walking a fine line between keeping things quiet and helping those who ask (without appearing to have an abundance himself). As the reader, I kept shifting my opinion of Norman between uncaring for others over providing for his family. I was also intrigued by the societal shifts and how easy it is for something like hyperinflation to feed on itself with no conceivable end in sight. Townsend doesn't go into great detail about the mechanics behind why England found themselves in this situation, but it's still a sobering look at how difficult life could be in that situation.

Noah's Castle is a very good read, made even more interesting given the 35 year gap between the original story and today.

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free

This story was originally published in 1975 by Oxford University Press and was considered juvenile fiction. If I'd read it at that time in my life I would have considered it to be science fiction. Others agreed with my opinion. When the book was translated into German it was part of a science fiction series even though it contains no "science." It's a tale of morality. "Set in England in the midst of a nationwide economic crisis, 16-year old Barry Mortimer is forced to choose between his compassion for others and his sense of duty to his father."
The book is being re-released now because fiction may now become reality. This reviewer had only read the first two chapters before he became uncomfortable and nervous that what was happening in the story was all too real--that the scene being set by the book is now occurring here in America. Irresponsible politicians are spending so much on utopian dreams that they are causing hyperinflation.
So much of what was happening in the story seemed to be happening today, that I stopped reading in order not to get too depressed. When I returned to the book I jumped ahead to the final two chapters to see what was going to occur at the end of the story. I simply wasn't going to finish reading the story if the book ended in total chaos and the collapse of civilization, as we know it.
Fortunately that didn't occur in this story, although what happened in England, which is basically a gun-free society of well-mannered and "grin and bear it" docile and well-behaved citizens, probably isn't what would happen in "armed-to-the-teeth" America. The British culture is simply more stoic than much of the United States of 2010. Americas tend to be much less patient.
After reading the entire book, I was somewhat relieved, but that didn't allay my feelings that America is playing with dangerous economics. Inflation is a hungry, insatiable dragon. One of the stories in the book is about how some people brought a basket of paper money to the store to buy a loaf of bread. When they placed the basket of money on the floor somebody grabbed it, dumped the nearly worthless money onto the ground and stole the basket. The book changes the laundry basket to a bag, but the authors admits that the basket of money story was a true story he'd heard about the 1920's hyperinflation in Germany after WW I.
In this story, the English pound as deflated to the point that when it was replaced a new pound was "equivalent to a hundred million of the old ones." Everyone was broke.
In the book Mr. Mortimer sees the inflation coming and like Noah, takes measures for his family to survive the coming chaos. His actions and the reaction of his family are the moral questions the book explores. The author explains that when he gave talks to school groups about the story and asked the students if they felt the father had done the right things to protect his family at all costs, he was always surprised that the majority felt the father had done exactly what he should have.
The story brings up a lot of questions about government recklessly destroying the currency and then being the only armed force capable of cleaning up their own mess. The story is what happens to the normal citizens because of their irresponsible government's actions. Don't read the book if you are too stressed out about the economy before you start reading. It is amazing how fiction can become reality.

This book was originally published in 1975, went out of print, then was brought back and republished by October Mist. I think it's important to keep that in mind while reading, as while most of the book stands the test of time, there are parts which are a little dated. Most glaringly, the father's attitude towards his wife and daughters. Yes, he's a bit sexist, but so were a lot of men during that time period. Just look back to the television commercials in the 70s for proof. I've seen a few reviewers not be able to get past the father's attitude, so think it's important to keep things in context.

That being said, I thought that this was a good read overall. It's as relevant now as it was back then, because I think we're all only a few steps away from having our whole world come crashing down. This boils down to a father trying to take care of his family and prepare for a coming crisis. Should he have consulted his wife before buying a new house and bringing in supplies? I think so. But he seems to be the sort of man who considers himself the king of his castle, and thinks it's his job to take care of his family. Could he have handled things better? Absolutely. But in the end, I think he did what he thought was best in order to take care of his family.

One of the things I found most interesting about this story was how normal society started to break down in the midst of a crisis. We like to pretend we're civilized, but when threatened, people start to show their true colors. I liked the characters of Cliff and Stuart, who still wanted to do what was right and take care of their fellow man. Very noble. Would I be that noble? I'd like to think so, but I might wind up like Barry's dad and want to take care of my own first.

Gave this book a 3/5 rating as I liked it. I think a 3/5 is a good rating and worth reading, so please give this one a chance! Was well written, though a little dated in spots. Made me think but I didn't find it overly preachy, which is always good. I didn't really like the main characters, and was more sympathetic to secondary characters like Cliff, Stuart, and Terry. Had mixed feelings about Barry, the narrator. He was a teenager with ideals, which is not a bad thing, just not the best thing during a crisis. His heart was in the right place, but I don't think he handled things as well as he should have. None of the characters did. That's one of the things that made this story interesting.

Gold Star Award Winner!

