Saturnalia

By Paul Fleischman

Book Overview

A varied cast of characters--including the extraordinary William, a Native American boy now adopted by a printer and his family--play out a drama of oppression, courtship, and redemption in the shadow... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006447089X
• ISBN13: 9780064470896
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.3" x 4.3"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

SWEET

This book is BORING all the way. I couldn't keep up with the characters. The plot was stupid. Everything that happened was unrealistic. Gideon killed Mr. Rudd. Over all it ..... The only thing that was kool was a ladies man, Malcom.Theis made it not be totaly stupid although it is close enough.

(((((FANTASTIC)))))

Saturnalia is a fantastic novel about a young Native-American boy, William, who gets taken captive by the English in the King Phillips War. It takes place in Colonial Boston. The style of Paul Fleischman is really cool. He can make it so that when a person walks by the story switches to that character. I think it is a fantastic novel. I recommend it to any one who can read and likes history.

Atmospheric read

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.

Read it in one sitting!

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.

A wonderful book

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.