I’ve recently become interested in novels aimed towards an audience younger than 15 years old. Something about those stories, specifically, brings more imagination into my life than an adult literature novel. The book that I have just finished, “The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict,” is filled with imagination and issues not very commonly discussed.
The book is about a young boy, 9 years old, named Nicholas Benedict. He is extremely smart and suffers from the sleeping disorder narcolepsy. The book opens with Benedict on a train with a worker from his former orphanage. They are in the process of putting Benedict in a new home in hopes that it will increase his chance of being adopted. Through the story, we learn a lot about how he thinks but not a lot about who he is. He encounters bullies and friends, highs and lows, and a mystery bound to change his life.
One of the first things that I noticed was the author, Trenton Lee Stewart, has incredible attention to detail. In one chapter, the protagonist is waiting in a dark hall lit only by a few stick candles on the wall. During his wait, Stewart shows the reader Benedict as counting every drop of wax hitting the metal tray beneath the candle: what it looks like when the wax drips, how it sounds and he reveals a major detail in Benedict — how focused he is on specific things. However, in spending so much time on describing moments and areas, Stewart allows the story to move very slow. It is unclear to me whether or not this was intentional, but there were moments that I didn’t know if the story would even finish by the time I got to the last page.
Benedict’s narcolepsy is a severe case where there are moments he falls asleep in the middle of doing something. The first incident that jumped out to me was when Benedict met a boy and in the middle of laughing with him, he fell asleep. I enjoyed this part because of how uncommon it is to see a character with narcolepsy. The story can become confusing because the story is told with the reader in Benedict’s shoes and after he wakes up, you aren’t sure what happened, how much time has passed or where you are.
One of the first scenes I remember was in the second or third chapter when Benedict is at the train station saying goodbye to the woman from his old orphanage. Her name is Mrs. Ferrier and she has grown to know Benedict very well. She always knows what to expect from him, it almost seems like she can almost read his mind. Before leaving, she asks Benedict to explain how he knew a certain man was the driver of the car for his new orphanage. After inhaling dramatically, Benedict goes on to explain his thought process and the details about the driver that are important to his personality without ever talking to him. After he explains, all the details from before begin to connect and you learn how to think like Benedict.
Ultimately, the book was a great read. I loved experiencing new issues and learning different ways of thinking through it. While I still love the literature we read in our English and writing classes, it’s nice to pick something up that’s written in a different manner. I was confused at points, and the story did move a little too slow for my liking, but in the end everything made sense. I will continue to read, and maybe even write stories like this.
Until then, I encourage everyone to read something out of your comfort zone. Even if you aren’t a writer, discovering new things opens your mind up to so much more, and you may end with a great experience.
