Review
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How do I admire this breathtakingly intricate novel?
Let me count the ways. There's its beautiful, bittersweet
evocation of rural adolescence in 1962, so ly done that
you can almost hear the fizzing hormones. There's its sheer
- Google Earth in a novel - as we zoom out from the North Norfolk
strawberry fields to land in the testosterone-fuelled tensions of
JFK's cabinet room and the humid jungles of Cuba and the Bay of
Pigs. There are its gloriously imagined characters: both the
older ones who fold inside themselves the disappointments and
deprivations of wartime; and the younger ones, starting to taste
freedoms and rtunities of which their parents can cely
conceive. And there's the fact that the whole is utterly
untainted by blinkering nostalgia. `Nostalgics want to cuddle the
past like a puppy,' says Clem. `But the past has bloody teeth and
bad breath.' ... its spine-tingling, loin-buzzing,
butterflies-in-the-stomach evocation of what it feels like to be
young, that extraordinary time of having life, love, sex and the
whole oyster of the world in front of you. And so then what a
blow it is when you realise that world is also a dangerous one,
run by stupid people who might just cause mass destruction to
your plans... -- Caroline Sanderson * Books for Keeps * From the
expansive opening section, which introduces several generations
of Clem's family, Peet moves us effortlessly through time. His
book jumps in chronology and shifts in scale: one paragraph
begins with the ship Granma bound for Cuba carrying Fidel and
Che, and ends with Brian Woods throwing Clem's cap on to the back
of a passing lorry. And it does so with pin-sharp humour. If
you're counting down to an imminent doomsday, you could do worse
than to spend a few of your remaining hours reading this. --
Daniel Hahn * The Independent * You know when a book has really
got under your skin when you have to remind yourself that no, the
characters do not exist in real life, and no, it would not be
cool to ring the author and ask whether Clem goes back to
Frankie, that in fact you are really only one step away from
talking at characters in The Archers like your mum.... But we
defy you to read Life: An Exploded Diagram (Walker) and not fall
in love...World history and small moments of exquisite tenderness
pulled together in an enthralling narrative - Mal Peet is a
genius. -- Dinah Hall * http://ladybookbird.tumblr.com/ * Since
2003, Mal Peet has been quietly (too quietly, it might be argued)
producing many of the finest books in young adult literature. His
excellent historical novel, Tamar, won the 2005 Carnegie medal,
while Exposure, a brilliant riff on Othello transposed to the
world of South American football, was awarded the 2009 Guardian
children's fiction prize. With Life: An Exploded Diagram, Peet
has once more produced a winner: a subtle, minutely observed
novel with a huge heart and a bold historical sweep. Somehow it
all connects, thanks to Peet's cool eye, generous sensibility and
fierce intelligence. It doesn't hurt that his storytelling
prowess is more than a match for the lust of his young
protagonists, the inner workings of JFK's war cabinet, and the
gruesome conditions inside a Russian submarine, which "tipped and
slewed in the water like a drowned rocking-horse" (and also
happens to be carrying an atomic bomb with America's name on it).
The question that will undoubtedly be raised in relation to this
- and one that has been asked of Peet's work before - is whether
it really belongs in the young adult section. From the
unpublished writer who told me "If all else fails, I'll write a
YA book", to Martin Amis's pronouncement that he'd have to be
brain injured to write for children, the slight sneer that
follows the category often suggests it's a sub-valid form of
literature, OK for those not intelligent or mature enough for
real books. Life: An Exploded Diagram is a real book, a rare
treat for thoughtful readers of any age. Read it yourself. Then,
if you can think of a young person with the wit to appreciate it,
pass it along. -- Meg Rosoff * The Guardian * This deftly written
book from an award-winning author will provide an engrossing and
thought-provoking read for teenagers and adults alike. *
Booktrust * Peet's novel shines in it's `young adult' niche but
also surpasses it * i newspaper * Here is a gifted novelist who
deserves the widest audience. His autopbiographical account of
Clem's school days at his ultra-patriotic grammar school is just
one of the pleasures of this irreverent and compassionate novel.
