Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
Orion, 2009. ISBN 9781842551868.
(Age 12+) Recommended. A chilling,
historical thriller, Revolver gripped me from the first page
where
Sedgwick
introduces 15 year old Sig Andersson, sitting alone in a cabin looking
at his
dead father who has frozen out on the lake. When a huge bear of a man
comes
knocking at the door asking for his father, I had to continue reading
to the
end. What did the man want? Was using the old Colt revolver that was
hidden in
the pantry Sig's only way to ensure his safety? Would
help arrive in time?
Sedgwick has written a compulsive story. By writing interspersed
chapters, set
11 years earlier than 1910 when the action occurs, he fills out the
background
to the arrival of Gunther Wolff demanding the gold that he says Sig's
father,
Einar, owes him. With sparse language he brings to life the dangers of
the frozen
lake, the lack of medical care and the desolate isolation of the gold
mining
town of Nome. I became involved in the icy setting of the Arctic and
the trials
of the Andersson family as they tried to make a living. Tension is
built up
when Gunther Wolff sits and watches Einar in his job in the assay
office and
then declares he knows that he is stealing gold and demands half of the
proceeds. After the murder of his wife, Einar goes on the run.
Sig is terrified by the appearance of Gunther and has no idea where
the gold
might be hidden. Sedgwick intensifies the reader's apprehension about
the
outcome, by divulging the inner conflicts that Sig has about the use of
violence. His mother has brought him up to believe in the bible while
his
father has emphasised the power of wielding a gun. How Sig resolves
this
dilemma is clever and satisfying.
Reluctant readers, or people who enjoyed Hatchet by Gary
Paulsen,
will latch
onto this book. It is relatively short, with plenty of action, and Sig
faces a
truly terrifying situation. However it also one that will confront both
adults
and thoughtful readers with its underlying issues of pacifism and
survival.
Pat Pledger