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Nissa #1
The Year of the Sawdust Man
Eleven-year-old Nissa’s life has never been perfect. Living in the small town of Harper, Louisiana, with a mama like hers, circa 1933, has led to lots of mean rumors. But now Mama is gone, and all the townsfolk talk about is who she might have run off with. Nissa’s memories of the Sundays her mama would come home smelling of sawdust lead her to suspect the rumors could be true. Did her mama go away with the Sawdust Man? And if so, does it mean she’s never coming back? A. LaFaye’s powerful first novel beautifully explicates the world of a child in distress and how she copes with something beyond her understanding.
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 12, 2008
Marissa Freeman
Mrs. Baltz
Pre-AP English 10
11 December 2008
The Year of the Sawdust Man by A. LaFaye
Harper, Louisiana sounds like a bad place for eleven year old Nissa Bergan and her family to live, at least that is what he mama thought as she ran off. Nissa says, “Mama always came home on Sundays smelling like sawdust.” Now she wonders if the rumors are true.
Nissa was a big reason I enjoyed this book. Nissa was always into things and she always has trouble waiting for her. One little boy named Peter Roubidoux was talking about her mama and she called him a pansy and hit him square in the eye, then she ran away from school. That had to be my favorite part.
Her papa is another great character in the book! He is laid back and a good caring father. He rarely gets on to Nissa and when he does he feels real bad, and makes a joke. For instance she tells him she was at home the whole time when she really was not and he knew so he lied to her then says, “A lie for a lie.” He makes everything really funny.
All the characters in The Year of the Sawdust Man make it seem like your right there with them or in other words they make it seem like it is happing right in your life.
The theme of the book would be no matter what happens your parents still love you. Also do not give up on people if they leave. “People always leave but people always come back too.”
In this book people like to make fun of Nissa because her mom ran off with some guy, or people say she did. Nissa does not like all the talk going on so she tries to cover it up and lies about it all and say she is gone visiting her sister but everyone knows that is a lie.
I really did like this book at times, because they used words like people in today’s world like “pansy” for example. Other than that it was really boring and slow nothing ever really happened except she talked about her mom. I really would not recommend this book to people who don’t like reading and have problems getting into books because it took me forever to finish it.
Page count: 223
Genre: Realistic/Fiction
It really was not that good of a book!!!
Mrs. Baltz
Pre-AP English 10
11 December 2008
The Year of the Sawdust Man by A. LaFaye
Harper, Louisiana sounds like a bad place for eleven year old Nissa Bergan and her family to live, at least that is what he mama thought as she ran off. Nissa says, “Mama always came home on Sundays smelling like sawdust.” Now she wonders if the rumors are true.
Nissa was a big reason I enjoyed this book. Nissa was always into things and she always has trouble waiting for her. One little boy named Peter Roubidoux was talking about her mama and she called him a pansy and hit him square in the eye, then she ran away from school. That had to be my favorite part.
Her papa is another great character in the book! He is laid back and a good caring father. He rarely gets on to Nissa and when he does he feels real bad, and makes a joke. For instance she tells him she was at home the whole time when she really was not and he knew so he lied to her then says, “A lie for a lie.” He makes everything really funny.
All the characters in The Year of the Sawdust Man make it seem like your right there with them or in other words they make it seem like it is happing right in your life.
The theme of the book would be no matter what happens your parents still love you. Also do not give up on people if they leave. “People always leave but people always come back too.”
In this book people like to make fun of Nissa because her mom ran off with some guy, or people say she did. Nissa does not like all the talk going on so she tries to cover it up and lies about it all and say she is gone visiting her sister but everyone knows that is a lie.
I really did like this book at times, because they used words like people in today’s world like “pansy” for example. Other than that it was really boring and slow nothing ever really happened except she talked about her mom. I really would not recommend this book to people who don’t like reading and have problems getting into books because it took me forever to finish it.
Page count: 223
Genre: Realistic/Fiction
It really was not that good of a book!!!
