The Crazy Man - Softcover

Porter, Pamela

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0888996950 ISBN 13: 9780888996954

Publisher: Groundwood Books, 2006

Synopsis

It is 1965, and 12-year-old Emaline, living on a wheat farm, must deal with a family that is falling apart. When her dog, Prince, chases a hare into the path of the tractor, she chases after him, and her father accidentally runs over her leg, leaving her with a long convalescence and a permanent disability. Even worse, from Emaline’s point of view, is that in his grief and guilt, her father shoots Prince and leaves Emaline and her mother on their own.

Despite the neighbors’ disapproval, Emaline’s mother hires Angus, a patient from the local mental hospital, to work their fields. Angus is a red-haired giant whom the local children tease and call "the gorilla." Though the small town’s prejudice creates a cloud of suspicion around Angus that nearly results in tragedy, he just may hold the key to Emaline's coming to grips with her injury and the loss of her father.

About this title

About the Author

Pamela Porter was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and she lived in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Washington and Montana before emigrating to Canada with her husband, the fourth generation of a farm family in southeastern Saskatchewan, the backdrop for much of Pamela's work. She is the author of three collections of poetry, and her poems have appeared in numerous journals across Canada and the US as well as being featured on Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac. She is also the author of a number of children’s books, including Sky and Yellow Moon, Apple Moon (illustrated by Matt James).

Pamela's first novel in verse, The Crazy Man, received the TD Children's Literature Award, the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award for Children, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and the Governor General's Award, as well as several children's choice awards. It was also named a Jane Addams Foundation Honor Book and won the Texas Institute of Letters, Friends of the Austin Public Library Award for Best Young Adult Book.

Pamela lives near Sidney, B.C., with her husband, children and a menagerie of rescued horses, dogs and cats.

Review

...Potter's free-verse narrative explores prejudice, fear, and disability with quiet grace. (Book Links 2010-02-10)

...it's deceptively simple, rewardingly rich. (Quill & Quire 2005-12-05)

...[a] moving, gritty story...accessible to a wide range of ages and reading abilities. It is amazing how much emotion and character Porter manages to convey with so few words. (VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) 2006-02-01)

...a rich, full story of growth and questioning... (Toronto Star 2005-06-01)

...a touching portrait of a real-seeming girl, set in a well-delineated time and place. (Horn Book 2005-01-01)

A richly written character study containing echoes of To Kill a Mocking Bird's Scout Finch and Boo Radley and Of Mice and Men's Lennie, The Crazy Man, which explores prejudices in many forms, is a quick read meriting several rereadings. Highly Recommended. (Canadian Children's Literature - CBRA 2005-06-27)

Among the pleasures of this novel are the muted longing in the young girl's expression, the explications of the 1960s definitions of crazy - and, perhaps most impressively, Porter's play with a verbal colour palette that tempts us to read this initiation narrative as impressionism, studied in its composite detail, and intelligently sentimental. (Canadian Literature 2006-09-01)

Powerfully told in poetic verse, this story is fast paced and heartfelt. (Brandon Sun 2005-12-01)

Subtle in its themes and organization, this book is pure pleasure, offering lessons about love, loyalty, and loss. (School Library Journal 2006-12-06)

The marvel of this novel is that language as plainspoken as Porter's can be as revelatory as those prairie plains themselves....Porter cultivates her characters and her plot with huge deftness and tenderness. (Globe and Mail 2005-11-05)

About this edition

• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0888996950
• ISBN 13: 9780888996954
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 214