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Kep
This is the story of a sensitive fifteen-year-old who is as much at home in the world of nature as he is alone in the world of men.
When Kep leaves the life he loves in the Florida scrub and moves to an unfamiliar town, he feels strange and lost. Moreover, he finds himself a substitute son in a family with serious troubles of its own. No matter how hard he tries, Kep can't solve the problems confronting him, so, in desperation, he takes to the woods.
There he meets Link Wybel, a social outcast, but a man much like Kep in his love of the out-of-doors. Link gives Kep the understanding and friendship he needs, helps him bridge the gap between the adult world and his own, and subtly points out to him that no problem can be overcome by running away from it.
When Kep leaves the life he loves in the Florida scrub and moves to an unfamiliar town, he feels strange and lost. Moreover, he finds himself a substitute son in a family with serious troubles of its own. No matter how hard he tries, Kep can't solve the problems confronting him, so, in desperation, he takes to the woods.
There he meets Link Wybel, a social outcast, but a man much like Kep in his love of the out-of-doors. Link gives Kep the understanding and friendship he needs, helps him bridge the gap between the adult world and his own, and subtly points out to him that no problem can be overcome by running away from it.
207 pages, Library Binding
Published January 1, 1961
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September 3, 2018
I liked the concept of this book, even though it had more tragedy than I was expecting, and I think I would have really liked the characters if I could have gotten away from the feeling that I was just being told what they thought and felt, instead of really getting to know them. Most of them never quite clicked in my mind, and because of that, portions of their characterization just didn't make sense to me.
For example, we're told over and over that Chester doesn't really understand Kep. Kep knows it, Chester knows it, everybody knows it--except me. Yes, I've heard it over and over, but I just never felt like I saw it, because from everything I could piece together in his actions and words, Chester seemed to understand Kep very well, even if he's not the outdoorsy type and never wanted a dog of his own. The only area I can really fault him in is not doing more to defend Kep when Oda mistreats him, and the school episode (which is supposed to be proof of how little Chester understands) reads much less like Chester's fault for telling the teacher about Kep's background and more like the teacher's fault for passing that information on to the class. Seriously--I want to know what that teacher was thinking!
Probably most unfortunately, I had the same issue with Kep that I did with Chester. I kept hearing all about the fact that he was hurting, that he was grateful to Chester, that he wanted to help and love Oda, but I never really felt those emotions from him. The closest I came to really knowing him was when watching him with the various animals he befriended. The same with Oda--she frustrated me and made me angry on Kep's behalf, but I never felt the pain or the depression she'd let herself sink into. And her change at the end seemed so abrupt that it was really hard to understand or believe in it.
That said, the one character that I absolutely believed in, loved, and felt that I knew was Link. He absolutely jumped off the page--such a wonderful and vibrant character! I was really confused at the reasons for the town's disliking him, but maybe I'm just too far removed from the culture of the time to be shocked at someone who loves the woods and doesn't keep a nine-to-five job. It just somehow felt like overkill for everyone to be that dead-set against him for his "reputation" when there was apparently nothing wrong with his character.
The style was a bit awkward at times, there were a couple of small inconsistencies, and I noticed a few typos. But even with all that, I liked the story overall and probably would have liked it much more if all the characters had been as real and believable as Link. ;)
Content--human and animal deaths described, but not graphically; ; a few uses of "gosh"; tension with an emotionally unstable woman still mourning her son's death
For example, we're told over and over that Chester doesn't really understand Kep. Kep knows it, Chester knows it, everybody knows it--except me. Yes, I've heard it over and over, but I just never felt like I saw it, because from everything I could piece together in his actions and words, Chester seemed to understand Kep very well, even if he's not the outdoorsy type and never wanted a dog of his own. The only area I can really fault him in is not doing more to defend Kep when Oda mistreats him, and the school episode (which is supposed to be proof of how little Chester understands) reads much less like Chester's fault for telling the teacher about Kep's background and more like the teacher's fault for passing that information on to the class. Seriously--I want to know what that teacher was thinking!
Probably most unfortunately, I had the same issue with Kep that I did with Chester. I kept hearing all about the fact that he was hurting, that he was grateful to Chester, that he wanted to help and love Oda, but I never really felt those emotions from him. The closest I came to really knowing him was when watching him with the various animals he befriended. The same with Oda--she frustrated me and made me angry on Kep's behalf, but I never felt the pain or the depression she'd let herself sink into. And her change at the end seemed so abrupt that it was really hard to understand or believe in it.
That said, the one character that I absolutely believed in, loved, and felt that I knew was Link. He absolutely jumped off the page--such a wonderful and vibrant character! I was really confused at the reasons for the town's disliking him, but maybe I'm just too far removed from the culture of the time to be shocked at someone who loves the woods and doesn't keep a nine-to-five job. It just somehow felt like overkill for everyone to be that dead-set against him for his "reputation" when there was apparently nothing wrong with his character.
The style was a bit awkward at times, there were a couple of small inconsistencies, and I noticed a few typos. But even with all that, I liked the story overall and probably would have liked it much more if all the characters had been as real and believable as Link. ;)
Content--human and animal deaths described, but not graphically; ; a few uses of "gosh"; tension with an emotionally unstable woman still mourning her son's death
Displaying 1 of 1 review