A Crack in the Sea by H.M Bouwman
When Dr. Frye told us that this book was going to be something unlike we ever read, I thought that I definitely would have read something similar to A Crack in the Sea before. Now that I have finished the book, I can definitely say that I this book is absolutely the most unique novel I have ever read in my life (children's book or adult novel). The way that the three different families, from three different time periods, are seamlessly woven together to make one epic story is something only an insanely creative person could do. I am really looking forward to our Skype session with Bouwman later this week. At multiple parts in the book (especially during Venus and Swimmer's story) I was thinking to myself, how does anyone even come up with a story like this?! I am most interested in hearing about the author's creative process, and what was her main source of inspiration in having the the three storylines in the book.
One of my favorite aspects of the book is how Venus and Swimmer discover the Second World. It is a comforting thought to think about the African's who were thrown off the Zonk being able to walk in freedom to a safe haven. I was cringing at the point in the story where Swimmer forces Venus to leave the island that they originally landed on. There was such an interesting tension in both the twin's story and the Vietnamese ship's story... There is fear in returning to a place that is your home but doesn't feel like anymore. I found myself asking myself, would I rather return to an enslaved/war-torn country, or start a life in a completely new World? These characters had to make immensely difficult choices.
As I was reading the book, I did have a hard time picturing the events, setting and characters. This is something that has never been an issue for me as I read books, and I think that Bouwman had excellent imaginary in the book. I think that the main reason I struggled is my lack of background knowledge about the Zonk, Vietnam and not having an idea of what Raft World/the Islands were really like. After some reflection, I realized that I rely heavily on my background knowledge as I read books. I think that it would important to talk about both the journey that slaves took from Africa to the Caribbean and America, as well as the Vietnam War with children to provide some background information.
I enjoyed reading this book and all the different themes the book contained within the story. I think that the most obvious theme of this book is that resilience in the face of conflict leads people to freedom, even though that freedom might look different for everyone. For some, it might be literal freedom, for others it might mean freedom in their spirit. Every family in this book displayed resistance in their story, and it is clear that the characters were striving to be strong in the face of adversities, not only for themselves, but also for their families/communities. Other themes that I found in this book were the importance of family (not matter what that family might look like much like The Wild Robot) and how to start new beginnings without forgetting where you came from. There is also a focus on storytelling!
Citations
Bouwman, H.M. A Crack in the Sea (2017). Penguin Publishing. London, England.