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Loading... The Foxman (1977)by Gary Paulsen
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Carl is sent to live with his uncle's family in Minnesota by social services. He soon learns the ways of the rural life, the woods, and the harsh winter. One day when he and his cousin are caught in the woods far from home when a blizzard strikes, they take shelter in the shack of an old man with a severely damaged face, who lives in the deep woods alone. The man takes them in, cares for them through the night, and sends them on their way. But soon, Carl starts returning on weekends to visit the old man, whose name is never mentioned. Carl calls him the Foxman, because he traps foxes. The Foxman's face was hurt in World War I, although we are never told how. And when Carl is home with his uncle's family, old men who were veterans of World Wars I and II, sit around telling and laughing at war stories that Carl doesn't find funny at all. This short book is a war novel. Even though no war is happening, there are no battles or soldiers, apart from elderly veterans, it is a war novel, and one of philosophy. A short, easy reading book, for a deep thinking reader. no reviews | add a review
A town boy sent to live on a remote wilderness farm forms a friendship with an elderly, disfigured man who teaches him many things. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The unnamed protagonist is court-ordered to his Uncle's northern farm after being stabbed by his drunken mother; there is no mention of persistent trauma from the abuse--he still misses his parents. Brief chapters of him learning to fit in, adapt to the hard work and country setting, taciturn uncle & garrulous elderly relatives, bonding with his cousin Carl. The two boys get caught in a storm while out hunting a fox but fortunately come across a remote cabin. Startled by the damaged face of the man who lets them in, they need to accept his hospitality to survive the night. The main character ruminates on this, when they return home, and decides to go back to learn more about the old man, whom he names "The Foxman", but to keep his visits a secret. He tries to make sense of the damage caused by war to The Foxman's appearance with the joking stories the elderly relatives tell in winter evenings about their experiences in WWI.
How the visits ended surprised me, and I'm not sure I think the teen's choice was something that should be put out there as an option one can get away with. ( )