(Book Cover Source: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43978047&referer=brief_results, accessed November 9, 2008)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Lisle, Janet Taylor. 2000. The art of keeping cool. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9689837879
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
Winner of the 2001 Scott O'Dell Award, The Art of Keeping Cool is a WWII novel, told in first person narrative by 13-year-old Robert. The setting is a Rhode Island coastal town near a military installation, in the year 1942. The Germans have been torpedoing ships nearby, and tensions are high.
The story is a coming-of-age tale, revolving around Robert and his cousin Elliot, as they grapple with being forced to live in their belligerent grandfather's home, due to hardships in their families. While Robert is responsible and hardworking, Elliot is a talented artist who hides his ability, but feels compelled to pursue it, and avoids chores and school work as a result. As the plot progresses, two dark story lines unfold. One involves a famous, reclusive German painter who has fled the Nazis and wants to be left alone - other than tutoring Elliot in art. The townspeople are suspicious of the painter and ultimately, tragedy ensues.
The other story line involves Robert's efforts to understand why, at his grandfather's, there is no talk, nor any mementos of his father, who is training fighter pilots in England. Unable to keep up their farm in Ohio, Robert's mother has brought the family to stay in the cottage next to her husband's family in Rhode Island. Ultimately Robert learns from one of Elliot's drawings that Robert's father left and never returned after Robert's grandfather shot him during an argument. Thus, the grandfather's rages take on a whole new meaning when this is revealed. However, the incident is never discussed, and Robert is furious when he learns that his grandparents deny what happened and claim the gun accidentally went off. In a gripping scene where Robert is wrestling with his anger, he reflects, "I thought of what he'd done to my father, how he still hadn't owned up to it but went on hiding like a coward and bullying the people around him. It struck me how your enemy can be someone who lives close to you, where you're most vulnerable, not just on the other side of the ocean." These lines aptly summarize a main theme of the story.
Other themes include tolerance of family and strangers, building defenses against pain and fear, and gaining emotional and physical independence. The story is suspenseful, as subplots play out regarding whether the German painter is a spy, the arrival and firing of enormous guns at the fort, whether Robert's father survived being shot down, the growing anger of the townspeople toward the painter, and the truth about what happened between Robert's father and grandfather.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Lisle has written a haunting novel with characters that stay with the reader long after the book is finished. While most of us can easily connect with Robert's character, Lisle has surrounded him with characters that are not so easy to relate to. His cousin Elliot, his father who won't discuss his past, his belligerent grandfather, and Abel, the German painter, are all complex portraits for whom we slowly gain an understanding, though not necessarily a liking. However, Lisle's evocative descriptions help the reader overcome this. Of Elliot, she writes, "There are people in this world who are naturally open and easy to get to know, and there are difficult people, the ones who put up barricades and expect you to climb over them. Elliot Marks was the second kind of person." Of Abel, she writes, "Abel's face wore a dazed look, as if telling his story had made him live it again and he wasn't sure that this time he had come out alive."
Robert's "voice" as Lisle has written him, is particularly engaging. With humor and wry observations, she paints a likable, aware young man. Phrases like, "From the tone he used, I knew all I needed to know about those relatives in Rhode Island" and, "A few more conversations like this and you were ready to strangle him," reinforce our affection for Robert. His astuteness in navigating dangerous familial waters is also evident, as when he reflects, "I knew a rigged question when I heard one."
Lisle also writes deftly about human emotions and superstitions. Regarding the air-raid siren, she writes, "That didn't stop us from thinking about it the next night, though, or the night after that. You get the willies when you wake up to an alarm like that, even after you know it wasn't anything." Regarding Robert's superstition about the blue star his mother has placed in the window to honor his father's service, she writes, "I was afraid of his blue star from the moment I saw it . . . The thing was, that star made deadness seem too easy, a little matter of switching color while nobody was watching it. It seemed that, just by having it, my father was bound to be killed."
In terms of authenticity, the world of 1942 is not so different from our current times. However, details about rationing, covering windows, and air raids help create a sense of life during WWII. With the exception of Abel's character, the language patterns are indistinguishable from our own. To represent Abel's fledgling English, for example, Lisle writes, "So! You have bringing your cousin! At last! Vel-come! Please, I show you." This adds flavor to the story, without impeding comprehension.
The only times the story becomes a bit flat are when Lisle must further the plot by explaining events from the past and cannot do so through Robert's first-person narrative. One instance is the description of how Abel was persecuted by the Nazis in Germany. The other is when Robert pieces together what had happened after his grandfather shot his father.
Perhaps the reason this story stays with the reader is because most of the characters in it are so flawed. Elliot's passive strategy of letting their grandfather's wrath flow past him infuriates Robert, but he ultimately understands the danger in his father's (and his own) confrontational style. Early in the story, as Robert is describing the adult Elliot, he says, "But he's mastered the art of keeping cool and can put up a good defense." Perhaps a better title for this story might have been "The art of knowing when to leave." Ultimately, tragedy befalls characters who stay in unsafe situations, while inflaming those around them. As Robert says to Elliot, "You said it yourself, you have to know when to leave." In the end, Elliot and Robert are uninjured and thriving because they learned when to leave untenable situations.
On a personal note, I enjoyed this story for several reasons. I liked learning more about American life during WWII and expressionist painting. As a former psychotherapist, I particularly liked the psychological aspects Lisle brought to the story. I'm less sure that children would enjoy this tale. With its dark tone and so many unlikable characters, it's not exactly light reading. One annoyance was that the description on the book jacket had several exaggerated and misleading statements about the plot. This may lead to disappointment in readers who don't find those elements in the story.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Booklist: "Like Abel's expressionist art, Lisle's story shows and tells what's behind the appearances of things, the "hidden feelings and memories, terrors and passions . . . everyone knows but cannot speak about."
Horn Book Review: "Engrossing, challenging, and well paced, the novel holds up a mirror to society - for those who dare to look."
Publisher's Weekly: The intimate first-person narrative brings universal themes of prejudice and loss to a personal level."
School Library Journal: "A heartfelt story about family dynamics and the harmful power of prejudice and hatred."
5. CONNECTIONS:
Although Accelerated Reader places the difficulty level of this book at a 5.0, the subject matter is rather malevolent. A father shooting his own son in anger, the beatings and persecution of an artist by Nazis, and the artist's suicide/death as he is chased by an angry, bigoted crowd make for rather dark reading. That said, those interested in WWII or coming of age stories might find it particularly interesting. In addition to use with individual students, it might also be used:
* In conjunction with a history class studying World War II.
*In conjunction with a student's independent, in-depth study for a project on American life in WWII.
*In conjunction with a literature course studying historical fiction.
*If a student or teacher were looking for other historical titles by Janet Taylor Lisle, they could be directed to the following:
Lisle, Janet Taylor. Black duck. ISBN 0142409022
Lisle, Janet Taylor. Sirens and spies. ISBN 0689844573
*Finally, for those looking to read more about WWII, recommended titles might include:
Hughes, Dean. Soldier boys. ISBN 0689860218
Mazer, Harry. A boy at war: a novel of Pearl Harbor. ISBN 0689841604
Mazer, Harry. Boys don't run: a novel of the Pacific War. ISBN 1416933948
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