The Shuteyes

James, Mary

ISBN 10: 0590450697 ISBN 13: 9780590450690

Publisher: Scholastic, 1993

Synopsis

A boy is whisked off to a planet where sleeping is a crime, in a fantasy that points out the danger and absurdity of prejudice. By the author of Shoebag.

About this title

Reviews

Grade 4-7-- James, the author of Shoebag (Scholastic, 1990), returns with another romp through the realms of the absurd. Unfortunately, the strong framework of reality found in that book is missing here, as the protagonist's life is already very strange. Chester Dumbello, 11, yearns to be "like everyone else" and to escape from Lucy, Mississippi, and his embarrassing mother, proprietor of the Dream Cafe, drum player, and dream interpreter extraordinaire. The appearance of Lornge, a large one-eyed parrot, signals Chester's flight to an even odder milieu--Alert--a place where sleeping is a crime. Imprisoned in the Tower of Loathing as a freak, Chester has some peculiar experiences before he finally returns home. James is an inspired inventor; her characters, with wonderfully ridiculous names, cavort across the pages exchanging sharp-edged dialogue all their own. The language is not difficult, but the satirical nature of the story, as well as a format that sprinkles the text with rhymes and interjections in large type, make it more suitable for older readers. Keeping up with all the characters and twists of plot requires close attention. The Shuteyes , in its own way, is a multilayered experience: a humorous, slightly scary adventure; a cautionary tale; and an exploration of the absurdity of prejudice, all rolled into one. --Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Using the same pseudonym as she did for her 1990 novel, Shoebag , popular YA writer M. E. Kerr has written a quasi-science fiction work. Her story, told with a nightmare's whirling madness, concerns young Chester Dumbello, who is carried off by a giant, one-eyed parrot of the topsy-turvy planet Alert--a place where those with the need to sleep are considered criminals called "shuteyes." It seems Chester has been kidnapped and risks being brainwashed like others who have come before him. Unfortunately, the novel never quite delivers on its intriguing scenario. One of the more diverting characters is Chester's mother, Molly, a psychic who spends most of her time beating a drum, interpreting other people's dreams and embarrassing her son. This odd fusion may puzzle readers--at some junctures the book seems to be a commentary on ostracism ("It's bad enough what you are. Don't brag about it," says one character) and at others it is simply a bizarre adventure. As if reflecting this dichotomy, the author's writing veers from the engaging to the somewhat disjointed. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The pseudonymous M. E. Kerr appears once again under her second nom de plume, adopted for Shoebag (1990), a delightfully comical reversal of Kafka's Metamorphosis (to his horror, a cockroach becomes a boy). At first glance, this fantasy has similar satirical possibilities. Chester lives above the Dream Cafe with his mother, Molly Dumbello, interpreter of dreams. He adopts a parrot, Lornge (rhymes with orange); his friend Rita, ``whose father home-schooled her,'' has a limited education making soap from bacon grease or memorizing poems by Edgar Guest. Lornge takes Chester to ``Alert,'' where sleep is prohibited and even words that refer to it are regarded as obscene. He's assigned adoptive parents and does his best to adapt, but not without some surreptitious naps. A neighbor from back home turns up exhibited as a freak--a dread ``Shuteye''; Chester rescues, and is rescued by, an abused child with a complicated past. Finally, Molly also turns up in Alert, and they both make it home again, where Molly gets a contract for a book about their experiences. Here, unfortunately, the parallels between the two worlds don't result in much humor or insight, while sleep deprivation as a dogmatic philosophy just doesn't turn out to be funny. Contrived and pointless; concluding with Shakespeare's lovely words on dreams (from The Tempest) seems startlingly irrelevant. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590450697
• ISBN 13: 9780590450690
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 167