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vinpauld's review against another edition
5.0
There are two parallel stories that run throughout “The Underneath.” The first story begins with an abandoned calico cat who finds her way to a muddy yard where Ranger, a bloodhound, lives chained to a tilted shack occupied by Gar-Face a truly loathsome and cruel man. The cat, who turns out to be pregnant, befriends the abused dog and he tells her that she will only be safe if she stays underneath the shack where Gar-Face lives. Ranger warns the cat to stay out of sight, lest Gar-Face sees her and decides to use her as alligator bait.
It’s not long before the author introduces us to another character - Grandmother, a shape-shifter, who, after having lived for a while in human form, is now trapped in the form of a cottonmouth snake. Grandmother’s story is the parallel story that forms a second tale in the book and it begins a thousand years earlier, when the native Caddo people inhabited the bayou where both stories take place. It’s this second story about Grandmother, not even hinted at on the book’s exterior, that might surprise some readers. If you start this book expecting to read a simple story about the friendship between a cat and a dog, you might be disappointed. On the other hand, you might be pleasantly surprised like I was to find the book taking off in the direction of mythology and fable. The two stories do eventually intertwine in a suspenseful climax that I won’t give away.
I will warn you that there is a lot of cruelty that is waged against the characters in this book. Gar-Face is a cruel man who started life as a boy beaten by his father. His father’s cruelty not only left physical scars, but took root emotionally and became a legacy of cruelty that Gar-Face passes on to the dog, cats and the other bayou creatures in this story. Some of it is stomach-churning to read. Don’t let the sweet cover illustration by David Small fool you, this is definitely not a book for younger children. David Small’s illustrations, by the way, are wonderful. His compositions are impeccable and using a few spare lines and washes of gray he manages to convey volumes of atmosphere.
If I have one criticism of the book, it’s that I think it could have been shorter. There is a lot of back and forth from chapter to chapter, between the story of Grandmother and Ranger and the cats. At times the story of Grandmother seems to be taking over the narrative. Her sections of the book were the least enjoyable for me. The use of language in the book is often poetic. Appelt will often use short phrases and repetition of words to get across an emotional feeling. For the most part I didn’t mind this stylistic choice, but I do think the story could have been tightened a bit and perhaps shortened by about 50 pages.
I’ve noticed a few reviewers, who didn’t like the book, wondering what it was about. The book is about a lot of things. One of the main themes is the legacy of cruelty - how cruelty and vengeance are handed down across the years and can be passed from one generation to the next. But it’s also about making a family, paying it forward, breaking the chain (in this case both metaphorically and literally) of cruelty and bringing kindness and love back to the forefront. It’s also about keeping a promise, finding courage and not giving up.
I think Kathi Appelt has pulled off an amazing feat with this book. There are scenes in the book that are as heartbreakingly violent as anything from Bambi, and other scenes filled with the magic and beauty of the natural world. She has created a book infused with mythology but rooted in a real world filled with hardship. She has created characters that will break your heart and have you rooting for them.
It’s not long before the author introduces us to another character - Grandmother, a shape-shifter, who, after having lived for a while in human form, is now trapped in the form of a cottonmouth snake. Grandmother’s story is the parallel story that forms a second tale in the book and it begins a thousand years earlier, when the native Caddo people inhabited the bayou where both stories take place. It’s this second story about Grandmother, not even hinted at on the book’s exterior, that might surprise some readers. If you start this book expecting to read a simple story about the friendship between a cat and a dog, you might be disappointed. On the other hand, you might be pleasantly surprised like I was to find the book taking off in the direction of mythology and fable. The two stories do eventually intertwine in a suspenseful climax that I won’t give away.
