What I am Reading Today--The First Two Lives of Lukas Kasha

Here's an oldie but a goodie. I reread this for a 5th/6th Grade Book Discussion Group that I am hoping to get off the ground at work. I'll be curious to see what the kids make of it.

I read somewhere (and I'll have to find the citation before Tuesday night!) that The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha was a very personal book for Lloyd Alexander. This is not hard to believe. Storytelling plays a crucial part in the book, and Alexander was a master storyteller.

Lukas-Kasha is a layabout young man who is at his best when making mischief. One day, a traveling magician, Battisto the magnificent, rolls into the town where Lukas lives. He sets up shop and calls for a participant who is "bold enough to face every peril, to dare the unknown." Lukas steps up to the challenge and promptly gets his head ducked into a bucket of water. He is transported to another location, where he is dragged out of the sea and promptly declared King Kasha. And that's just the start of his problems. He finds himself caught in a power struggle with his Vizier, caught between two warring nations, and caught between the desire to live the lazy life of a pampered king (a role he is naturally suited for) and the growing realization that he has the wisdom and the quick wits to rule wisely. All while wondering when and if Battisto will ever pull his head out of the water, and take this new life away.

When I read this book as a middle schooler, I felt it was bittersweet. I remember talking with the friend who introduced me to it about that (and we talk about it still!) Reading it now, I have a much different interpretation (not to mention a new theory for just what exactly happens to Lukas-Kasha while his head is submerged in the bucket.) I have since read every book Lloyd Alexander has written, and can neatly place this volume within the canon. I have the benefit of nearly 20 years between readings. As a pre-teen girl I was totally caught up in the interpersonal relationships between the characters and heartbroken when I saw them come to an end. I could see the point Alexander was making, but I didn't approve! This time around I "get" what Alexander was saying: life is a journey; there is no certainty but uncertainty; stories have the power to heal and protect us. I also noticed the non-stop action in this book, and thought that I really must recommend it to more boys! And I couldn't help thinking how much Nur-Jehan, the bold and spirited Beishangari slave girl (who of course is so much more than she seems--as are all of Alexander's heroines) sounds like a Klingon, with all her talk of honor and warrior codes. I love the way we (that's the royal "we" BTW) cross-pollinate Art with the references and experiences we pick up every day. There is a lot of that in this book, too, as the characters apply knowledge from one sphere of their experience onto another.

Alexander dedicated The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha to "all who can imagine it really happened, and for all who wish it could". I now count myself among both camps. They are equally satisfying.

Review: The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio

When I started this blog I stated that there won't be many reviews. And that's still the case--I prefer this to be a forum for the discussion of children's literature as a whole, not just what's new and exciting (or new and dull.) But since I indicated that there are some books I am eager to read, I thought it was fair to let readers know what I thought of them, once my baited breath was exhaled. And I will start with the final offering by Lloyd Alexander who died on 15 May of this year (there have been some colossal losses in the world of children's literature in 2007!) And assuming there are no further posthumous offerings, this is a fitting way for Alexander to cap his career. The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio involves, like so many of Alexander's books, a road trip. In this case the road is a literal one. The infamous Golden Road is a highway oft travelled by traders in search of wealth, fools in search of treasure, and villains in search of ill gotten gains. The story starts in Magenta and ends in Keshavar, fictional stands-ins for Italy and the Middle East, respectively. Carlo Chuchio ('chuchio' is Magentian for 'jackass') is a naive young man who is tossed out of his Uncle's house when he makes one clerical error too many, costing his Uncle untold profit. Before he leaves, he visits a bookseller, who gives him a book of fantastic tales, which sound suspiciously like 1001 Arabian Nights. Hidden in the binding of the book, Carlo finds a treasure map. Spurred by his conscience, he attempts to return the map to the bookseller. However, the bookseller, his stall, and any knowledge of him has vanished. Carlo is free to travel and seek out the treasure for himself.

This book is vintage Lloyd Alexander. Along the way, Carlo is joined by a noble rogue, a beautiful girl with a secret, and a wise wanderer, all characters we have seen in his other books. It is amazing that Alexander has managed to tell the same story so many different ways over the course of his career. But if you think that life is the ultimate journey, perhaps it is not surprising that it is a theme Alexander has needed over two dozen books to explore. And unlike earlier offerings, there is not the bittersweet ending (I think particularly of The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha and The Beggar Queen.) Alexander has dedicated this one to "young dreamers, and old ones," and they will not be disappointed. Funny dialogue, clever plot twists, and the allure of treasure come together in a thoroughly satisfying package. When the book is closed on Carlo and his band of dreamers, there is the feeling that we are closing the book on the dreams of Lloyd Alexander as well, who was generous enough to share them with us in the first place.