Straw House [Kindle Edition]

Daniel Nayeri (Author)

Book Description

In this profoundly allegorical cutting-edge novella, a sizzling Western set on a farm filled with living toys, readers meet a young straw man who must lay his life on the line to defend his master's home, who loves a basil-eyed girl, and who searches for manhood through the fiery confusion of adolescence. If you enjoy reading "Straw House," check out Daniel Nayeri's three other whimsical riffs on classic genres, all available in the collection Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[The] novellas riff on influences as varied as The Wizard of Oz, Mad Max, and the sardonic Death of Pratchett's Discworld...Strong and assured, these stories seamlessly merge different styles, teasing out and playing with readers' assumptions about how westerns, fantasy and fairy tales work...provocative and deeply satisfying.  --Kirkus Reviews

"With characters deft and real, with language quick and clever, with insight deep and full, these stories lead the reader to wonder, Is this possible? Whatever is going to happen next? And then, incredibly, it is possible, and it happens. Dare to read this."
--National Book Award nominee and two-time Newbery honoree Gary D. Schmidt

"I'm so impressed by the ingenuity of the project as a whole, and Brick House / Wish Police
is sheer genius. I can't remember the last time I've read such a clever and successful plotline."
-- Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park

Nayeri's voice is chameleon-like, easily adapting to the conventions and expectations of each genre without losing a bit of its edge or its wit....Straw House is a delightful amalgam of the high and the low, the silly and the sublime.  --BookPage

Four stylistically brilliant novellas offer readers a range of exquisite reading experiences in this collection... Nayeri's storytelling finesse is on full display here, as he creates characters and spins plots out of breathtakingly vivid wordsmithery; each story features language uniquely suited to its ambience and desired emotional effects, whether it be through clever wordplay in chapter titles, futuristic technojargon, a deliciously turned phrase, or a particularly apt metaphor. Language lovers as well as those who appreciate the artistry of a perfectly compact novella will consider this collection a treasure.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Overall, provocative and deeply satisfying.
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Whenever we invoke this title -- Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow -- let us breathe this word soon after: virtuosity. In a remarkable collection of four novellas, Daniel Nayeri plays a modern Lewis Carroll, pulling us down rabbit holes where the world is cockeyed -- disturbingly cockeyed -- and anything at all can happen. In one, toys planted by an absent creator are left to fend for themselves when evil arrives; in another, the very air we breathe has been infected with a technology that allows us to create our own reality--or others to create it for us; in another, the narrator Death is moved to play the jerk by powerful love.With characters deft and real, with language quick and clever, with insight deep and full, these stories lead the reader to wonder, Is this possible? Whatever is going to happen next? And then, incredibly, it is possible, and it happens. Dare to read this."
--Two-time Newbery honoree and Printz honoree Gary D. Schmidt

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 473 KB
• Print Length: 432 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (September 27, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005N90I8C
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #494,434 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and imaginative October 28, 2011

By Philip

Format:Hardcover

the creativity and imagination in this book alone is worth the read. Daniel Nayeri is so gifted with voice and humor, and he's built four unique and fantastic worlds that you'll devour in one sitting. At the same time, the book is excellently written. I'd recommend it to anyone.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars So Confused September 28, 2011

By P. Creeden TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Well-written? Yes.

Interesting? Yes.

Original? Yes.

But is it a Children's Book? I don't think so. First of all it's a bit confusing. It's set in a different world where Toys are the "people" but instead of being like the Velveteen Rabbit - it's not also populated by humans. It's kind of hard to wrap your mind around as an adult, much less as a child. There is also violence and the threat of additional violence. Not to mention that the beginning of each chapter has the picture of a hangman's noose around the neck of a toy.

Demented? Yes.

And the cover looks so innocent. Also, for the more protective parent, there's a bit of "minor" cussing. This book sort of reminded me of Neil Gaiman's books - Scary like "Coraline" and touching on hard subjects like "Graveyard Book."

My best suggestion is that as a parent you read this book first before handing it to your child. Older children and teens may get a kick out of it, though.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative and Creative October 26, 2011

By Adam Browne

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

First of all, it's a shame that people have to keep saying that it's "not a children's book". Who said it was supposed to be? There are plenty of great books out there for teens and adults that are "not children's books". I think the words of Gary D. Schmidt on the back cover of the book sum it up well, "Daniel Nayeri plays a modern Lewis Carroll, pulling us down rabbit holes where the world is cockeyed." The worlds that Nayeri creates are much like the world Alice fell into, like an old fairy tale, or a Tim Burton movie-- they may be whimsical, but they can be kinda dark at times. I think my favorite of the novellas was Our Lady of Villians (Wood House), which is set in a future where the relationship between humans and technology is tighter (and more frightening) than ever. I think it raises interesting questions of how far we might let ourselves go as a society, and although it's certainly sci-fi, it's scary how possible it seems. Anyway, this book is definitely worth a read if you like something that's a little "cockeyed."

More About the Author

Daniel Nayeri was born in Iran and spent a couple of years as a refugee before immigrating to Oklahoma at age eight with his family. He is an editor of picture books, novels, and graphic novels at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Before that he worked as a professional pastry chef and a stuntman.