February 7, 2014
Growing up in a small Louisiana town in the 1930s, 11-year-old Nissa Bergen is impervious to the gossip that her mother is strange and a witch because Nissa adores Mama and Mama is Nissa's best friend. Sure Mama is different from the other starchy Bible-thumping ladies who frown on drinking nettle tea, bright colors, dancing in the rain and befriending "Colored" people, but that's what makes Mama special in Nissa's eyes. One Friday after school Nissa comes home to discover that her Mama has left for good. Nissa can't understand why her mother has left and worries that the gossip that Mama ran off with another man is true. Nissa tries to figure out why her Mama got dressed up on Sundays and came home smelling like sawdust and if Mama is with the Sawdust Man and is he taking good care of Mama? Nissa reflects on her close relationship with her mother and worries about her mother's love for her, her parents' love for each other and her father's growing interest in a local spinster. Nissa acts and reacts like a typical hurt and confused child, though she's often told she has the cares of an adult and is old before her time. Her father tries, with patience, to understand Nissa's feelings and help her come to terms with her new life. This is a beautifully written and well-crafted story. The images are so brilliant I can see them easily in my mind and I am convinced they must be based on real incidents because they are so detailed. Nissa is very believable and I could feel her pain and her struggle to figure out what happened and why. I didn't find Nissa whiny or bratty at all. Her father has the patience of a saint and I find him hard to believe and like Nissa, I have mixed feelings about Miss Ross. She seems nice and caring but unable to connect with Nissa. This is a wonderful book for ages 10 and up.
March 13, 2019
Nissa Bergen, the young girl in The Year of the Sawdust Man, was a very believable girl. She was understandably confused and conflicted by her probably bi-polar mother and her unpredictable ways.
But I don't think I would've liked reading this book if I were an eight or nine year-old child.
But I don't think I would've liked reading this book if I were an eight or nine year-old child.
October 7, 2008
I liked this book and I liked the other books I have read by A. LaFaye which include Worth and Strength of Saints. I think this is a really good girl book to read.
May 16, 2020
Eleven-year-old Nissa’s life has never been perfect. Living in the small town of Harper, Louisiana, with a mama like hers, circa 1933, has led to lots of mean rumors. But now Mama is gone, and all the townsfolk talk about is who she might have run off with. Nissa’s memories of the Sundays her mama would come home smelling of sawdust lead her to suspect the rumors could be true. Did her mama go away with the Sawdust Man? And if so, does it mean she’s never coming back? A. LaFaye’s powerful first novel
March 15, 2023
seriously all i need in life is to wear a long flowy white dress, throw open the windows to my big, old, airy house, and plant my vast garden. i cant say enough good things about this book. nissa is written exactly like an 11 year old, I can't help but love heirah to death and see my self in her and hate her so incredibly at the same time, and feel nothing but love and sympathy for lara. GOD this is such a good book. Essential summer read.
May 12, 2019
I really liked the characters in this book, although I wasn't crazy about the way things turned out. Hoping the next books in the series will make things better.
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October 11, 2019I think this book is very well written. It has lots of detail and it helps feel like you’re in the book. It has many emotions throughout the whole book and it’s like a roller coaster.
January 1, 2022
Sometimes I got upset with Nissa.
December 31, 2022
I would recommend it for readers to let them get a glimpse that life is not always as we want it to be.
April 9, 2024
A powerful realistic fiction novel that will make you laugh and cry. It is written so beautifully that it almost feels like one of the old classics. Read it!
November 15, 2012
Reviewed by Hannah Marie for TeensReadToo.com
Welcome to Harper, Louisiana, circa the 1930s. The norm is rule-abiding, conservative white folks. If you don't fit this mold, be ready to serve as the subject of town gossip and superstitions, just like the Bergen family.
Ivar is caring while his wife, Heirah Rae, is both free-spirited and strong-willed. As for their preteen daughter, Nissa, she is a dynamic combination of both. The Bergens' get the unwanted attention of many, especially when Heirah Rae suddenly leaves the family for a new life. Speculation arises about: her whereabouts, Nissa's somewhat extreme behavior, and Ivar's courtship of another woman.
How will Nissa and the rest of her loved ones adjust when the entire town is morally judging them?
If you're looking for a serious-toned book that captures the difficulties that separation has on children, look no further. THE YEAR OF THE SAWDUST MAN is unforgettable. Nissa's emotional struggle after her mother's disappearance is realistic and proves that while children are never to be blamed for the separation of their parents, it is hard for them to overcome that initial sense of guilt.
The book also explores various explanations on why adults separate, the relationships between step-parents and kids, and the acceptance of differing perspectives. Definitely a must-read for all who may be in situations similar to Nissa.
Welcome to Harper, Louisiana, circa the 1930s. The norm is rule-abiding, conservative white folks. If you don't fit this mold, be ready to serve as the subject of town gossip and superstitions, just like the Bergen family.
Ivar is caring while his wife, Heirah Rae, is both free-spirited and strong-willed. As for their preteen daughter, Nissa, she is a dynamic combination of both. The Bergens' get the unwanted attention of many, especially when Heirah Rae suddenly leaves the family for a new life. Speculation arises about: her whereabouts, Nissa's somewhat extreme behavior, and Ivar's courtship of another woman.
