The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing (Vol. I, The Pox Party), by M.T. Anderson, is a novel about an African boy living in scientific facilities in the 1700s. Octavian lives through many emotional changes during the course of the story.
At the beginning of the book, Octavian is an innocent child who abides by the house's rules and does his daily routines without a complaint (no matter how strange they may seem to us). He is taught to weigh his feces every time he makes them for scientific observation, and is constantly being watched by one of the masters of the house.
One night, Octavian sneaks into a forbidden room. In it are volumes of notes and drawings of him and his mother. It is there that he realizes that he is yet another of the scientists' experiments. After this realization, life starts to go downhill for Octavian. The house changes hands and is now being funded by some gentlemen insisting on proving the inferiority of the African race. Octavian's mother, Cassiopeia, dies, and Octavian starts being mistreated, until he runs away.
As Octavian started to realize the horrors of 16th-century America for an African, I was immediately reminded of the story of Adam and Eve. At first, they so are innocent and happy. When they eat the apples from the forbidden tree, however, they gain knowledge of their nudity and awareness of good and evil. Then, they too are faced with a new world after having so much time in Paradise.
Although I did not finish the book, I found the intense character changes in Octavian very interesting to read about. This book is a complex twist on historical fiction– it is set in 16th-century colonial America but the events in it seem more fit to fantasy. This is definitely not an easy book to read.
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