Fever 1793 Finished

This being only the second piece of historical fiction that I remember reading (the other being Thomas Pynchon's Mason & Dixon), I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  I've never been particularly interested in the genre, but I think its fair to say that with this novel, Anderson has sparked in me an new-found appreciation.  She does well to create the world of 1793 Philadelphia, and in doing so, proved to me that historical fiction, despite being based in the past, can have a positive affect on reader's in the present.  Before I comment on what I particularly appreciated in the novel, I'd just like to say why I read it.  My Step Mother works as a librarian at a school for troubled youth.  At her school, the entire senior class read this novel, and according to my her, it had a lasting positive effect on the students.  Many of them became interested in reading to a degree that they had never been.  I found it interesting that a novel set in the late 18th century could have affect students in such a way, so on my Step Mother's advice, I decided to read it.

So, here's a few things that I found interesting in the novel, and one comment on the novel's dialogue (I'll start with that):

1.  This is by no means a complaint; I really enjoyed the dialogue in the novel.  I'm just second guessing my previous assumptions about the way people spoke in Revolution-era America.  It seems to me that most of what I've learned regarding English in the 18th century puts it in a position farther removed from modern-day English.  Anderson's dialogue, however, doesn't seem that far removed.  Whether or not her dialogue reflects the way people actually spoke at the time, I don't know.  Regardless, I'm second-guessing my notions of what it was like.  If nothing else, it makes me want to look up information on the topic to educate myself further.

2.  Loss of innocence is a prevalent theme in the novel, which is theme I've always found intriguing.  It was reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird in that way.  We have a young female narrator, and we see her change a great deal over the course of the novel.  Of course, the ways Mattie and Scout lose their innocence is different, but the outcome is pretty similar.  I suppose that losing innocence is something that every adolescent has to go through, and hence, it has become a popular theme of YA lit.  In terms of Mattie's specific situation, her loss of innocence is absolutely devastating to the reader.  This young woman goes through so much tragedy that one can't help but appreciate the courage she possesses.  Having read other works by Anderson, I find that creating powerful characters adept in overcoming adversity is one of her strong points as a writer (Twisted, Wintergirls, and Speak all have strong narrators).

2.  The idea of the coffeehouse as type of "social commons" was interesting to me, and I think that it is analogous to several institutions that we utilize for informal conversation today.  Technology has done a great deal to increase worldwide communication, and the venue for discussion that was once the coffee shop around the corner has turned into internet chat rooms.  It just goes to show that though technology might change, society's values might evolve, people's necessity for communication will never diminish.  Whether the year is 45 B.C., 1000 A.D., 1793 A.D., or 2010 A.D., human beings have an inherent need to connect and share their opinions/thoughts with others, if for nothing more than to make sense of the world around them.  If I were to ever teach this novel, highlighting this fact would be definitely be one of my unit goals.

3.   The appendix at the end of the novel is a useful tool, especially for readers who may have trouble discerning the fact from the fiction.  It would certainly be beneficial in a classroom setting, as it would explain the history behind the novel while opening and aiding in discussion of cultural/technological/medical differences between 1793 and today.  I've never seen such an appendix in a work of fiction, and I think including it was an excellent move on Anderson's part.

In terms of content, readability, and ability to engage me as a reader, this is one of the better novels that I've read over the course of this semester.  The only one that I can say I liked more was To Kill A Mockingbird.  I suppose we'll have to wait and see if Fever 1793 joins TKaM as a classic high-school text.  I wouldn't be surprised if it did.