16-year-old Barry Mortimer is a fairly carefree person, living with his domineering father, Norman, his complacent mother, and his siblings in fair comfort. But a crisis is on the rise - the UK is producing more and more money, yet it gets harder and harder to afford to buy items as prices rise. If matters weren't confusing enough, Barry's father goes and buys the family a large, looming house that's much too big for them, and begins putting up hundreds of shelves down in the basement.

When the signs of the crisis begin to show, with food prices insanely high, the old are left to afford almost nothing, and the talk of food rationing begins. Barry's suspicions of his father grow. When he discovers his plans - to hoard several years' worth of nonperishable foods in their basement, hidden from the rest of the community - Barry's met with an important decision: To keep his family safe for the long haul and risk being discovered, or to go against his father's wishes and refuse the stores.

NOAH'S CASTLE was originally published in the 1970's, so the book reads as a contemporary-historical novel, though that in no way detracts from the power of the story. Townsend has a great voice in Barry; simple but strong. While readers will identify with him, his sister Agnes, and some other characters that come along, the real star of the novel is Barry's father, Norman. Norman's character is written as amazingly complex, with every emotion and motive shaded grey. There is no easy side for the reader to take, and the excitement over the moral issues alone will keep you wanting to read. Action-wise, the story moves along quickly, each and every scene flowing with tension and emotions that really capture the dystopian setting.

The setting, as mentioned, is one of the novel's strongest points. With novels like INCARCERON and HOW I LIVE NOW gaining acclaim in the same genre, this really stands out. What makes it do so is its believability. It has no magic or vampires, just the plain old world going through a realistic crisis. It almost scared me as to how easily I could see this happening. (And indeed, it actually did. Townsend based the events off of a German economic upheaval after World War I.) Every moment seems real, adding a horror novel-like aspect to it that's hard to shake away.

Most notably, Townsend managed to write a novel with little fault to it. Some of the characters could have been fleshed out more, especially the women. Understandably, the time period reflects some of these behaviors, so it's not as bad as something that would be written and originally published today, but he still could have done more. What he did do was still intriguing enough to make me enjoy reading about them.

Overall, it's an enjoyably quick read that will send your mind whirling. Five Stars and the Gold Award.

Reviewed by: John Jacobson, aka "R.J. Jacobs"

The geographic location is England but the historical setting is Germany in the early 1920's. Without giving any real explanation for the cause, the author projects a bout of hyperinflation in England, where the pound rapidly loses its' value. Little is said about the rest of the world, but what clues we are given indicate that the hyperinflation is localized in England.
Norman Mortimer is a businessman that anticipates the coming economic storm and suddenly relocates his family to a castle. There is an enormous basement that Norman stocked with a large amount of food and other supplies. He had lived through the Great Depression of the 1930's, spent a lot of time being hungry and he vowed that would never happen to his family.
As Norman had predicted, the collapse takes place and he orders everyone in his family to keep silent about their stores. As things worsen in the country, the inept government makes criminals out of the "hoarders", anyone that had the sense to stock up on food. They are declared criminals, subject to confiscation, fines and jail terms. This isolates the Mortimer family and creates tensions inside the group, as they know people that they want to help. Some help is provided, but in many ways it makes things worse as people start believing that they are hoarders.
As was the case in Germany, the greatest sufferers are the elderly and infirm, even if they have food stored up it does them no good. Pensions rapidly deteriorate to the point of being worthless and there is an expansion of the public assistance programs. However, these programs are not adequate to serve the enormous number of people that need it and some of the volunteers in the food program embezzle food. There are official prices but a black market flourishes using foreign currencies that are unaffected.
The people generally are split into those that maintain their social morals and try to help others to those that ruthlessly exploit others or demand private confiscation of food. However, the real moral point to consider is the actions of Nathan Mortimer, a man that is devoted to his family and wants them to survive, yet the extremes that he goes to alienates them. It is an interesting moral dilemma to consider, as he clearly is not evil or self-centered, all of his actions are based on increasing the odds that the people in his family unit will survive.
Some people that are now approximately middle aged interacted heavily with relatives that struggled to survive during the Great Depression of the 1930's. I am one of them, my great-grandparents and grandparents talked a great deal about their lives in the 1930's, to some of them moldy bread was a luxury. Decades later, they still were cautious in their dealings and always had cupboards and pantries that were stocked to overflowing. Therefore, I can relate somewhat to the actions of Nathan Mortimer, he sounds a lot like my relatives that vowed that their dependents would never go hungry and meant to keep that vow even if they suffered in other ways.

I love post-apocalyptic and survivalist novels, probably because I'm arrogant enough to think I might be one of the few to last in such a situation, and I love the adrenaline rush of imagining how I'd survive.

This novel focused on just one aspect of most post-apocalyptic novels, which is that of a food shortage. In modern life, it wouldn't take a whole lot for a food shortage to happen, so this isn't out of left field - it was easy to imagine the situation unfolding and the many points of view and characters who would be involved. The author does a good job of showing the many types of reaction to this kind of situation, and how many different philosophies might handle it.

I guess the problem for me is that I sympathized most with the character we weren't supposed to sympathize with too fully - the dad. Barry's father Noah takes out loans, buys a house on easily-defended territory, and hoards masses of food to help his family through the tough times he knows are ahead. He risks everything to provide for his family and to keep them safe, and all he gets in return are people griping at him and not taking him seriously.

