Ever since 12-year-old Feltus Ovalton LeRoi’s parents moved him from a comfy suburban home to a city apartment, he’s been miserable. His new school is packed with bullies, and his parents, a self-absorbed duo obsessed with upward mobility, seem barely aware of him any more, let alone of his growing anguish. He copes by adapting; his parents ignore him, so he ignores them. As he’s bullied at school, so he bullies others. But just before Feltus gives up all hope that things will ever be better, he finds a tattered old binder in the back of his closet and chants some strange words that are scrawled inside it. He’s not really surprised when all that happens is that the lights flicker briefly. And he tells himself he’s not disappointedâ€â€he just doesn’t care anymore.
But soon after, a relative arrives for an unexpected visit, Great Aunt Eunida, who neither parent seems willing to claim. And for good reason: She’s a smelly, slovenly creature who totes an enormous toad, spouts nonsense, and wears crinkly tinfoil hats. She eats odd, malodorous food combinations, preferably featuring sardines.
But as Feltus soon discovers, Eunida will leave them with more than just greasy blots on the couch. She’s a prophet who’s having trouble with her gift. Strange smells fill the apartment and strange beings soon follow: first a moth who screams “Help!” just before Feltus hits it with a shoe, and then a group of fancy-furred critters who call themselves “PoodleRats.” There’s a portal to other worlds, they tell Feltus, right under his dining room table, and they’ve come to scavenge food because their land has been invaded by a mob of predatory rodents. There’s little hope for them, they say, except for an ancient prophecy that tells of a savior who will vanquish their foe. For some incredible reason, they’re convinced that savior is Feltus.
How can someone who can’t even go to the boy’s bathroom without getting pummeled save an entire world? It’s an enormous responsibility made even more weighty by the discovery that the ancient binder was once Eunida’s, and all these strange arrivals were caused by a tear in the veil that separates worldsâ€â€a rift made by Feltus himself when he recklessly chanted those odd words.
The Curious Misadventures of Feltus Ovalton is a middle-grade children’s fantasy with thematic elements that may ring familiar: a boy who lives with awful people, a prophecy he’s supposed to fulfill, and a magical talent he never suspected he had. But this heroic anti-hero has more story DNA from Roald Dahl than the creator of He Who Must Not Be Named. The grownups here are grievously ignorant of the world of children, and Feltus is an unwilling champion who’s nearly forced into strapping on a hero’s mantle. The effects of his efforts open yet another rift, this one in the cold, shriveled lump that used to be Feltus’s heart.
Like Dahl’s work, this wildly original book is saturated with dark humor, and author Treggiari has a knack for terrific character names. An angelic-appearing guardian of the veil is called Dare Al Luce, which in Italian means “give to the light,” and the PoodleRats’ enemies are the Kehezzzalubbapipipi, a name that mandates giggling.
Though children, especially boys, will find relevance and entertainment in Feltus’s magical adventures, the book could have used more judicious editing; at 334 pages, it’s a bit long for the younger part of its intended eight-and-up audience. Additionally, it serves up vocabulary that will send even the most precocious young reader repeatedly to the dictionary, another characteristic that makes this book more potentially appealing for imaginative ‘tweens and teens.
Woodstock resident Jo Treggiari will read from her book at 5pm on Saturday, October 28, at the Woodstock Wool Company in an event sponsored by the Golden Notebook bookstore. For more information, visit www.feltusovalton.com.
Susan Krawitz
October 2006
review source: http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2006/10/arts/books/reviews.php
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