Read and enjoy. -- Nick Tucker * The Independent on Sunday *
Surely the finest young adult book of the year...This story has
indignation, passion and humour, always expressed with an
exhilarating choice of words. -- Nicolette Jones * The Sunday
Times * Peet's warmth, humour and fierce intelligence are soaked
into every page as he moves effortlessly between first-time
fumblings in the strawberry fields of rural Norfolk and the
wrangling for power at the heart of the Oval Office. Is it a
cliche for a reviewer to label a book unmissable? Tough. Like me
you'll probably read it twice, just because you can. * The
Scotsman * The beginning is gripping, the writing flawlessly
beautiful and the story fascinating... ...Mal Peet has created
one of those rare stories where, while enjoyable throughout, it
is impossible to see the true genius of the work until you turn
the last page - at which point I defy anyone not to be completely
overwhelmed by its brilliance. Falling into neither YA nor adult
genres, this is a book that should be read and absorbed by all
because, as Peet so cleverly leads us to see, we do not live
merely off the world but also in it. As we live our individual
lives, the world at large whirls around us in a maelstrom of
conflict, dynamism and never ending change and regardless of our
awareness, it changes us with it. Do not make the mistake of
picking up Life: An Unexploded Diagram and putting it down again
- pick it up, stick with it and be blown away, it really is
extraordinary. -- Sya Bruce * The ains of Interest * Life is
one of those books you can devour in a matter of hours despite
its size (at just about 400 pages long it is a bit of a monster).
I was totally engrossed and found myself just wanting to read
more and more to find out what happened next. * Feeling Fictional
* This is an outstanding book for older teenagers, unpatronising
and completely gripping. Mal Peet treats his audience absolutely
as adults...Very highly recommended. -- Katy Moran *
http://katymoran.co.uk/book-review-blog/ * You can't really begin
to describe this book (yes, I know I already have). You just need
to read it. * Book Witch * While being a moving Bildungsroman
about Clem's forbidden love for the squire's daughter, this is
also an examination of broader societal changes, and an elegant
history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Peet's novel ought to win
prizes: it will suit any teen with even the slightest interest in
history and human nature. * Daily Telegraph * Peet handles this
complex narrative with such confidence and skill that the journey
is almost seamless, and the darkness of the subject matter is
offset by a dry and clever wit...It's a book for older and
committed teenage readers or adults of any age - quality writing
at this level defies an age-range. -- Sally Morris * The Daily
Mail * Peet handles this complex narrative with such confidence
and skill that the journey is almost seamless, and the darkness
of the subject matter is offset by a dry and clever wit...It's a
book for older and committed teenage readers or adults of any age
- quality writing at this level defies an age-range. -- Sally
Morris * The Daily Mail * Particularly touching is the progress
of Clem's parents' relationship from first love to
disappointment, as tortuous and draining as their son's love for
Frankie is short and sweet. Life: An Unexploded Diagram has a
good chance of next year's Carnegie Medal. * The Guardian Online
* A real book, a rare treat for thoughtful readers of any age.
Read it yourself. Then, if you can think of a young person with
the wit to appreciate it, pass it along. * Guardian (UK) * Peet
moves us effortlessly through time. His book jumps in chronology
and shifts in scale...And it does so with pin-sharp humour. If
you're counting down to an imminent doomsday, you could do worse
than to spend a few of your remaining hours reading this. *
Independent (UK) * Here is a gifted novelist who deserves the
widest audience....Irreverent and compassionate...Read and enjoy.
* Independent (UK) * ...one of the best books I've read for a
very long time...There is a of Norfolk, in very fine detail,
printed on the inside of the cover, back and front. You will need
a magnifying glass to examine it properly, but these beautiful
reproductions are the perfect opening and closing statements for
a novel, which, as ever at Walker Books, is a
beautifully-designed object and a pleasure to hold in one's
hands. I can't recommend it highly enough. -- Adele Geras *
http://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/ * Sometimes hilariously
comic, sometimes desperately sad, this totally engrossing novel
exhibits ambition and confronts challenge to equally telling
effect. * The Irish Times * For adults, for teenagers, for anyone
at al, Life: An Exploded Diagram must be sought out. Concerning
the pursuit of virginity loss in 1960s Norfolk against the
background of the Cuban missile crisis, it's fresh, vital with an
ending tha still stuns, 11 months after I read it. -- Patrick
Ness * Guardian * Set mainly in 1960s rural Norfolk, against the
threatening Cuban missile crisis, this novel focuses on the
childhood and adolescence of working-class Clem, with fascinating
throwbacks to earlier generations of his family -- Robert Dunbar
* Irish Times *
About the Author
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Mal Peet's first novel, Keeper, won the Branford Boase
Award and the Bronze Nestle Children's Book Award; Tamar won the
Carnegie Medal; and Exposure was the 2009 winner of the Guardian
Children's Fiction Prize. A writer and illustrator, Mal has
produced many books for children, most of them in collaboration
with his wife, Elspeth Graham.