I will warn you that there is a lot of cruelty that is waged against the characters in this book. Gar-Face is a cruel man who started life as a boy beaten by his father. His father’s cruelty not only left physical scars, but took root emotionally and became a legacy of cruelty that Gar-Face passes on to the dog, cats and the other bayou creatures in this story. Some of it is stomach-churning to read. Don’t let the sweet cover illustration by David Small fool you, this is definitely not a book for younger children. David Small’s illustrations, by the way, are wonderful. His compositions are impeccable and using a few spare lines and washes of gray he manages to convey volumes of atmosphere.
If I have one criticism of the book, it’s that I think it could have been shorter. There is a lot of back and forth from chapter to chapter, between the story of Grandmother and Ranger and the cats. At times the story of Grandmother seems to be taking over the narrative. Her sections of the book were the least enjoyable for me. The use of language in the book is often poetic. Appelt will often use short phrases and repetition of words to get across an emotional feeling. For the most part I didn’t mind this stylistic choice, but I do think the story could have been tightened a bit and perhaps shortened by about 50 pages.
I’ve noticed a few reviewers, who didn’t like the book, wondering what it was about. The book is about a lot of things. One of the main themes is the legacy of cruelty - how cruelty and vengeance are handed down across the years and can be passed from one generation to the next. But it’s also about making a family, paying it forward, breaking the chain (in this case both metaphorically and literally) of cruelty and bringing kindness and love back to the forefront. It’s also about keeping a promise, finding courage and not giving up.
I think Kathi Appelt has pulled off an amazing feat with this book. There are scenes in the book that are as heartbreakingly violent as anything from Bambi, and other scenes filled with the magic and beauty of the natural world. She has created a book infused with mythology but rooted in a real world filled with hardship. She has created characters that will break your heart and have you rooting for them.
liviaslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
5.0
lnocita's review against another edition
4.0
I am finding it hard to describe The Underneath succintly. At its core is a story of abuse and neglect but it is also a study in evil. Don't let the cover fool you. This is not some cutesy dog/cat story.
From goodreads.com, "There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road.
A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath.
Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten's one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its meaning. For everyone who loves Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling, for everyone who loves the haunting beauty of writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Flannery O'Connor, and Carson McCullers, Kathi Appelt spins a harrowing yet keenly sweet tale about the power of love -- and its opposite, hate -- the fragility of happiness and the importance of making good on your promises."
Certainly not what I was expecting! I think if kids give this a chance, they will be drawn into the story and feel the man's visceral rage and foulness. It is a very dark story, but one filled with hope and love against the odds.
From goodreads.com, "There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road.
A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath.
Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten's one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its meaning. For everyone who loves Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling, for everyone who loves the haunting beauty of writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Flannery O'Connor, and Carson McCullers, Kathi Appelt spins a harrowing yet keenly sweet tale about the power of love -- and its opposite, hate -- the fragility of happiness and the importance of making good on your promises."
Certainly not what I was expecting! I think if kids give this a chance, they will be drawn into the story and feel the man's visceral rage and foulness. It is a very dark story, but one filled with hope and love against the odds.
heatherems's review against another edition
2.0
I will not be sharing this book with my 5th grade daughter, as the themes of abuse, neglect, revenge and loss would be very disturbing for her. While written in a lyrical fashion that tries to intertwine a story of magical realism with a twisted story of neglect, the lyrical writing and short chapters make the story repetitive and very slow in parts.
tiffaniescs's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this quick read. Mystical and leaves you knowing that love will prevail.
erinthelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This was an amazing book that is going to linger with me for a long time - at which point I may add to or amend my review. It's an amazing, well written book that I have hard time imagining I would recommend to very many children. It's a brutal book about love, loss and life, but I was hooked until the very end - and I was surprised which is rare.
kehmen's review against another edition
3.0
too sad for the kids, and not something I want to finish right now. It'll go on the shelf for awhile.
kim_j_dare's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful, lyrical writing... evocative descriptions of ageless bayous... the way that Kathi Appelt played with time and her intertwining of legends across years... this book swept me up in the best kind of magic.
readballoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0