Customer Reviews

Saturnalia

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I was mainly looking for some shorter books for some of my students who aren't great readers when I bought this book. I had really liked Whirligig, by this author, so I wanted to see some of his other work. It's really a nice little book, better than the review indicated. It's a quick read and all of my students who read it liked it very much.

Paul Fleischman is a great experimenter when he writes young adult fiction, and this is another example of his virtuosity. This delicately written historical fiction foreshadows the rise in black slavery in America. With other examples of historical fiction, it shows the struggles and inconsistancies of beliefs by colonists at the time. I am not surprised the "Reader from Seattle, Washington" did not like it. Any book read over a two month period would kill me. This type of book needs to be read over a short period of time to preserve the mood and characterizations. Why do teachers do this to students? I cannot wait to share it with the students in our library at school.

This slim volume is a good historical fiction glimpse for young adults. It tells the story of William, a young Narraganset Indian who was captured in King Philip's war, and now serves a printer in Boston, where he is treated kindly and learns to study books and English ways. By day he is English, and by night William sneaks out and scours the December streets looking for his lost Indian brother. Though the plot focuses on William, the book is full of colorful characters of the Puritan city, some ridiculous, others tragic. What I like most about this book is the cimenatic way in which our focus is led from one character to another, keeping the perspectives fresh and interesting. (For this reason I think the book would make a good film for television.)Fleishman has done a good job of conjuring up the atmosphere of early Boston, and the eerie world of the dark city at night. Because the book is so short, I'm not sure Fleishman does entire justice to the complex themes he has raised - the struggle of the young Indian between two cultures, the struggle within the English colonists between Puritan strictness and the human need to have fun (in ways such as celebrating the ancient Roman holiday for which the book is named), etc. Nor does it entirely resolve the fates of some of the characters, such as the wood carver who seeks to atone for his wartime past. Nonetheless, this is an enjoyable, atmospheric, and original read.

Saturnalia is a rare find. The author writes for young adults
but his appeal is beyond any category. His books are
filled with beautifully-drawn characters and lots of surprises.

We had to read this book in class, and every one was strugglingto stay awake. I guess you might find this interesting if you had thechance to read it on your own time, but when it is drawn out for twomonths, it is the most boring thing in the world. It was confusing when the characters veiwpoints swiched, so much that it was hard to know who was narrating the story. Don't read this unless you have to.

This was an interesting novel in many ways. The story has several main characters. We begin with Mr. Baggot, the tithing man who enjoys disciplining his fellow citizens and their children, who looks down on others, and who hates Indians; we follow Baggot to the Currie household, where a kindly printer and his large jolly family have taken in William, a Narraganset Indian orphaned by recent hostilities between his people and the colonists. We follow William in his work until he tends to the shop's visitor, a self-important wigmaker and his constantly-on-the-make servant Malcolm. Then we follow Malcolm until he meets someone that we follow next. I really liked the smooth flow that this structure brought to the book. The author is a fine writer, explaining painlessly what life might have been like in colonial Boston. There is also humor throughout due to the antics of Malcolm, and this really helps sell a historical novel to a modern kid. The story of William is especially compelling, and terrific material for discussions of the relations between Europeans and Native Americans in 1681. Fine writing, compelling story, this is an excellent historical novel for read aloud or teens.

Saturnalia

This book is about the Saturnalia, or December 22, the day when the roles of slaves and masters are switched. William, a slave sent to Boston from his indian tribe, is the main character.Throughout the book, he tries to find his long, lost brother and stumbles along two slaves who are in fact members of his tribe.
The day of the Saturnalia comes and a shocking event takes place. Will the people find out William's secret? You won't know until you read the book.
I found this book interesting even though I don't usually read books like that. It keeps you waiting at the end of every chapter and it's very detailed and explains the characters and their actions well.
I would reccommend this book to anyone who likes history because it takes place back in the 1800's. I would also reccommend it to anyone who likes a little mystery because it's kind of mysterious.
Some important parts of the story are:William finds the two slaves who were from his tribe, and the Saturnalia comes and slaves and their masters switch places.

I disliked the story Saturnalia for a few reasons, I think that it was written very confusing, the beginning was very boring and that is the most important part, the beginning is supposed to introduce the characters and it didn't really do that, also because I really didn't get into the story so I really did not enjoy the book.
The book takes place in Boston and its about a boy named William who lives a double life, by day he is Mr. Currie's printing apprentice, by night he is an Indian from the tribe Narraganset and his name is Weetasket. Mr. Baggot (the Tithing man) is very unsure about William and he doesn't trust him. With the winter holiday Saturnalia, which is when master and servant change places for one full day, he thinks that Williams secret life will be reviled. I don't want to ruin the story so wont tell you.
I would recommend this book to people that like the author Paul Flieshman and to people that like books that have characters that are mysterious, also to people that like books that have some history in them.The reason I would is because in the story there is some history and you don't really know much about the main characters.

I disliked the story Saturnalia for a few reasons, I think that it was written very confusing, the beginning was very boring and that is the most important part, the beginning is supposed to introduce the characters and it didn't really do that, also because I really didn't get into the story so I really did not enjoy the book.
The book takes place in Boston and its about a boy named William who lives a double life, by day he is Mr. Currie's printing apprentice, by night he is an Indian from the tribe Narraganset and his name is Weetasket. Mr. Baggot (the Tithing man) is very unsure about William and he doesn't trust him. With the winter holiday Saturnalia, which is when master and servant change places for one full day, he thinks that Williams secret life will be reviled. I don't want to ruin the story so wont tell you.
I would recommend this book to people that like the author Paul Flieshman and to people that like books that have characters that are mysterious, also to people that like books that have some history in them.The reason I would is because in the story there is some history and you don't really know much about the main characters.

I think that Saturnalia is an interesting book about a Narraganset boy. The style of the book is good because it is well written because when it changes from character to another it changes it well enough for someone to understand when it is talking about another character and there also are a lot of words that are hard to read or understand. The story is not just about a Narraganset boy but also about a lot of other characters. The characters of Saturnalia are well described so I'd say that the characters and the style are its biggest strength. The plot of the story is interesting because there are three different stories about different characters going on the same time. Like William trying to keep up with his present and at the same time he is trying to remember more about his past, there's also a story about Malcolm, Mr. Hogwood, and Madam Phipp, which is mostly about Mr. Hogwood, and last but not least there is a story about Mr. Speke, who is trying to fight his past. The setting is o.k. Because it is always described in the story. I recommend this book to people who are able to read and understand tough words.