From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
A book I’d throw into the categories of “Book With Titles that are Better than the Actual Story” and “Books with Plot Summaries that are Better than the Actual Story”.
I grew impatient with this book. Why did Claudia want to run away? If it was her family that was the problem, why did she take one of her brothers along? She picked the Metropolitan Museum of Art as her refuge, but she didn’t seem to enjoy much of the art there. The whole story is written as if Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is telling it to her lawyer, but we don’t really see Mrs. F well and the lawyer doesn’t seem that interested in the story. The resolution of the story seemed too easy (Mrs. F already had a document that solved the mystery). Claudia and her brother seem oblivious to the pain and fear they have inflicted on their parents. And for what? A rather unsatisfying week spent in a museum? What was it Claudia wanted? To be a celebrity? To be recognized? I honestly can’t believe the document Mrs. F promised Claudia would satisfy her in those ways.
I think your main problem in your approach to this book is that you are thinking like an adult and not like a child. I haven't read this is years but I remember it fondly and know my now 10 yo son enjoyed it immensely.
ReplyDeleteChildren are often oblivious to the pain they cause their parents. And logic isnt a strong suit in the childish mind either.