Graham Joyce
The Facts of Life (2002)
Author: Graham Joyce
Genre: Fantasy (Magical Realism)
Plot Summary:
Frank is a young boy with psychic abilities, like his mother Cassie and his grandmother Martha. He is able to hear the dead. His mother is deemed unfit to care for him and so Martha decides that they will have to stay with each of his six aunts. The family agrees to this and Frank and Cassie end up staying at a farm, in a commune, and at a mortuary. As Frank grows up, each aunt tries to show him how his life will be better if he lives like they do. He absorbs a little from each family and still realizes that he has special abilities, especially when he speaks with "the man-behind-the-glass." SPOILER: Frank grows up and realizes that while he is still able to hear the dead speak, he doesn't need to do what they tell him. His mother finds someone, from the commune, who will love her for who she is. The "man-behind-the-glass" is discovered to be the skeleton of one of the bombers in the blitz on Coventry during the war. Frank realizes that he is like his grandmother in more ways then just his psychic abilities.
Geographical Setting: Coventry, England
Time Period: Post World War II
Series: None
Appeal Characteristics:
This is a very character centered novel. Frank and his extended family are all well developed characters with quirky abilities or characteristics that make them unique. Each character is drawn out and their story explored. This leads to multiple plotlines. The reader follows Frank and Cassie from house to house and sees how the sisters, all very different, are also part of a larger picture. The setting is Post World War II England. At times the tone is bleak and other times it is hopeful. The tone depends on which house Cassie and Frank are living. On the farm the tone is bright and hopeful. In the commune the tone is confusing and sometimes disturbing. The pacing of this novel varies on location as well. During Cassie's description of the blitz on Coventry it moves along in a dreamlike state. On the farm it is more leisurely paced. The author's style is thoughtful and moving. He subtly brings out the fantasy of being able to communicate with the dead. This book won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in the year 2003.
Read-alikes: Fans of Graham Joyce's writing style will like The Tooth Fairy. In this story we have three boys growing up in Coventry, England during the 1950's. One of the boys, Sam, can see the tooth fairy all his life and it is not at all what he expects. This book has the same writing style with a mix of the ordinary and mystical as well as the same setting. The Forshadowing by Marcus Sedgwick is about Alexandrea who knows when people will die. She becomes a nurse and attempts to save her brother during World War I. There are well developed characters with the similar abilities as in The Facts of Life. The war has a slightly different timeframe, but takes place in England and Europe. The Girl in the Glass by Jeffery Ford was also recommended as a read-alike. In this book a band of con-artists in the 1930's conduct phony seances until one night one of them sees an image of a missing child. The characters in this novel have similar quirky abilities and the writing style is thought provoking. In The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman we find three generations of women who have unique abilities, knowing when people are lying, seeing other's dreams, and knowing how people will die. They must come together to settle the past and determine what will occur in the future. The characters in this novel have similar traits and the tone is both chilling and enchanting, much like The Facts of Life. Another book is Mockingbird by Sean Stewart. Toni's mother, Eleana, was possessed by "The Riders", little known gods that would possess her body in exchange for magical help. Vivid characters and family relationships are at the heart of this novel. The writing style is clear and engaging much like The Facts of Life.
Red Flags: Sexual situations, death, ghosts
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