Chapter 15: A Book That Came Out The Year You Were Born

I Am The Cheese, Robert Cormier

As you can probably tell by the publishing date of this entry, this book is a very quick read. All I can think now is how did I not read this in high school maybe even middle school? I have no answer to that question, but it seems I cheated my young self.

Cormier is known for his dark YA novels, even before they were called that. Cheese is no exception. On the surface, it's the story of a boy riding his bike to visit his father. Enter Brint. Brint seems to be some sort of psychologist who is intent on helping Adam fill in some blanks in his memory. Flashing between the epic bicycle journey and these guided sessions, we learn that Adam has bigger concerns than dogs and bullies. Below the surface, we enter the disturbed mind of a child protecting himself from a horrible truth. He so actively represses the memories that they are related in third person, giving us a distinction between past and present action. Normally I detest this type of jumping around (see Chapter 3c). I like a clear narrative. But Cormier makes it work to give an extra layer of tension to the psychological drama.

The ending seems to be the biggest or most common complaint about the novel, but I can't even dislike it. In fact, I think it's perfect. Any other ending would weaken the story (and I'd probably give it fewer Marias). So, while this won't become part of my permanent library, I probably will read it again. That alone is proof that it's better than Shutter Island, to which it is often compared. I Am the Cheese earns 4 Marias.