I think the author started with a moral storyline in his head and then wrote to make a point, which is something I dislike in any book. Because of this, it felt like a lot of the characters did things that just didn't feel right in the context of the book - a few storylines with Noah just went over the top.

In addition, because the entire story rested on this one moral conundrum - should the family share what they had or or not? - it became a bit tiring to read in parts. Most books like this have many storylines and moral conundrums, so your brain can think on one while you rest and read about another, but in this book, every single storyline rested on that one question.

I think were this story woven into a larger book, with a lot more going on, it would have really shone. There were many powerful things about this book that I did like, and the writing was clear and compelling. But the liberal moralizing that I felt throughout the book kind of ruined it for me. Almost like the author wanted everyone to come to the same conclusion he had, that even in survival of the fittest type times, we should all share and share alike, and it's mean to the rest of society to plan ahead and try to protect and care for your own family when others might not have been smart or lucky enough to be able to do so.

I thought that even though Noah was strident and almost Asperger-like in his single-minded desire to save his family and provide for them, he was an admirable guy who wanted to do the right thing and was met with derision for his way of protecting his family.

So - this book obviously made me think. If you're really liberal, you may find this book easier to take. But for me, the negation of Noah's masculinity and desire to protect, by his own family, made this a difficult read. In addition, I would have really liked the story to be multi-dimentional and not only focus on this one moral issue.

I don't read much fiction, but do seem to have some sort of affinity for EOW novels. So I was delighted to see a reprinting of NOAH'S CASTLE by John Townsend, a novel set in dystopian England after an unspecified economic breakdown occurs.

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing of Mr. Townsend. His work flows nicely (even with the British vernacular) and is nicely descriptive. The plot itself is very realistic, but I thought the execution of the plot was much milder than anything in the real world would ever be. Let's face it, when faced with starvation, people will go to extremely violent measures to survive.

The book is somewhat of an unintended illustration of political systems. Norman Mortimer, father of the first person narrator Barry Mortimer, represents capitalism, rugged individualism, preparedness and self dependence. Virtually every other character in the book represents socialism, government dependence and the welfare society. In the end, socialism is unsustainable and leads to a Robin Hood mentality.

The ending of the story also seemed quite weak to me. In summary, I was disappointed with the book because it was as if the author got tired of writing it after doing a superb job of developing the storyline. This was a very readable story that could have been a great story.

I really enjoyed this book because it feel so terrifyingly real. It raised some thoughtful questions and I can't say what I would do in the same situation. The setting is interesting. It never gives a date, so really it could be in the past, happening now, or sometime in the future. It's reads more like historical fiction for me. I felt the story takes place sometime right after the world wars. I think this is because of some of the chauvinistic attitudes of the men in the story (woman's place is in the kitchen, children should be seen and not heard).

I was surprised at how intense the characters were. Granted, I think the most developed are the males. But, I think that's the point. In this story, it's a man's world. I really disliked Barry's father. Although, I understood his actions and even appreciated the reasons behind them. I just wish he wasn't so secretive and treated his wife a little (or a lot) better. Barry himself was a very thoughtful young man. You could really seem him struggle with protecting his family (especially his father) and wanting to do what was right in his eyes. I think my favorite character was Nessie and I wish we got more from her in the story.

The story is well thought out. As more and more people find out what is going on in the household, you can't help me feel very apprehensive of what might happen. I can't imagine having to make the choice of making sure my family is provided for or providing for a population that is struggling beyond true comprehension. I think that is were the story lack a little. It just touches the surface of how others are handling the ordeals faced them. I think it's toned down a lot for the intended audience. Overall, I think it's a book that will really make you think. Having a family of my own, I can see both Barry and his father's points of view.

Noah's Castle grips the reader because it examines the struggles of a family when the thin veneer of society breaks down. In this young adult novel hyperinflation strikes England, causing prices to soar and money to shrink in value and eventually become worthless. The story explores how the members of the family, and those around them, survive and grow during one winter of the crisis. Repeatedly, I found myself asking how I would react in the all too real situations presented by the author.

Around the globe, countless families have faced such inflation in the last hundred years. Post-apocalyptic literature is gripping exactly because it examines how society could collapse and how we might respond. Would we get angry and riot, hunker down with our guns and supplies, suffer with others while trying to help or chart some middle course. In varying degrees, the author explores each path as we see this world through the eyes of teenager Barry Mortimer.

Such books are often more message than well-written tale, but this book has balance. John Rowe Townsend, is an award-winning writer of numerous children's and young adult novels. His experience is clear as he weaves the message nicely into the plot of this story. However, as you read the story keep in mind that this is an American reprint of a novel originally released in 1975. Modern novels tend to open with a crisis and move quickly forward, but the first two chapters of this story develop characters and setting. Also, the father in the story, Norman Mortimer, is unabashedly sexist by modern standards.

I recommend this engaging and well-written novel for teen to adult readers.