The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume One: The Pox Party

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Volume One: The Pox Party
by M.T. Anderson
Candlewick Press, MA 2006


Octavian is a privileged Bostonite. The Novanglian College of Lucidity, a society of philosophers who serve as father figures as well as educators, provide him with shelter and a superb classical education. Octavian’s beautiful and charming mother, Cassiopeia, a princess in exile, is treated as such by the philosophers. She and Octavian entertain the houseful of scholars, who go by numbers rather than names, and lavish in luxury. Octavian Nothing can play the violin, read Greek, has expensive clothing and head full of knowledge. He also has his poop measured everyday by the scholars so that its weight can be measured against the food he has ingested. Those scholars? They are also his owners. The reader slowly realizes along with Octavian that he and his mother are slaves. A human science experiment, Octavian is a rat in a maze. The scholars are attempting to prove whether black people have the same mental capacity that whites do. Set in pre-Revolutionary War America, Octavian begins to question his role in the world and his plight parallels that of the rebellious English colonies just as America rebels against England’s hold over it. 
     Written primarily from Octavian’s point of view in memoir format, this National Book Award finalist unfolds its secrets slowly. Written in 18^th century language, you may spot some SAT vocabulary in Octavian’s writings. In the last several chapters we see Octavian through the eyes of a Revolutionary War solider in his letters home. The letters do not make for easy reading. In a similar 18^th century English of a literate, though at times hard to understand solider, they may make for challenging reading. However, the story is so interesting that it is absolutely worth decoding.

Bottom Line: 
Interesting historical fiction; haunting Pox Party scene; reserve Volume II now - you'll want to start it as soon as you're done with Volume I.