Life: An Exploded Diagram

A few weeks ago I was at the library and I realized that one of the authors I really liked, Mal Peet, had a new book. It was called Life: An Exploded Diagram and it was set around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. At the time, I just picked the book up because it sounded good and Peet had written other books that I really enjoyed. But the book deals with a time when America and the Soviet Union were at a standstill over nuclear weapons, and currently, Russia is invading the Crimea. It's a little freaky that I would pick up a book that would have more in common with today than I had expected.

Although the book is set during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, it isn't actually about the Crisis. I had expected the book to be set in America and for the Crisis to play a major part. That's not exactly the case. The book is actually set in England, and is about two teenagers who are in love. Clem is the son of a working class man who works for Frankie's father, who is a wealthy landowner. The two meet and it's practically love at first sight. They have to hide their relationship from everyone, and the Cuban Missile Crisis adds a twist to the situation. I won't go into all the details; I don't believe in spoilers unless they are absolutely necessary and I do hope some of you will want to read the books I blog about so I don't want to give everything away. Let's just say that Clem and Frankie are your typical teenagers and want to expand their relationship. And what better time to do that than right before the world ends?

I really enjoyed the book. Peet writes in an odd manner. You expect the book to start with Clem and Frankie meeting but it doesn't. Instead, you are thoroughly introduced to Clem's grandmother, mother and father. It's actually really cool because Peet creates these complete characters with their own history and feelings. And although the climax of the story revolves around the Cuban Missile Crisis, the book takes place from World War I to 9/11. I love Peet's style of writing and his depth of detail.  I loved the way Clem thought as he was drawing Frankie, and the importance art played in his life. I also liked the role that cults played in the novel. Clem's grandmother is part of a cult that believes the world is going to end; the leader actually believes that he has predicted the date of the end of the world. This is a common occurrence in our world; the year 2012 was supposed to be the last, and there are constant predictions about when the world will end.

It was also interesting how Peet depicted President John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev. Americans view Kennedy as the hero, who prevented World War III and nuclear holocaust. But Peet touches upon Kennedy's affairs and his health issues, which I didn't even know existed. Instead of presenting Kennedy as a hero, Peet presents him as slightly comical and morally ambiguous. I found it refreshing because Kennedy was a man like anyone else and showing his faults makes him more realistic to me.

The book is a coming-of-age story. It's funny and witty, and I do recommend reading it. And to end, the following is a quote from the book that I really liked:

"The end of the world is almost as old as its beginning. In chapter one of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God spends most of a week creating the earth and all that is in it; then a mere six pages later, He destroys it all in a flood, the only survivors being, of course, Noah and his family and their floating menagerie. So it's hardly surprising that for thousands of years people have been predicting another End. The Apocalypse. Armageddon. The Day of Judgement. Again. Nor is it unreasonable. Consider our brutal, bloody, and filthy history, our nasty habits. If there was ever a species that deserved purging from the surface of the planet, it is humanity. We are, or should be, a temporary infestation or infection, a smart virus awaiting its divine antidote."