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Searching... Salem Main Library | Greene, M. | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A brilliant and moving coming-of-age story in the tradition of Wonder by R. J. Palacio and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon--this debut novel is written with tremendous humor and charm.
This is Alex's story. But he doesn't know exactly what it's about yet, so you probably shouldn't either.
Instead, here are some things that it's sort of about (but not really):
It's sort of (but not really) about brain surgery.
It's sort of (but not really) about a hamster named Jaws 2 (after the original Jaws (who died), not the movie Jaws 2 ).
It's sort of (but actually quite a lot) about Alex's parents.
It's sort of (but not really) about feeling ostrichized (which is a better word for excluded (because ostriches can't fly so they often feel left out)).
It's sort of (but not really (but actually, the more you think about it, kind of a lot)) about empathy (which is like sympathy only better), and also love and trust and fate and time and quantum mechanics and friendship and exams and growing up.
And it's also sort of about courage. Because sometimes it actually takes quite a lot of it to bury your head in the sand.
Praise for Ostrich
"Irresistible! Ostrich is loaded with wit, charm, and wisdom. Alex is one of the sweetest and most inspiring narrators I've ever encountered. I dare you not to laugh, cry, and fall utterly in love." --Maria Semple, New York Times bestselling author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
"A coming-of-age story of some brilliance . . . I laughed heartily, sobbed unexpectedly, and significantly improved my grammar." --Nathan Filer, author of the Costa Book Award winner The Shock of the Fall
"One of the bravest novels I've read in a very long time. Matt Greene lets the reader become detective, and clue by clue we uncover not only the truth of Alex's world, but the deepest truths of what it means to love and lose." --Carol Rifka Brunt, author of Tell the Wolves I'm Home
" Ostrich has given me the most enjoyable reading experience I've had all year and has one of the funniest and most engaging young narrators I've had the pleasure of reading. Matt Greene is seriously funny and in Ostrich proves comedy can be the finest of arts." --Matt Haig, author of The Humans
Author Notes
Matt Greene was born in Watford, England, in 1985 and studied English at the University of Sussex, where he edited The Badger newspaper. He is the co-author of four plays, including the Edinburgh Fringe sellout farce The Straight Man, and his debut feature film Oliver and Becky Would Like to Meet is currently in development with Big Talk Productions and StudioCanal. This is his first book.
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
Are Mum and Dad splitting up? What's with the hamster? And how to handle this brain tumor thing? These questions weigh on the 12-year-old protagonist of British author Greene's slack first novel. Clearly, Alex Graham has a lot on his mind. One might think the tumor would be uppermost. He's been having chemo for two years and is facing high-risk surgery, yet the operation is dispatched briskly, and the intermittent postoperative seizures are not that big a deal. Alex as narrator is intent on passing on to readers everything he has learned in class. A graffito on a bathroom wall gets him started on tautologies. He's a precocious kid but hardly an endearing one. And while he may be a whiz in the classroom, he's an amateur at reading his parents. They may have a spat or two, and Dad, a driving instructor, loves to kid around, but their devotion to Alex and to each other is not in doubt. This does not make for an exciting story. His friend Chloe, whose parents actually have split, does try to stir the pot. This is where the hamster, Jaws 2, comes in. Mum was supposed to care for him while Alex was in the hospital, so why has the critter lost all of its energy? Had Mum, Chloe wonders, been distracted by Dad's possible affair? As Alex's English teacher tells him, "there's nothing worse than a narrator who doesn't know what kind of story he's in." Exactly right. The elliptical writing style doesn't help. Looming over this novel is Mark Haddon's tale of an autistic boy, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. This work is its miniature.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Like Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003), Greene's first novel features a precocious young boy as its narrator, trying to make sense of the adult world. Twelve-year-old Alex has just endured surgery for a brain tumor that caused crippling seizures. His thoughts are usually preoccupied with language irregularities, such as tautologies, or the various things he wants to Google, but after the surgery he notices everyone around him is behaving strangely. Even his pet hamster, Jaws 2, seems off. Alex begins to fear that the strain he observes in his parents' relationship heralds divorce and that the driving lessons his father is giving are actually a cover for an affair. Alex enlists his best friend, Chloe, to help him get to the bottom of the mystery, but when Chloe comes to the conclusion Alex fears most, he lashes out at her. Readers will likely be ahead of Alex in terms of figuring out what is going on with his family, but they are bound to be moved by this humorous, heartbreaking debut.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2010 Booklist