There is, in this book, some discussion of what it means to be “different” and also what it means to treat people “different” on the basis of perceived physical difference. The trauma of sartorial transgression subverts any preconceived hierarchy of decisive forms of “difference”. It is a sorry illustration of the heteronormative tyranny which defined mid-sixties society that being asked to dress as a girl represents a more traumatic “othering” of Stanley’s identity than being crushed to the width of less than an inch. In the longest chapter, Stanley thwarts some art thieves by pretending to be an oil painting, pinned onto a canvass in an art gallery dressed as a shepherdess. It takes the wisdom of a seven year old to ask the question “how will he go pee inside his envelope?” Such questions always go unanswered as they invite further interrogation of how his bowel and bladder functions can survive the crippling distortion of the relevant organs. When Stanley is invited to stay with a friend in California, the logical way to send him there is to literally “send” him there – express mail. Stanley’s flat lifestyle is a story of almost effortless adaptation. When Stanley is first flattened by the bulletin board, his parents are concerned but hardly freaked out by this dramatic deformation, and the same disturbingly calm family decides to finish their breakfast before going to see the calm doctor. As we’ve read this book together in school, I’m struck by the eerily drab quality of Stanley’s adventures as described, the rather awkward disembodied style of narration. One of the few blots of generosity that besmirch an otherwise flawlessly selfish existence has been my habit of volunteering to help read with a class of seven and eight year olds.Īs a result, I’ve recently been reintroduced to Jeff Brown’s strange creation Flat Stanley, whose titular hero will be 50 years old next year.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |