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Kaion's Reviews > Wringer
Wringer (Newberry Honor Book)
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by
One thing that Jerry Spinelli really seems to capture well about children—their experience of a larger-than-life world. The ecstasy of a snow day. The stinging annoyance of a neighbor being called a 'friend. The blunt hungry yearning for acceptance.
In Maniac Magee, this hyper-reality took the form of the mythic. In Wringer it's visceral, our protagonist's dread of turning ten:
'In his dreams he looks down to find his hands around the neck of the pigeon. It feels silky. The pigeon's eye is like a polished shirt button. The pigeon's eye is orange with a smaller black button in the center. It looks up at him. It does not blink. It seems as if the bird is about to speak, but it does not. Only the voices speak: 'Wring it!' '
In Palmer's town, on the last day of Family Fest, thousands of pigeons are released from cages as live targets in a sharp shooting contest. At ten, he will join the ranks of the 'wringers', the boys responsible for snapping the necks of 'one-point' wounded pigeons. Palmer is turning nine. Palmer is out of birthdays.
As it's been well noted, but not nearly often enough, the Pigeon Day of Wringer is clearly modeled on the held in Hegins, Pennsylvania every Labor Day until protests shut it down in '99. (Live pigeon shoots are still legal in PA.)
On its own merit, Wringer is already a tightly suspenseful, claustrophobic novel: full of wonderful character moments and observational gems that build on its examination of peer pressure. But the truth behind the fiction sort of makes me wonder... maybe we do live in hyper-reality and as adults we've often just gotten too desensitized to see it.
Palmer's voice seems to warn us himself: "He would come to it without having to pedal or run or walk or even more a muscle. He would fall smack into the lap of it without doing anything but breathe. In the end he would get there simply by growing one day older." Maybe we need exaggeration —maybe we need fear� to remind us how important it is to not be resigned to the wrongs of the world. Rating: 4.5 stars (Reread July 15, 2009)
In Maniac Magee, this hyper-reality took the form of the mythic. In Wringer it's visceral, our protagonist's dread of turning ten:
'In his dreams he looks down to find his hands around the neck of the pigeon. It feels silky. The pigeon's eye is like a polished shirt button. The pigeon's eye is orange with a smaller black button in the center. It looks up at him. It does not blink. It seems as if the bird is about to speak, but it does not. Only the voices speak: 'Wring it!' '
In Palmer's town, on the last day of Family Fest, thousands of pigeons are released from cages as live targets in a sharp shooting contest. At ten, he will join the ranks of the 'wringers', the boys responsible for snapping the necks of 'one-point' wounded pigeons. Palmer is turning nine. Palmer is out of birthdays.
As it's been well noted, but not nearly often enough, the Pigeon Day of Wringer is clearly modeled on the held in Hegins, Pennsylvania every Labor Day until protests shut it down in '99. (Live pigeon shoots are still legal in PA.)
On its own merit, Wringer is already a tightly suspenseful, claustrophobic novel: full of wonderful character moments and observational gems that build on its examination of peer pressure. But the truth behind the fiction sort of makes me wonder... maybe we do live in hyper-reality and as adults we've often just gotten too desensitized to see it.
Palmer's voice seems to warn us himself: "He would come to it without having to pedal or run or walk or even more a muscle. He would fall smack into the lap of it without doing anything but breathe. In the end he would get there simply by growing one day older." Maybe we need exaggeration —maybe we need fear� to remind us how important it is to not be resigned to the wrongs of the world. Rating: 4.5 stars (Reread July 15, 2009)
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
January 1, 2000
–
Finished Reading
August 26, 2009
– Shelved
March 8, 2010
– Shelved as:
childrens
March 8, 2010
– Shelved as:
contemporary
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I like this one it is really good. I like how you added stuff from the book.
*Though like Lars, it took until my third read that it really pushed into the great book arena for me. Geez, I must have first read in around '00 or so. Guess it's just one of those books that you can't forget and it insidiously enters your subconscious and grows on you. (I always loved Maniac Magee, so there.)