The Pox Party by Matthew Tobin Anderson

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The Pox Party, (#1, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation) is a Historical Fiction written by Matthew Tobin Anderson or just M.T Anderson.

It follows the life of an African boy named Octavian whose mother is brought to America pregnant, and sold to a College. He is dressed in finery, and taught to the best of the College's ability, but there's a secret behind why he is treated how he is. When he opens a door that he's forbidden to enter, he discovers a disturbing new experiment and his strange part in them. Meanwhile, talk of revolution and uprising against the British spreads through the country, and a war begins to brew. But when the College loses their funding and they have to struggle to find investors, they latch onto the first they can find. The new owner's intentions are different, though, and as the experiment morphs and Octavian grows, he must come to terms about the truth of humanity and himself.

This book has lots of different themes, but some of the main ones are: the nature of humanity, human rights, slavery and what it truly means to be free. Thoughtful and emotion provoking, this book is definitely a recommendation from me to those who don't mind a slowish beginning with infrequent bursts of action.

The way this book is written- with Octavian's recollections, letters, documents and newspaper clippings- is pretty cool (I know, I couldn't think of a better word for the situation), but I had a few problems with it. In the main letter writer's letters, the style they wrote in varied depending on whether they were describing a previous event in great detail or were just catching up with their loved ones. When they recounted certain events, the writing was much clearer and less bogged down with "old talk" and that stuff. For this reason, sometimes it seemed like the writer was two different people, and I'd only figure out it was the same person until the end of the letter. Another thing was sometimes, I thought that Anderson had used the wrong format for things. While a certain big event in the book was still mentioned, it was in an article, not Octavian's POV, and I didn't really feel much but anger at the apathetic way the character wrote the article.]

Through the course of the story, I slowly began to connect with Octavian, though at the beginning I couldn't quite relate. Being raised the way he was, M.T. Anderson did an excellent job portraying how his perspective and the way he reacted to different situations were unique thanks to his upbringing. He's a pretty likable character, and even though at times his thoughts seem a bit alien, I have lots of sympathy for him. At times, it seems like he doesn't do much to help himself, but when he does, I can't help but root for him and my heart went out to him in the third half (no spoilers). The character development over the
years in the story were evident, and it all made sense as if I had grown up beside him, watching as he changed throughout the years.

All of the characters were varied and very intriguing, with multitudes of layers and hidden motivations. The side characters were well developed as well, and their relation to each other were heartwarming. The way Octavian and his mother Cassiopeia cared for each other was touching, and I felt it was a very accurate representation of the mother-son bond.

This book was a very refreshing read compared to the usual action packed things that I normally consume, but I found that it lacked in hooks in the first half or so, and it was very easy for me to put it down. In the second half, it began to speed up and have actual action, but by that time I think it was too late.

The descriptions were beautiful but not too heavy, painting vivid pictures in my mind. Anderson knew exactly when to lay it on, and when to describe details briefly but thoroughly. It was masterfully done, and his haunting words echoed in my mind when I went to sleep.

How the revolution was expressed was brief at first, but had an impact, lasting in Octavian's brain and mine.

I do have a small complaint about the blurb because it was set up in a way that painted the door as a huge main point in the plot. Really, it was more of a set-up, and after it was done, the story kind of drifted through Octavian's daily life before finding it's purpose again near the middle of the book.

The horror of slave treatment was addressed more than once in this brilliant piece of work, and they raised unmistakable rage in me while exposing the potential for cruelty the human race possesses.

The time skips were reasonable and well done, and as far as I could tell, nothing was very rushed.

Finally, the ending was very satisfying, but hooking all the same. I look forward to reading the sequel and highly recommend this book (again) to almost everyone. If you enjoy a book with a slow but steady build up to the climax, an excellent handle on subjects like slavery and human rights, an emotional ride with lovable characters and a rich setting, and gorgeously rendered prose, then this is definitely for you.

Anyways, to wrap this up, I wholeheartedly rate this 4 out of 4 stars.