‘Inventing Elliot’ is a surprisingly intense novel despite it’s brevity and the fact that it was written for junior readers, ie. teens I suppose. Anyway I thought the title was sort of cool; plus it reminded me of my initial decision to go to NJ instead.

inventing elliot

It’s about how a kid who was dreadfully bullied in his first school is transferred to another, where the intention was for him to start on a fresh slate. He called it ‘inventing Elliot’. Graham gives intricately vivid descriptions of his inner turmoil, of how he struck a balance between ‘not standing out for the wrong reason’ and ‘not standing out too much for the right reason’. And also, I think Elliot showed some signs of clinical depression. (haha, already getting myself psyched up over upcoming posting woo!)

Ironically, Elliot does so well at reinventing himself that *gasp*, the ‘bullies’ in this new school, an unknown, unidentified, unseen elitist group called ‘The Guardians’ decide that they want him in… Once more Elliot is put to face the monstrosity of it all, but this time as the perpetuator, and not the victim.

The theme of the book is banked on George Orwell’s 1984. I didn’t read the book, so I can’t really comment. But ‘The Guardians’ take was that ‘The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?” (quoted from ‘1984′) As Elliot is torn between the different Elliots he has invented, he begins to wonder who he really is.

One of the best part of the novel is the author’s style. How he starts off and ends off with the same incident, a bit like coming full circle, and yet both incidents, though of the same memory, bear different meanings to the reader. It’s quite a beautiful writing technique!

Incidentally, one of the characters mentioned the overall meaning borne by ‘1984′,

“The point is, the hero of 1984 is someone who doesn’t have a choice. At least that’s how it appears. he thinks he has to do what he’s doing - which is lying about the past, forging history, never saying what he knows to be true. But the point is, he does choose. he chooses to disobey the system. He obeys what he believes and risks everything. So he makes himself free…

They beat him in the end. But until they do, he’s made himself free. That ’s the point. he isn’t thinking like they want him to think: it’s him choosing, not them forcing him. And when they win, when they make him think in the way they want, they don’t really win at all. Because the only way they can do it is to destroy him.”

I wanna read ‘1984′.