The Book of Everything

By Guus Kuijer

Book Overview

Tom?s can see beautiful, strange things no one else can see. But he can also see his fiercely religious father hit his mother. Tom?s wants to stand up to him and protect his mother, but does not think... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439749182
• ISBN13: 9780439749183
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
• Length: 101 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

The holy and the ordinary interwoven in the life of a 9-yr-old boy

"Thomas saw things no one else could see. He didn't know why, but it had always been like that." He records what he sees in the book he is writing, a book entitled "The Book of Everything." Tropical fish swim in the canals near his home in the Netherlands. Sparrows play tiny trumpets on his windowsill. Old Mrs. van Amersfoort, who has wrinkles and wears her gray hair in a bun, turns into a girl with plaits and bows when he reads aloud to her from a book of nonsense poems. And when Thomas is confused, or frightened, or sad, he sees the Lord Jesus, wearing a white dress that flaps in the breeze, and they talk together. For this is a book in which the holy and the ordinary are inextricably interwoven in the life of a nine-year-old boy. A fictional prologue purports to describe how the book came to be published. Thomas, now an old man, shares his childhood manuscript with a famous author. "I wrote this when I was nine," he explains. "I think it is worthwhile." Then he hesitates, adding "it may be too disrespectful." The Book of Everything is not for everyone. Thomas has a stern, religious father who feels it is his duty to "lead and instruct his wife and children ... with a hard hand if need be." As the father's righteous violence escalates, Thomas hears the angels weeping in heaven and sees the plagues of Egypt, one after another--but Jesus does not stop the beatings. Yet the book provides humor and hope in the midst of life's worst moments. Margot, the older sister Thomas initially describes as "dumb as an onion," turns out to be quick-witted in a crunch. When Thomas listens to Beethoven on an old gramophone, he feels his chair rising because "with this music, it's normal for chairs to float." Mrs. van Amersfoort faces and mysteriously subdues the Bottombiter, a ferocious dog who appears from nowhere and--yes--bites children's bottoms. Translating is always a balancing act: the challenge is remaining true to the original text while crafting a narrative that is fluent and natural in the second language. The Book of Everything is beautiful English, flowing like a clear stream that dances and dashes over a bed of polished pebbles. There is music in the words. There is music, too, in Thomas's soul. Throughout the story, he has one touchstone: "When I grow up, I am going to be happy." Mrs. van Amersfoort agrees. "And do you know how happiness begins?" she asks. "It begins with no longer being afraid." Indeed, the old man of the prologue affirms that yes, he is happy.

Lovely story

This is a lovely, funny, enchanting gem of a story...sort of fable like and precious. I'm not sure it's a children's book, as commented by other reviewers, but I get that sense with a lot of great children's books I've read. A very quick read that left me smiling, but with the problem of...what to do with it? Who could I recommend this to that would appreciate it? It's really a story that you have to take as is, without trying to classify it.

A Must-Read

The Book of Everything is easily one of the best books I've read over the past five years. This wonderful book is enchanting, moving, thought-provoking. I read it three times, then pressed my mom & sister to read it so I could discuss it with someone. They loved it as much as I did (I knew they would!) I intend to make it a selection for my book club, for although it's a slim volume, it is packed full with much to think about and discuss. A negative -- why the heck didn't this book sell better? If you read it, you'll wonder the same thing. I think the problem is in the marketing. Although the story unfolds from the point-of-view of a nine year old boy, this is an adult book, albeit one a child might also enjoy. The book should have been marketed to adults. It's a shame more people aren't aware of this book.

where is more by this author?

I loved this book and so did my eight year old son, though with trepidation. The book plays with that fear--it seems to be getting tougher for Thomas and his mother when a solution is brewing. The tensions they are enduring in their lives are sometimes loosened after the 4th chapter. So the poetic compression isn't as tight then. But then again it is a relief that that happens.. I want so much to read more by this author and don't see that anything else is translated.

Forget your troubles. Come on get happy. You better chase all your cares away.

This year I am attempting to determines the best children's books of 2006. This is simultaneously lovely and heartbreaking. After all, who am I to say that one book is any better than another? Picking the best books means making a lot of tough decisions. Until now, however, I thought I was doing pretty well. Books could be perfectly separated into two categories: Good and Bad. The good books (like "The Loud Silence of Francine Green" and "The Palace of Laughter") do something different and will be enjoyed by child readers. Bad books (like "Emily Windsnap and the Monster From the Deep") are poorly written or uninteresting. Then I got to "The Book of Everything". I hold this book in my hand right now staring at its brilliant cover art, remembering its simple but deeply cutting wordplay, and I haven't a clue what to do with it. On the one hand, it's brilliant. An incredibly intelligent treatise on one boy's grasp of what he wants out of his life, his religion, and his abusive family situation. On the other hand I can't figure out if it's really a kid's book. Would children enjoy it? Wouldn't a teenager get so much more out of it? And if I approve of it, will I just be yet another children's librarian who bulldozes her own preferred books over the objections and cries of her child patrons? There is no doubt in my mind that Kuijer's book deserves all the accolades it receives. There is considerable doubt as to whether or not children will like it. Thomas is not your average child. He's the kind of kid who sees tropical fish swimming in the canals of 1951 Amsterdam. Or frogs conglomerating on the streets outside his home. But Thomas is not happy. His father is an overbearing religious figure who aligns himself with the Old rather than the New Testament. He has no sense of humor and, worst of all, he hits Thomas's mother. When the boy befriends the neighborhood "witch", things start to look up. She lends him books. She knows what's going on in his family. And when he tells her that what he wants to be when he grows up is happy, she tells him, "And do you know how happiness begins? It begins with no longer being afraid". God may be dead to Thomas, his father reduced to a pitiful and pitiable old man, but happiness is something achievable when you've the support of women, friends, and children. At the moment that Thomas is being spanked by his father with a wooden spoon and with every thwack comes to think that God is dead, well that sort of elevated the tale from average kiddie lit to something more. But is a book inappropriate for children simply because it twiddles with atheism and higher ideas? Of course not! I'm actually thinking aloud here. The book has plenty of scenes that kids will find interesting. Thomas's visions. The description of his witchy neighbor. The magical realism of the story and the defeat of a villain who turns out to simply be a coward. There's even a contemplation at the end of what coward