Source: hardcover review copy from the publisher in exchange for an
honest review.
Synopsis (from Indiebound): In 1890, Henri Bell, a
near-orphan, is sent to live with his ancient great-aunt and her extensive
button collection. One rainy afternoon, Henri strikes up a conversation with a
friendly fly on the windowsill and discovers he possesses the astounding
ability to speak with insects. Thus commences an epic journey for Henri as he
manages a flea circus, commands an army of beetles, and ultimately sets out to
British Malaya to find the mythical giant insect known as Goliathus hercules.
Along the way he makes friends both insect and human, and undergoes a strange
transformation of his own.
Why I liked it: Packed with adventure and imagination, this is a
fascinating story that will appeal to fans of fantasy, historical fiction, and
adventure novels. Henri (pronounced On-ree) is a sympathetic character,
especially as he begins to take on unusual characteristics. Though it's a thick
book (350 pages) it's fast-paced and exciting enough to keep you turning
pages.
And now, an exclusive interview with Jennifer Angus!
1) Hi, Jennifer and welcome to My Brain on
Books! You are, first and foremost, an artist and a professor of Design Studies
at The University of Wisconsin/Madison. You've had numerous successful exhibits
of your Victorian-style wall pieces. Is it true that you use real insects in
your patterns? And how did you become interested in insects?
Yes, all
the insects I use are real, that is with the exception of Goliathus Hercules
himself who I created in the great tradition of hoaxes with the parts of
several insects and gold glitter (everything is better with glitter!). That’s
the most common question I get asked and people also want to know if their
colour is natural which it most certainly is. I’m crazy but not crazy enough to
start painting thousands of insects.
Like most
professors part of my job is to do research. I was researching tribal minority
dress in Northern Thailand when I stumbled upon a garment from the Karen tribe
that had a fringe of green metallic beetle wings. I was stunned. Other than
butterflies I had never thought of insects as being beautiful. Through further
research I’ve discovered other groups, primarily in Asia that use insects as
embellishment and actually in the Victorian era round sequin-like shapes were
cut from beetle elytra (the hard protective outside wing) and applied to fancy
fabrics. I always say that I my interest in insects really grew out of my
research and love of textiles.
2) What
made you decide to take the next step and write a book about the insect world?
I never
intended to write a book. Really Goliathus Hercules was born when I mounted an
exhibition of the same name at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in
Sheboygan. WI. The most common questions I get asked about my artwork are:
1. Are the insects real?
2. Is this their natural colour?
3. Did I collect them myself?
Those
questions got me thinking about collecting and the prestige of having the
rarest specimen or the largest specimen. For the exhibition I decided to create
an alter ego who is a great adventurer and collector. Goliathus hercules is the name of the fictitious insect I
have discovered and collected! The name alludes to the Latin nomenclature
insects are given, and obviously it is a very large and strong creature. The
bigger the insect, the more awe and prestige it will garner. Included in the
exhibition was a diary I have created, a record of the explorer's arduous
journey in the name of science and fame. Not coincidentally, the diary begins
on April 1st. You can read the diary entries
here http://www.jenniferangus.com/Exhibitions/2005_2004_exhibits/goliathus_diary.htm
I enjoyed creating exhibitions
with a narrative and I furthered my story with a trilogy of exhibitions
all called “A Terrible Beauty.” I also created an online, storybook version of
the narrative which you can see here http://digitalthreads.ca/en/nature/artwork.cfm Eventually a small children’s
publishing company invited me to write the story that underlies the
exhibitions.
3) The illustrations in the
book are fascinating. Not only have you designed borders and chapter headings
with patterns of insects, but you also used what look like old photos and
postcards. It makes the book seem more realistic since you have photos of Henri
and his friends and Henri's nemesis, Mrs. Black. Did you scour antique stores
for photos from the era? Or are these recreations?
Most of the photos were purchased
on E-bay although there are also photographs of objects that I owned and had
previously used in my exhibitions such as the five year diary and the cricket
cage buttons. I created many illustrations of Mrs. Black in her various
disguises by simply Photoshopping her face into the antique photographs. That
was a lot of fun and at some point I’ll put up the ones that didn’t make it
into the book on my web site.
4) While reading this,
I thought of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis,
but also of Roald Dahl and even The
Wizard of Oz (Mrs. Black
reminded me a bit of Miss Gulch. And of course you have a motley crew of
individuals who go on a quest). Were there any particular middle-grade novels
that influenced you? Did you read a lot of novels before writing this, or did
you just start writing?
I agree that Mrs. Black owes a lot to Miss Gulch, particularly in her appearance. I
found her absolutely frightening as a child. I’m not sure that any particular
book from my childhood influenced my writing but reading aloud to my son who is
now almost 16 probably had a greater impact. Together we really enjoyed reading
Kenneth Oppel’s Silverwing
Saga (4 books) that is about
a family of bats. He also wrote Airborn and although Oppel never reveals
its era exactly, it seems Victorian in a steam punk kind of way.
When I was a child I read Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and loved it) but that’s the only
one of his books I ever read at that time. My mother was a great storyteller
and my brother and I really preferred that she tell us a story than read
anything. She told stories about growing up on Woodland Farm (the real Woodland
Farm) and how she would go down a magic well to other lands where in one everything
was blue and in another everything was yellow. We loved it and of course we
believed it all because they were her adventures. I think that my mother
instilled a real love of stories and adventure.
5) Is there a sequel in the works? Or
are you writing something new?
I have ideas for further
adventures of Henri and his friends. We’ll see if people want to read them.
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Thanks, Jennifer!
Readers, the next stop on the
blog tour is:
Monday, June
3
Guest post and giveaway
Now for my giveaway!
Please note that this giveaway is open to addresses in the U.S. and Canada
ONLY. Albert Whitman will give away one SIGNED hardcover copy of In Search of Goliathus Hercules to one lucky winner. To enter, all you
need to do is follow this blog (click on Join This Site in the sidebar) AND
leave a comment on this post! This giveaway will end on Sunday, June 16, 2013,
and the winner will be announced on Monday, June 17. Good luck!
