- Mass Market Paperback
- Publisher: Dell (Aug 5 1989)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0440204879
- ISBN-13: 978-0440204879
- Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 9.9 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 113 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Much of Cormier's fiction poses a paradox: you are most alive just as outside forces obliterate your identity. Cormier's protagonists want to be anonymous, and their wishes are fulfilled in nightmarish ways. In Fade , which encompasses three stories in three decades, 13-year-old Paul discovers an incredible secret gift: he can become invisible. His long-lost uncle appears, to tell Paul that each generation of the family has one fader, and to warn him of the fade's dangers. Paul, however, abuses his power and quickly learns its terrible price. Twenty-five years later, Paul, a successful writer, confronts the next fader, his abused nephew Ozzie, whose power is pure vengeance. And 25 years after that, in 1988, Paul's distant cousin Susan, also a writer, reads his amazing story, and must decide if Paul's memoir is fact or fiction. Fade is an allegory of the writer's life. Paul's actions stem from his compulsion to understand the behavior of the people around him; Susan's questions and her awful dilemma, which concludes the book, result from her near-pathological writer's focus on other persons, a purpose her unreachable late cousin serves well. Omniscient powerPaul's invisibility and Susan's access to his unpublished workleads to identity-consuming responsibility. At its best, Fade is an examination of the writer's urge to lose identity and become purely an observer. As in all Cormier's novels, the protagonists are ciphers whose only affirming action seems to be to assert, however briefly, that they exist. The story is gripping, even when it approaches melodrama, and Cormier concentrates on each action's inner meaning. Fade works better as allegory than as fantasy; this is Cormier's most complex, artful work. He seems to challenge himself as a writer, and in doing so, offers a respectful challenge to his readers. Through him, they will discover the extremes of behavior in the quietest human soul. Ages 13-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 10-12 Those who find Cormier's novels bleak, dark, disturbing, and violent will not be disappointed with his latest. And true to his past, he has given readers a story with more twists and turns than a mile of concertina wire. The first half is set in Frenchtown, a working-class section of a Massachusetts town. The time is the 1930s, and the evocation of life among the French-Canadians (with marvelous names like Omer LaBatt and Rudolphe Toubert), who toiled in sweatshops where celluloid combs were made, is the best thing about the novel. Not that the story line doesn't work. Cormier uses an old device that guarantees attentiona lead character who can make himself invisible. The rules for fading are as complicated as a missile defense treaty. Paul Moreaux is the teenage fader who narrates the first section, an autobiographical account written after he has become a famous novelist. Readers learn early on that there is a grim side to this gift of fading and that Cormier intends it to represent a potentially evil force within us all. Subsequent sections include a narration by a present-day female cousin, which throws into question the truth of the entire first section, and a concluding section that features another cousin who can fade but who is certainly mad and possibly possessed. So the novel has a bit of many things: magic, murder, mystery, history, romance, diabolical possession, sex (not a lot, but what there is is explicit), and even a touch of incest. The character of Paul is developed especially well. The story is too long, and the plot is too contrived to be taken seriously, but Fade is riveting enough to be appreciated by Cormier fans. Robert E. Unsworth, Scarsdale Junior High School, N.Y.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent book not to be forgotten,
By A Customer
This review is from: Fade (Mass Market Paperback)
To classify this book as young adult is a mistake. This is the kind of novel which can appeal to people of all ages. The young character deals with so many issues and feelings that everyone confronts sooner or later in one's life. Perhaps we would all like the gift to fade away-- to see the world without being seen. To view the true colors of others is a talent we all try to develop; to realize one's self is something we never truly fulfill. By far, this is Cormier's most creative novel. His language portrays the dreary and dark surroundings of the charatcer. You will never want to put this book down.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A disturbing and enthralling read,
By
This review is from: Fade (Paperback)
Fade is an incredible story that follows the life of three "faders" and an aspiring writer. Through each character's POV, Cormier shows how three people with the same ability manage and use the Fade. The old arguments of nature versus nurture and right versus wrong are addressed with how differently Paul and Ozzie manage the Fade. The Fade raises many ethical and moral issues and doesn't shy away from the taboo, addressing incest, underage sex and homosexuality. That said, the sexual scenes in this book are quite explicit; surprising me that this novel is rated as "Teen." Regardless, I found this novel riveting and couldn't put it down. If you thought this novel was just another "invisible man" wannabe, think again - FADE will take the reader to a whole other level
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Every family has its mysteries.",
By Crystal (Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fade (Mass Market Paperback)
Fade by Robert Cormier is a great book. Fade is a book with many different settings and point of views. It begins with Paul who is around the age of 13 when he finds out he has a gift. He is able to become invisible. Then there is Ozzie, Paul's nephew. Who is angry at the world because of his terrible life. After him there is Susan, Paul's distant cousin who finds a manuscript written by Paul about his life and the ways he dealt with "the fade." Reading the synopsis of this book I thought it would be a good book to read because I've always thought it would be cool if I could become invisible. I know, silly, but I thought about it before. Of course when I thought about things like that I didn't think about the negative aspects and ways that I would most likely abuse the power, but this book reveals all the possibilities if "the fade" were real. I am not surprised that this was such a good book, since Robert Cormier writes amazing books. This book also dealt with a lot of other issues and it was just an all around great book to read.
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