A beautiful writer, Gary Paulsen’s lesser known novel, The Monument, was recently a study in my english class. He is a wonderful writer, with a gift for observations of the world in their simplicity and he relays those, it seems, easily to his readers.
He writes of a young girl, Rocky, who has slipped into the microcosm of Bolton, Kansas. As we share in the disclosures of the small wheat town, we encounter an artist, Mick, who has been commissioned to create a monument to recognize the accomplishments of the town’s lost soldiers. Through this character, we are drawn into the world of the artist…of light and shadow and of the revelations that come through the art.
Art speaks to people at a level of personal understanding. It meets each individual at the center of their own personal story. One may become a connoisseur of art and better understand the inticacies of the work, the techniques and the compositional aspects…but, the most successful pieces speak to the heart. There is such a mystery in that spiritual side of art and music and dance, that it can not easily be understood or articulated.
The Monument is a simple read…but a book that will endear itself to you.
I can attest to that……a great little read….something for everyone in it..all ages.
My daughter has read…passed to me….and is now in my son and his girlfriends hands.
I can see why it\’s one of your favorite books for your students! Thx!