Don't Take a Ride in Darnell Dixon's Rivy Dog of Love: Christopher Paul Curtis Talks About His New Book, Bucking the Sarge

ALAN Review, Fall 2004 by Smith, Kay

Only one thing can be more exciting than reading an adolescent novel that is so new, it isn't even on the shelves; that one thing is interviewing the author of that book! After years of reading The Watsons Go to Birmingluun, 1963 with my YA lit students at Utah Valley State University, imagine my delight when I was given the opportunity to interview Christopher Paul Curtis about his new novel, Bucking the Sarge. The book, an attention-grabbing story about the life and challenges of Luther T. Farrell, had my interest firm in its grip from the early pages.

I tuned Sparkv out and started worrying about what my mother, a.k.a. the Sarge, was gonna say when she found out all my stuff had been ripped off. No, let me break that down; it wasn't what she was gonna say that had me worried, it was what she was gonna do. (2)

At first blush, this read like beautiful and vintage Christopher Paul Curtis, but it didn't take long to feel a distinct difference. With the introduction of Sparky, rest homes, science fairs, scandal, and a parent who would never win the "Mother of the Year" award, I knew this was also a new Christopher Paul Curtis: an older adolescent-writing, newangle-on-life-writing, and visceralto-the-bone-writ ing Christopher Paul Curtis. After such a great read, interviewing the author about his new book was just frosting on the cake. In between his many public appearances (Christopher is among the most loved of YA authors), Mr. Curtis kindly took the time to visit with me about Bucking the Sarge:

KS: This book is even better than your previous two, both of which were unbelievably successful, both in popularity and in awards. As you move through your career as a writer, do you feel like the experience of writing a book is evolving in any way for you? How was the experience of writing this one different from the previous two? How is your writing changing over time?

CPC: I can't say this was the most difficult book for me to write, there was too much enjoyment in doing it. Bucking the Sarge did take much, much longer than the other two, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. I'd like to blame it all on Jerry Spinelli. Right after Bad, not Buddy won the Newbery Medal, he told me that I was going to be so busy that I could forget about doing any writing for a year. I just carried it on for another three years beyond the "Spinelli Year."

KS: Nursing homes are certainly not common experience for the majority of teens and can seem a bit macabre or creepy, and so probably does the idea of working in one to a teenager. What did you want to capture about that experience and where did you get a working knowledge of the physical care provided to adults in that type of setting?

CPC: I lived next door to a nursing home in Flint, Michigan, and the man I hung car doors with at the G.M. auto factory worked in one after hours. I saw both extremes of treatment of the "clients." Some people who cared for the clients were kind to them but others were brutal. I think it was the perfect world to put Luther into to show the horrible amount of responsibility that had been dumped on him and the dignified way he handled it.

KS: Luther doesn't think about running away, nor even seem to harbor visible hatred for his mother despite how she exploits him. Why not?

CPC: I think the Sarge has Luther so cowed that striking back is way on the bottom of any list he would develop. He has seen her power and knows there is no way he can fight it. Also everyone keeps telling him how lucky he is.

KS: When Luther and his friend, Sparky, go with Little Chicago and Darnell Dixon, Sarge's flunkies, to evict a family from their apartment, it all becomes very personal for Luther when he discovers that one of the two kids in the family is Bo Travis, a classmate of his. Despite a fairly unstable living situation, Bo is a good student who was last year's third place winner in the science fair. In the act of discarding all the family's possessions to prepare the apartment for the new tenants, Luther learns that KeeKee, Bo's little sister, has won Citizen of the Month, all As and B's on her report card, and the Book Worm Award for the month of April, and was her school's spelling champion. Could a kid from an evicted household really be such a good student?

CPC: Oh yeah, I think there is an age when the child finally gives up and doesn't want to win anything or do anything. But, KeeKee was still young enough that the weight of her situation hadn't crushed the joy of learning and discovering new things out of her. I know several children who are from absolutely horrible homes who do very well in school. I don't think their future prospects are very good, but at this time the spark of youth is carrying them forward.

KS: You make great use of conversation in your books. Do you rehearse dialog in your writing before you proceed to "write" conversations? (rehearse the slang and idioms?)

CPC: I don't so much rehearse it as I write it and re-write it and then do it all again. As a writer I have the luxury of going back over things a million times until they are right, it may appear (I hope) spontaneous but it's really the end product of a long process.