Prepare yourself for a world in which
boy "oafs" keep "mans" as pets, a world in which a lucky
male or female man is allowed to actually live in the same house as their oaf
owner, and in which unlucky mans are often consumed as part of a normal,
everyday meal. Now you are ready for
Preston Allen's Every Boy Should Have a
Man.
Adult oafs normally stand something
over thirteen feet tall and even their children are soon taller than
man-pets. Every oaf-year is the
equivalent of four man-years so, over the course of a lifetime, an oaf is
likely to have several mans as pets. Get
the picture? Strangely, some mans can
talk and some can play singing musical instruments. "Talking mans" and "musical
mans,”
however, are very valuable and are generally owned by only the wealthy. The poor have to be content with ordinary,
less talented, mans and their pets have to hope that they are not stolen to
become the dinner of someone even poorer than their owner.
Every
Boy Should Have a Man is largely the story of two
oaf boys, one wealthy and one poor, and the female man they share over the
years. Their world is not a happy
one. It is a world dominated by a small
wealthy class that sometimes wages war against the poorer, desperate majority
of the population. And, unfortunately
for the domesticated man population, neither army is reluctant to use mans as
cannon fodder.
 |
| Preston Allen |
This little book (191 pages) is one
that will, most obviously, make readers think about our relationship to our own
pets, particularly dogs, but it also addresses numerous other issues. It is a well considered fable that touches on
things like war, religious conflict, racism, global warming, and what it means
to be "civilized" –
all of it cloaked within a rousing adventure tale that fits comfortably into
the fantasy genre.
Bottom Line: Every Boy Should Have a Man is one of those books I still find
myself thinking about several weeks after I finished reading it. I have even brought it up in conversation
with friends whom I know are nonreaders because it is just so pertinent to
today's world. The book is a little
heavy-handed at times, particularly on the global warming issue, but it
deserves a wide audience. Author Preston
Allen has a winner.
(Review Copy provided by Publisher)
This book sounds very strange. But if it's one you were thinking about days later, then I guess it worked.
ReplyDeleteJames, Every Boy Should Have a Man, is most definitely different...and made me think a lot about the morality of some of our cultural habits. Fun read.
ReplyDelete