Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Review
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Publisher's Summary:
Bradley, Alan. (2009)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. New
York, NY: Bantam Books, a division of Random House. ISBN
0385343493. Litland recommends readers age teen and
adult.
Publisher Description:
It is the
summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw,
young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion
for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable
events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage
stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later,
Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and
watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia,
who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in
earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could
say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This
was by far the most interesting thing that had ever
happened to me in my entire life.”
Respect for self and others: This
includes integrity (adherence to a code of
conduct or value system), honesty vs. manipulation or
lying, compassion, caring for others (characters not
focused on getting their way no matter what) self
respect--main character does not let others
denigrate him or her; use of self control and
self-discipline ; taking charge of own behaviour;
fairness to others (such as taking turns and
avoiding the blame game). Reader should ask themselves
“How does the protagonist depict their peers?” “Would
you want others to treat you this way? Should everyone
act this way?” This includes true friendships
that do not involve regular lying, deceit or
manipulation; considering consequences of actions
prior to acting; owning up to responsibility once
an action has been taken.
The
main character, Flavia, is a precocious 11 year old who
initially may come across as “bad” due to her curiosity
about, rather than repulsion from, death whether it be
her reaction to the dying and murder of a man, or her
description of a dead bird. Her obsession with
chemistry as an instrument of revenge against siblings
also adds to this initial persona. However, the story
fills in much deeper, and shows a character who later
identifies strengths in her siblings, sees herself in
her father (“I looked in his eyes...I saw my own eyes”),
sees her deceased mother in herself, frequently engages
in self-control needed to accomplish her goal (of
solving the mystery and freeing her father), and has a
healthy self-concept (“I was me. I was Flavia. And I
loved myself, even if no one else did.”). On the down
side, she does manipulate others to attain her purpose,
and recognizes that she is doing so; the means justifies
the end goal. She does however consider consequences of
every action and show contrition for mistakes made
(except towards siblings).
Portrayal of Authority
figures: The positive portrayal of parents, teachers, police officers and other “good” authority figures common in a child’s life is a positive influence upon the child’s own moral development. This includes
actively-parenting mother and father figures. Minimization of parental involvement in the character’s activities or the portrayal of authority figures as
inferior present poor role models. Also to be avoided are main characters that
deceive parents and teachers to accomplish goals, and overuse
sarcasm towards authority figures. Ask yourself “Are parents seen as positive or negative influence in the character's life?”
Authority figures are true to form for the time period,
making the story believable. The mother is deceased but
as the story unveils, Flavia finds out much about her,
increasing respect for her. The father figure is in
charge of the household and rules obeyed. He does not
oversee his daughters activities, however, and the lack
of direct parental interaction presumably enables
Flavia’s weaknesses in attitude and behaviour. Police
are also shown in respectable form. Overall, there is no
demeaning representation of elders, even the “bad guys”.
Citizenship and
Patriotism: Loyalty to family, team or group, school, community and world; caring for and being considerate of these
groups. Pride to be part of that group or nationality.
The
story begins with intense sibling rivalry between poorly
supervised girls, and so we would be led to believe
little loyalty exists in this family. However, rather
than choosing to solve the mystery simply for her own
intellectual satisfaction and ego, Flavia solves the
mystery in loyalty of her father. Her reflection upon
her own long family heritage coupled with pride of being
a Brit flavors the story. At the end, this pride in the
British people as survivors gives her the courage to
escape.
Justice and Balance: A just distribution between good and evil (with
good outweighing evil in the presence of the storyline);
demonstration of right and wrong; making decisions to enact the above values rather than simply choosing from two bad possibilities; Ask yourself “Is the emphasis on the positive elements or negative?”
Flavia’s dialogue makes it quite clear to us that she
knows when she is engaging in good or bad behaviour, and
often is contrite with it. The notion of what is good,
and what is bad, is clearly demarked throughout the
story. She lies to the police for the purpose of
determining best actions in defense of her father and
his servant, Dogger. She recognizes the duplicity of
doing so, as well as is troubled when she believes
Father is lying as well. Once past the first chapter,
the story is uplifting and positive throughout.
.
Aesthetic aspects Of
life ExperienceLook for a storyline portrayal of
beauty, health, and selfless love vs. hedonistic behaviours (sexuality, selfishness, obsessiveness, materialism),
profanity, gore and violence. Are nature and environment respected or exploited? Look for
dark elements; watch out for humor that is negative, denigrates others excessively, uses metaphors to
denigrate the sacred.
The description of
history, physical environment, interpersonal
interactions, action scenes, etc. are rich and detailed.
The writing style is complex in its colourful and
sometimes unusual vocabulary, and humour is subtle woven
therein. Although not gory, the treatment of death
without a humane component is a bit dark, and the
description of some scenes may not be appropriate for
younger readers. In one scene, Mary tells of how a man
tries to attack her. While implying his intentions, they
were never stated nor was much detail given of the
possible attack, and so it is handled well in the story.
Attraction and courting between boys and girls occurs at
the appropriate age of teen years, is simple, innocent
and portrays the attraction without unnecessary
sexuality.
Other things to
Consider:Other aspects of this book of interest or importance. For example, does it portray Wiccan practices and accurate use of tools of which some parents might object, does it contain
hidden meanings in metaphors that may prove offensive to some families; does it address
personal issues such as puberty or pregnancy.
Written for adults, this story is not intended to
delight the 11 year old reader in spite of its 11 year
old protagonist. Its storyline takes twists and turns
similar to Sherlock Holmes, its vocabulary and writing
style are complex, and the main character lacks a
parental figure to mentor and teach her right from
wrong; thus she is self-teaching in this regard.
However, for the reader who already has matured in moral
judgement and critical reading, whether teen or adult,
this story will be a delight. It is entertaining,
adventurous, action-packed, intellectually stimulating
and uplifting throughout. Highly recommended!
So what do YOU think? Read our thoughts on the book and join in the discussion:
Litland's Blog
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