I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: WOLF PARADE-At Mount Zoomer (2008).

This album made many best of lists of 2008.  It is considered a side project of both Spencer Krug (of Sunset Rubdown) and Dan Boeckner (of Handsome Furs).  I’d not heard of either band, but I was very intrigued by this disc and I’m so glad I got it.

Every track has something outstanding about it, be it a cool guitar break (“Soldier’s Grin”)  or a cool keyboard break (“Language City”–which builds to a rollicking climax).  While “Bang Your Drum” has multiple parts, each one weird and wonderful.

“California Dreamer” has  wonderfully sinister soundtrack, with a great rocking chorus. And it’s followed by a surprisingly upbeat “The Grey Estates” (keyboard pop at its best).

The albums ends with the epic “Kissing the Beehive”: a ten minute track with several parts to it.  The first seven minutes just fly by, and then the song breaks down into a quieter feel.

It seems rare that an album comes out of nowhere to me (even if the album didn’t come out of nowhere for people who loved their first release (which I also have not heard) or the two main songwriter’s OTHER projects, but I’m very glad I found this one.  Its frenetic pacing and overall quality made it one of my favorite releases of 2008.

[READ: March 9, 2009] The Mysterious Benedict Society

While you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, you can certainly check it out because of it. I saw this book on our shelves and brought it home calling it The Decemberists’ book.  It was only later on that I realized that the cover (and interior) art is by Carson Ellis, who is, indeed, the primary artist for the Decemberists.

The second selling point was the blurb on the back cover: “Are You a Gifted Child Looking for Special Opportunities?”  How can you not say, “Why, yes, I think I am.” This blurb appears in the book in a newspaper and is the catalyst for the young children (orphans and runaways mostly) who will show up for the challenging test that comprises the beginning of the book.

But I’ve gotten ahead of myself.  The book beings with the story of Reynie Muldoon, an orphan of exceptional intelligence.  His tutor, Miss Perumal (who is currently teaching him Tamil) is very impressed with his abilities.  When Reynie sees the above ad in the morning paper both he and his tutor are convinced he should find out what the test is all about.

The test consists of several tests, actually. In fact, even meeting people in front of the building could be a test.   Each test is quite challenging, and for the most part, the book presents them so that the reader can try to figure out the answers too.  When the tests are over, three students are selected to join pass: Reynie, George “Sticky” Washington, and Kate Weatherall.

We learn a great deal about these children, the fact that Sticky (he has a photographic memory) ran away from home, the fact that Kate’s parents abandoned her so she ran off to join the circus (and is thus prized for her athletic abilities and her great skill with lassos, slingshots and all manner of other things).  Oh and Kate always carries a bucket with her.

The three…oh wait, there’s suddenly a fourth young person too.  Constance Contraire comes in at the last minute to join the three test passers.  Constance is, like her last name, very contrary.  She is cranky, sleeps a lot and is exceptionally short. In fact, she is so short that Kate often carriers her piggy-back when they are in a hurry.

So, the four children go to meet Mr. Benedict, for it is he who put the ad in the paper.  He is an avuncular man who is also nacoleptic.  And if you don’t know what these words mean, the author has chosen a clever way to tell you:  Kate, while very crafty, does not have a very good vocabulary.  Reynie and Sticky are left to fill in the definitions for her.

Mr Benedict tells them that they are all in grave danger–in fact the whole world is–and that it it only they: smart, clever survivors with no ties to any family, who can save the world.  For you see, on nearby Nomansan Island is the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened run by Ledroptha Curtain.

It is from the L.I.V.E. that Mr Curtain, a man who looks very much like Mr Benedict, and zooms around on a wheelchair, is plotting to subdue everyone through mind control.  It started many years ago with the television (voices projected over the tube make you cranky…or hadn’t you noticed?), but has grown more powerful.  Soon, Mr. Curtain will be able to project thoughts right into your head.

It is up to the children to register in L.I.V.E., rise through the ranks and figure out how Mr Curtain can be stopped.  The biggest difficulty for the kids is that they can only contact Mr Benedict and his assistants through Morse code…they can blink flashing lights from their dorm room to the mainland, where they must await instructions.  Unfortunately for all involved, the instructions MUST be encrypted.  Or in this case, cryptic.  On the off chance that someone is watching, all of the Morse code will be sent in the form of…you guessed it…puzzles.

And so what we get is a vast series of challenges: trying not to get sucked in by the preposterous classes; yet at the same time trying to succeed to get promoted.  At the same time, trying to spy on the others without getting caught or arousing suspicion.  All the while they must try to figure out the cryptic messages from Mr Benedict.

Oh, and once they make it to a trusted level, the rewards that Mr. Curtain offers are very hard to resist.

But when they learn that Mr. Curtain’s plans are supposed to move to the net phase in just days, things really heat up.

This was a really fun story.  The riddles, puzzles and challenges were clever and thought provoking, the bad guys were suitably bad, and in general, the book felt like a good, smart read.

Some highlights for me:  Sarah and I always bemoan books that are simply designed with a sequel in mind (and why are all kids books written in series now anyhow?).  This story has a sequel (the first chapter is printed in the paperback edition); however, the story itself concludes.  Loose ends are wrapped up, things that you didn’t know about are revealed, and the great mystery behind Constance is hilarious!

There’s a quiz in the back testing you not on the book, but if you’ve learned anything in general from reading the book.  It’s quite satisfying,  Hint: If you plan to take it, you should try to learn some morse code.

One thing I’ve often wondered in books like this: how does the author determine just how many pitfalls, obstacles and near successes the kids will have.  This book was pretty long for a book about eleven year-olds, so did Trenton think about removing any of the times the kids nearly complete things, or was the entire book deliberately planned to be exactly the length it is?  That’s a mystery I’ll never solve.

The book leaves off with a letter to the Reader in which Mr Benedict offers clues as to his first name.  I have not yet figured it out, but will keep puzzling it out.  In my ample spare time.

Okay so I cheated, I discovered that his name is written in Morse code on the back of the book, but I’m not going to give it away.

The sequel, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey is available already. I’m going to take some time away from the kids for a bit but it is certainly on my to read list.

Oh, and there’s lots of fun to be had at the website.