1997 Newbery winner, The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg stars four unlikely sixth grade academic quiz bowl team members. Exploring the backstory of each character’s specific talents and knowledge, the book is told in a series of five narrators: the four competitors and their teacher and coach Mrs. Olinski. The stories are told and retold from different points of view as Noah, Ethan, Julian, and Nadia become friends who call themselves The Souls.
Similarity to other Newbery winners. This book reminded most of the set-up of the 2008 film Slum Dog Millionaire with its game show questions and flashbacks to where the character gained that knowledge, but more in the spirit of a kids sports movie (like Mighty Ducks) or the delightful middle grade Wonder by R. J. Palacio (also a tale told in multiple parts about kids roughly the same age – 5th grade). In terms of other Newberies, it shares the mystery and game-like spirit of The Westing Game and of course E.L. Konigsburg’s more famous Newbery winner From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The opening chapters set in a Florida retirement community reminded me a little of Seinfeld’s season 3 “The Pen” episode, in all the best kind of ways.
What I liked. What was interesting I loved that there were such specific passions and interests of each character that we, as the reader, got to learn about: calligraphy, sea turtles hatching, Humpty Dumpty, magic tricks, and unexpected acronyms. I love when fiction teaches me some great non-fiction facts in such a delightful way. For example, there are six important steps to filling a calligraphy pen with ink, sea turtles need to crawl to the sea and swim to their homes within a specific period of time or there are consequences for their whole lives, Humpty Dumpty was first depicted in literature as an egg in Lewis Carroll’s book Through the Looking Glass, and tip is an acronym for “To Insure Promptness” and posh for “Port Out, Starboard Home.”
What it teaches me as a writer. I think that E.L. Konigsburg is a master of voice. Each of her characters is so believably him or herself, a child with specific insights and mannerisms which make it seem like you really are talking with an 11 year-old. This is really apparent in her first Newbery winner, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, but I think it’s present in this book as well, less obviously, but there in a way that makes each character a good narrator of his or her own story and a delight in the fabulous foursome known as “The Souls.”
What were some limitations. The ending wasn’t as tight as the beginning and middle of the story were. I really liked so much of how the book came together throughout the beginning and the middle, layering the kids stories together and adding meaning and insight to previous plot points. I had really high expectations for the end. It was a fine ending, but it didn’t keep the pace of discoveries and puzzle pieces coming together that she had set in the first 2/3 of the book.
Have you read The View from Saturday? What are your favorite multiple point of view narrator books?
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