Out of the Dust

Karen Hesse

Scholastic Press/New York
(c) 1997

I like to read the books that are assigned to my kids in school. It usually helps me quiz them on their homework and help prepare them for their tests. Plus, I just like to read. Usually I like the books better than the kids do.

This is one of them - my daughter actually liked this book, but I'm not really sure how much she got out of it: she's about the same age as the narrator, and has similar characteristics (the assertiveness), but I'm not certain if she truly grasped the sheer depth of the desperation and poverty that Oklahomans experienced during 1934-1935 Dust Bowl days.

About the book, it was written in free verse, from the girl's POV, which was both a help and a hindrance, because in the free verse, the natural tendency is toward poetic sentiment, which I liked - however, that also detracted from the story, because the occasional forays into poetic metaphor is not how this character would think or speak.

However, these moments are few, and for the most part the writing is sparse and precise. A few points are occasionally overpresented and repeated; but, you know, I really shouldn't be such a critic, because the overall story is indeed so eloquent, and the subject matter is truly important.

Not to belabor the point, but I have previously read Karen Hesse's Witness (not sure if I've blogged that here or not yet - will have to check), in which she uses the same freeverse form in order to tell the story, yet each poem is the voice of a different character - about 12 in all, each of them recounting different aspects/perceptions of the same story. It seems that with the two books, the writer is improving upon the method. My theory is that Out of the Dust is her first attempt with this style, and which she improves in Witness, and I would expect that the next book would be almost perfect in its execution.

I'd say this is definitely a readable book, but one can see where it could be improved upon.

VG