How will Nissa and the rest of her loved ones adjust when the entire town is morally judging them?
If you're looking for a serious-toned book that captures the difficulties that separation has on children, look no further. THE YEAR OF THE SAWDUST MAN is unforgettable. Nissa's emotional struggle after her mother's disappearance is realistic and proves that while children are never to be blamed for the separation of their parents, it is hard for them to overcome that initial sense of guilt.
The book also explores various explanations on why adults separate, the relationships between step-parents and kids, and the acceptance of differing perspectives. Definitely a must-read for all who may be in situations similar to Nissa.
November 16, 2016
Nissa Bergen comes home from school one day to find her free-spirited mother gone and her mother’s favorite rosebushes picked clean of their beautiful purple blooms. She and her father are left to deal with the gossip of the small town and the stress of the ridicule of the kids at school. Everything seems to remind Nissa of the fun times she had with her exuberant mother. Nissa wonders if she will ever come back, but deep in her heart, she believes she won’t.
When she hears a particularly vocal gossip sharing her opinion that Nissa’s mother ran off with another man, Nissa can’t help but remember the times when her mother would leave for hours without explanation and then return smelling like sawdust. Nissa begins wondering if it’s true. Did her mother run off with a sawdust man?
Even though this book is written from a child’s perspective and on a child’s level, it is a rather serious book that deals with the difficulties that children of separated parents face. There is some inappropriate language in it, but it could be beneficial for children of separated parents and for the parents to help them understand what their children could be going through.
When she hears a particularly vocal gossip sharing her opinion that Nissa’s mother ran off with another man, Nissa can’t help but remember the times when her mother would leave for hours without explanation and then return smelling like sawdust. Nissa begins wondering if it’s true. Did her mother run off with a sawdust man?
Even though this book is written from a child’s perspective and on a child’s level, it is a rather serious book that deals with the difficulties that children of separated parents face. There is some inappropriate language in it, but it could be beneficial for children of separated parents and for the parents to help them understand what their children could be going through.
January 25, 2023
While The Year of the Sawdust Man could definitely be called "slow" by some, I found myself engrossed the whole way through. It seemed that on the outside, nothing much happened, but within eleven-year-old Nissa's crumpled and confused heart, years of wrestling with logic and emotion take place.
When Nissa's mama leaves her and her father, she's left to wonder whose fault it is, why her mama would ever leave, and if she's ever coming back. And if she's not, how should she feel about the new woman her father's seeing?
Deep and stirring, The Year of the Sawdust Man invites you into the mind and heart of Nissa and you find before the end that she's taken up residence in your heart as well.
When Nissa's mama leaves her and her father, she's left to wonder whose fault it is, why her mama would ever leave, and if she's ever coming back. And if she's not, how should she feel about the new woman her father's seeing?
Deep and stirring, The Year of the Sawdust Man invites you into the mind and heart of Nissa and you find before the end that she's taken up residence in your heart as well.
September 14, 2013
I thought this was a pretty good book. I really enjoyed reading it. I loved the plot and characters and thought they were very well written. It was interesting to read about something that was not very common for that time period. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. I can not wait until I can read the next book.
September 28, 2008
I wonder why the mothers in a lot of book run away and leave their children. This book was a mystery and I was constantly wondering would the mom ever return? I saw A. LaFaye recently and she said she is currently writing a sequel and I can't wait to see where these characters are taken next.
November 25, 2008
I am going to start this one over. I am about half way through, but I started it a month ago and I need to refresh my memory. I am so glad that Social Studies test is over! I am free to READ again! :)
December 6, 2013
I think I read this younger than I should have. Some things were a little difficult for 5th grade me to wrap my head around. I still remember liking it well enough though. Honestly I should re-read this to write a proper review. So I'll get on that...eventually...
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October 17, 2008it is abouta girl
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October 19, 2008 thi book is a grat book
November 17, 2008
I can sum this book up in one word:
BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 27, 2011
what a great book!!!!!! PLOT TWISTA WITH IRA
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2011
What a find this author is. I love the way she writes. And the story she has to tell.
November 10, 2011
This book is definitely for an older age group. It does provide a look into how a young child deals with the separation of their parents.
June 11, 2012
It saw a thrilling story of how Nissa makes her own choices. And realizes no matter. Where she is everyone is together.
August 2, 2012
Just re-read this book, I originally read this book when I was in the 5th grade, and it's just as good as I remembered!
August 27, 2016
An emotionally powerful story. Ms. LaFaye writes characters so well that I wanted to strangle Nissa's mama for leaving her.
March 16, 2009
it is a good book....
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews