Nothing

Teller, Janne.  Nothing. Trans. Martin Aitken. New York: Antheum Books for Young Readers, 2000. ISBN 9781416985792.

Plot Summary

                     It all starts with Pierre Anthon, who is suddenly gripped with the understanding that nothing amounts to anything, there is no true meaning in life and therefore no point in going on, so he makes the decision to  spend the remainder of his days sitting in a plum tree, hurling these bitter realizations down at his former classmates who pass him on their way to and from the schoolhouse.  The entirety of the seventh grade refuses to take this lying down and band together in an attempt to prove him wrong.  They decide the only way to prove Pierre Anthon wrong is to create a physical pile of what constitutes real meaning and force Pierre Anthon to look at it, accept it, and repent.   They act out this goal in a ruthless round robin, each one deciding what the next should give up, their demands increasingly fueled by the sting of what they themselves were forced to relinquish.  Rapidly the ante is upped to disturbing levels, touching on life, death, innocence, and self, and this group of teenagers searching for meaning begin to suffer and break down in ways they could not have anticipated.

Critical Analysis

                         The cadence and sparseness of this story, set in the wintry Danish countryside, is reminiscent of a fairy-tale or a nursery rhyme, not the Disney remakes but the true originals with broken, violent endings, unhappiness, hopelessness, and the ultimate harsh moral lesson.  Teller’s prose is eerily quiet, spaced according to emphasis so that haunting phrases such as, “She should not have done that,” stand alone on blank white pages.  The reader is drawn down into this bleak world by a narrator about whom we know next to nothing; in fact, universally the characters are defined not by who they were, but by who they become as they change in reaction to the loss of meaning, increasingly personal and sacred, and subsequently by the vengeful act of demanding such sacrifices from their classmates.   There is a strong universal point of view in this story that pulls the reader back for a bird’s eye view of the characters and their group mentality as they carry out these acts.  Towards the end, this universal point of view telescopes back to include the community, and then the world, before zeroing in again on the teenagers and the aftermath of what they have done; this is accomplished expertly.  Also of intrinsic importance to this novel is the element of contrast – the contrast of their intent and their result, their actions and reactions, their impassioned beginning and tragic end.  On the whole, this existential fairy-tale for young adults is unlike anything I have read before. 

Reader's Annotation

                                There is no line this group of teenagers will not cross, nothing that cannot be sacrificed, to prove there is meaning in the world.  In their quest to pin down why life is worth living, they relinquish everything that matters, one by one, until there is nothing left to lose but themselves.

About the Author

                         Janne Teller was born in Denmark to an Austrian-German family.  Her education background is in economics and she has worked for the United Nations with development and conflict resolution in places such as Mozambique, Tanzania, and Bangladesh.  As of 1995, writing is her full-time career.  She divides her time between Paris, New York, and Copenhagen.

                        Her books often encompass controversial themes such as ethics, politics, philosophy, and religion and, as such, raise debates in her home of Denmark and all over the world.  Her work is translated into many different languages and she has been honored with many grants and prizes such as the Cultural Ministry for best children/youth book of the year, and Le Prix Libbylit 2008. 

Genre

         Multicultural - teens around the world

Challenge Issues

                          Possible challenge issues in this book include questionable morals, violence, rape, religious desecration, and desecration of a grave.  In the event of a challenge, I would consult the challenge defense file prepared for this book.  The challenge defense file would include: positive reviews from credible sources for the purpose of proving merit to the challenger; negative reviews in order to inform me on what might be challenged; a written explanation of my own rationale for including the book in the collection as well as a summary of the plot; the American Library Association Bill of Rights; a review of my branch’s selection policy; and, as a last resort, an explanation of the reconsideration policy for my library and an official reconsideration form.

Curriculum Ties

                         English and Writing: form, point of view, tone, contrast, and story arc.

Booktalk

              What would you say if someone told you that life had no meaning?  How would you argue this, how would you prove that it was untrue?  In Nothing, a group of teenagers burden themselves with this awesome task and their journey to prove that life has meaning begins to unravel them from the inside out as they learn that they must prove this not only to the classmate who challenged them, but to themselves.

Reading Level and Interest Age

                                                   Grades 9-12, although due to the sophistication of the subject matter, it might be more meaningful to Grades 11-12.

Why I Included This Book

                                          I picked this book from a display based on the lovely cover and the simplicity of the title.  The premise was so intriguing that I read it first of the many I checked out.  I was enthralled by the bleak tone, the ruthlessness with which she carried out her story, and her absolute fearlessness as an author.  This book would be a stand-out in any collection.

References
Teller, Janne. (ND) English Biography. Retrieved from http://www.janneteller.dk/?English:Biography