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Fade begins with the first person narration of a 13-year-old boy named Paul in a small rural town, who learns that he has the genetic power to fade (become invisible.) This power is passed down from uncle to nephew, and does not do any good for the bearers of it.
I first read this book when I was in high school. What I remembered about it was that it had an questionably reliable narrator, some surprise twists, and that it was about a family that had the power of invisibility. (Or did they?)
What I did not remember:
Underage nephew/aunt incest. I had literally zero recollection of this, even though it's a pretty big part of the book and is quite explicit.
Another thing I did not remember: Twincest. This is a smaller part of the book, but also fairly explicit.
Apparently I forgot everything everything that did not have to do with invisibility. I feel that this was a good choice on the part of my memory.
Fade is a pretty dark take on invisibility, based on the idea that all you can really do with it is spy on people and commit crimes. Conveniently to make this point, every time the narrator spies on someone, he sees something horrendous and generally sexual happening. (Oh! I forgot to mention the underage prostitution. There's underage prostitution.) If someone invisibly spied on me, they would be bored out of their gourd.
I also forgot that the book is historical, beginning in the 1930s, set in the French-Canadian community, and also involves the Ku Klux Klan. There is a lot going on in this book.
I don't want to spoil the twists because there's some good ones, but if you like unreliable narrators, spooky takes on psychic powers, and some interesting writing choices (in a good way - I'm not talking about the sex stuff), and are okay with the weird sex or willing to skim at or block it from your memory entirely, I do recommend this book.
I first read this book when I was in high school. What I remembered about it was that it had an questionably reliable narrator, some surprise twists, and that it was about a family that had the power of invisibility. (Or did they?)
What I did not remember:
Underage nephew/aunt incest. I had literally zero recollection of this, even though it's a pretty big part of the book and is quite explicit.
Another thing I did not remember: Twincest. This is a smaller part of the book, but also fairly explicit.
Apparently I forgot everything everything that did not have to do with invisibility. I feel that this was a good choice on the part of my memory.
Fade is a pretty dark take on invisibility, based on the idea that all you can really do with it is spy on people and commit crimes. Conveniently to make this point, every time the narrator spies on someone, he sees something horrendous and generally sexual happening. (Oh! I forgot to mention the underage prostitution. There's underage prostitution.) If someone invisibly spied on me, they would be bored out of their gourd.
I also forgot that the book is historical, beginning in the 1930s, set in the French-Canadian community, and also involves the Ku Klux Klan. There is a lot going on in this book.
I don't want to spoil the twists because there's some good ones, but if you like unreliable narrators, spooky takes on psychic powers, and some interesting writing choices (in a good way - I'm not talking about the sex stuff), and are okay with the weird sex or willing to skim at or block it from your memory entirely, I do recommend this book.
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(the only depressing teen novel I remember being more annoyed by than The choc War was Paul Zindel’s The Pigman, which was also relentlessly miserable)
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I kept picking up Zindel’s books because the titles were intriguing (Pardon Me, You’re Stepping on my Eyeball etc) but I always regretted it.
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I also somehow read a ton of Robert Cormier despite liking none of his books at all. I think it's just because they were there on the shelf when I was in elementary and middle school—I don't remember reading him at all after that. I did not read the sequel to The Chocolate War.
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