3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Adventures of Little Big Jim is a historical fiction book by Duncan McCollum. Fourteen-year-old Little Big Jim is the protagonist and his story unravels in the mid 1800's.
Little Big Jim lives on a cattle ranch with his mother and his uncle. Once a month, he and his uncle head into the town of Monterey to fetch supplies. During these trips, Little Big Jim finds spots to hide out and read the newspaper while his uncle attends to matters. The wild adventures reported in the newspaper fill his head with fantasies. He pictures notorious outlaws, fierce pirates, and attacks on pioneers crossing the prairie. Oh, the adventures to be had! Little does he realise that he is soon to embark on wild adventures of his own through oceans and dense jungles. One morning in town, Little Big Jim is shanghaied. He finds himself aboard the Journey's End. The ship is built for speed and is perfect for pirating.
The book is narrated by a ten-year-old boy. He lives in the year 1934. His family is on a trip to an old family farm with his long-lost grandfather. As he gets to know him better, his grandfather entertains him with stories about Little Big Jim and his adventures. The book alternates between the events of their trip and Little Big Jim's story. There is an element of mystery surrounding his grandfather. Where has he been all these years? As the book developed, I wondered if his story was somehow linked to Little Big Jim's story. Unfortunately, I never found out, perhaps it will be revealed in future books; it seems the author is working on a second book.
I enjoyed reading about the concept of being "alone, together". It added a surprising depth to the book. The crew of Journey's End is made up of misfits. Men who are alone on their individual journeys. Yet, they depend on each other for survival. They work together aboard the ship and form unspoken bonds with each other. Another particularly fascinating example of this concept is the relationship between two jade miners that Little Big Jim encounters. The two miners have lived as neighbours for 25 years. They are sworn enemies, only coming together to fight against outlaws. Yet, each of them looks out for the other. They are friends in the strongest sense of the word, without realising it.
The supporting characters feature just enough to help with the development of the story. Some of them have background stories. I like that they are kept brief. As a result, the story unfolds at a steady pace. Despite having brief background stories, the emotions and attitudes of these characters are depicted well. This enhanced the feeling of each scene.
I noticed quite a few errors throughout the book. The author has a relaxed, informal writing style. Unfortunately, this resulted in a few sentences with poor grammar. It is such a pity because this is such an epic adventure story. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. Those who love a good adventure story will enjoy this book.
******
The Adventures of Little Big Jim
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Kelebogile Mbangi's review? Post a comment saying so!
at first I really thought it was a child books, but I appreciate the good information of the book. but it's not really my genre. More power author
