The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards)) (edition 2008)

by M.T. Anderson

Series: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation (2)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
845	33	25,663	(4.09)	25
Fiction. African American Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML: "A novel of the first rank, the kind of monumental work Italo Calvino called 'encyclopedic' in the way it sweeps up history into a comprehensible and deeply textured pattern." �?? The New York Times Book Review Fearing a death sentence, Octavian and his tutor, Dr. Trefusis, escape through rising tides and pouring rain to find shelter in British-occupied Boston. Sundered from all he knows �?? the College of Lucidity, the rebel cause �?? Octavian hopes to find safe harbor. Instead, he is soon to learn of Lord Dunmore's proclamation offering freedom to slaves who join the counterrevolutionary forces. In Volume II of his unparalleled masterwork, M. T. Anderson recounts Octavian's experiences as the Revolutionary War explodes around him, thrusting him into intense battles and tantalizing him with elusive visions of liberty. Ultimately, this astonishing narrative escalates to a startling, deeply satisfying climax, while reexamining our national origins in a singularly provocative li… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	logansmalley
Title:	The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards))
Authors:	M.T. Anderson
Info:	Candlewick (2008), Edition: Reprint, Hardcover, 592 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	None

Work Information

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves by M. T. Anderson

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

teenybeanie25, beththorpe, AWellStockedShelf, PCSlibrary, owlbeyourfriend, cspiwak, hnygren, LHenriksen, Pradoll, SESchend

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Member recommendations

00
Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson (meggyweg)

▾Lists

Historical Fiction (406)

Best Young Adult (209)

Favorite Long Books (185)

» 4 more

Five star books (659)

al.vick-wishlist-historical fiction (103)

Epistolary Books (58)

Absolute Power (107)

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 25 mentions

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 33 (next | show all)

Just finished this. I had enjoyed the first book, but I wasn't hugely impressed by it. This second book was better, possibly because by this point I had more familiarity with the characters and situation, and it was easier to get into. For most of the book, my rating held steady at 3.5 or 4 stars, but the ending brought it up to a solid 5. Honestly, the ending was what made this story. Together, these two novels are a wonderful piece of historical fiction. (

)

-sunny- | Jul 15, 2014 |

Another masterpiece from Anderson. This is the second and final book about Octavian Nothing, and it tells the story of the American Revolution from a unique viewpoint. The meaning of liberty is slippery, indeed.

Octavian is a slave who does work for both sides of the conflict at different points. His companions are achingly real. My favorite character is perhaps Bono, who is by turns hilarious and profane. Here's my favorite bit of Bono dialogue, where he is talking to Octavian, who is ill.

"Sweet mercy in a firkin!" swore Bono. "Not another word of your damn metaphorizing! By God, don't you have vomiting to do?"

The story is impeccably researched and searingly hard to stomach, infused with sadness and intellect. Highly recommended, but do read the first one before you pick this up.

The only drawback, for me, is the lingering tendency to talk in a slightly stilted Octavian manner. (

)

satyridae | Apr 5, 2013 |

I am in awe of Anderson's genius!!! (

)

Sullywriter | Apr 3, 2013 |

I'm not rating this because I can't be fair to it. It's an amazingly detailed, rich creation, with language that sounds so pitch-perfect to things actually written in the 18th century. But that made it so very difficult to get through.

And while I recognize this book's literary greatness, the story just doesn't do it for me, and I had a hard time caring about any of them. If this hadn't been an audio I wouldn't have gotten through it. So, a fantastic book if you like revolutionary war history, but not a fantastic book for me. I'm disappointed in myself.

librarybrandy | Mar 31, 2013 |

This second volume is less engaging than the first, though still ultimately enjoyable. Octavian is bored, and often, so is the reader. This is tale of a claustrophobic, uncertain time, which also affects the reader. I read the first book very quickly, but this volume took more work. I admire this diptych very much, but I'm not sure that this half would hold a young reader's attention wel. (

)

OshoOsho | Mar 30, 2013 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 33 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
M. T. Anderson	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
James, Peter Francis	Reader	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation (2)

Is contained in

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I-II by M. T. Anderson

Is abridged in

M.T. Anderson reads from "The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing" at the Central Library by M. T. Anderson

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (2008)

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Honor – Fiction & Poetry – 2009)

A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (2008)

Margaret A. Edwards Award (2019)

Massachusetts Book Award (Must-Read (Longlist) – Children's / Young Adult – 2009)

Parents' Choice Book Award (2008)

Printz Award (Honor – 2009)

Distinctions

Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice (Children/Young Adult)

Notable Lists

Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection – 2009)

Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth (2008)

CCBC Choices (2009)

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2008-10-14

People/Characters

Octavian

Dr. Trefusis

Pro Bono (William Williams)

Lord Dunmore

Important places

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Norfolk, Virginia, USA

Important events

American Revolution (1775 | 1783)

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To N.

First words

The rain poured from the heavens as we fled across the mud-flats, that scene of desolation; it soaked through our clothes and bit at the skin with its chill.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves

▾Book descriptions

Fiction. African American Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:

"A novel of the first rank, the kind of monumental work Italo Calvino called 'encyclopedic' in the way it sweeps up history into a comprehensible and deeply textured pattern." �?? The New York Times Book Review

Fearing a death sentence, Octavian and his tutor, Dr. Trefusis, escape through rising tides and pouring rain to find shelter in British-occupied Boston. Sundered from all he knows �?? the College of Lucidity, the rebel cause �?? Octavian hopes to find safe harbor. Instead, he is soon to learn of Lord Dunmore's proclamation offering freedom to slaves who join the counterrevolutionary forces.

In Volume II of his unparalleled masterwork, M. T. Anderson recounts Octavian's experiences as the Revolutionary War explodes around him, thrusting him into intense battles and tantalizing him with elusive visions of liberty. Ultimately, this astonishing narrative escalates to a startling, deeply satisfying climax, while reexamining our national origins in a singularly provocative li

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary