3 of 5 stars
Contains spoilers, click Show/Hide to view
My son read this book first, and he did an excellent job at capturing my interest without giving spoilers. I know kids aren't incredibly fond of vitamins, but until I read the story, I couldn't understand why he was so appalled by the idea of dietary supplements.
The nuclear symbol on the spine and the book title, Compound, give a basic idea of the story content. I am currently playing the PC version of Fallout 3 Game Of The Year Edition. Players begin this game as a baby living inside a 'vault'. I strongly recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed this story or the 'concept' of this story. My virtual vault life made me eager to read Compound. Yet, this story wasn't quite what I expected.
Having seen Blast From The Past, which fans of Compound may enjoy, I was suspicious of the families' need to live in a fallout shelter. I was frustrated by how flippant the father was about Eddy being left behind. The children were forced to accept his choices and actions at their young age, but their mother seemed too passive. Important details were also missing. There was no mention of radiation suits or visible counters to read radiation levels in the atmosphere.
The story skips from day one in the vault to six years later. Yikes, what an incredibly long time to be isolated with your family! There was practically an endless supply of books and music. After awhile the books might seem irrelevant, if life as you knew it no longer existed. Fantasy and apocalyptic stories would keep their appeal. I could stay amused with my video game library for quite some time, but not fifteen years.
So when Eli first enters the compound he guiltily thinks of what a great fort all the cushions would make... Yet its six years before he fully explores the compound ? Okee...
The emotions Eli had about not owning up to his sibling were profound. These revelations almost made me relieved I have no siblings... :) The thought of having to eat my siblings made me doubly glad I have no siblings. Ugh. I immediately thought Motel Hell and people jerky. Were there even any condiments left ? Even if the father was insane, this whole concept eluded me. How long were the supplements fed breast milk ? Was five year old Lucas still booby feeding or was he being fed from the food supply? I can't imagine there being enough meat on a person to justify raising them as human cattle. I couldn't see how the mom went for this. She insisted she wouldn't have allowed them to be sauteed, but how could she risk procreating with someone who entertained such ideas ? She mentioned she believed it might be left up to them to repopulate. I guess she fell for the whole Grease "Lets Do It For Our Country" proposition... She leaves this man alone with these lil 'dumplings' to give her other children music lessons ?
I also wondered if there was a supply of dog food they could have eaten. Did the father ever anticipate Cocoa going with them? Was there an inventory of Alpo hidden away somewhere ?
The story ended too abruptly. The father's motivation and mental status left too many loose ends. When Eli (conveniently) hooked up with Eddy and Gram, his first successful attempt at maintaining an online connection, Gram typed “tabloids right about dad-major nutcase.” “Report from secret source dad's biological mom crazy.” Eli's mother later argued this was just a rumor... that he wasn't 'completely' certifiable. The father offers up several motivations, but there should have been a chapter where Eli enters his father's 'real world' office searching for answers. After his experience one might expect him to finally question his surroundings.
I also had a hard time seeing how someone as lucrative as Mr. Yanakakis, could be so unbalanced... But there is quite a history of eccentric, wealthy people , such a Phil Spector, or those listed here...http://listverse.com/2009/03/15/10-incredibly-eccentric-people/ As someone on the internet so aptly pointed out wealthy people are called 'eccentric' and regular people are called 'crazy'.
In the end the family allows Phil to continue running the company ? They must all be nutcases. Does anyone consider charging him with conspiracy to commit fraud and kidnapping ?
I liked how dad could still be around watching them, a threat looming in the shadows, leaving trails of Tums in his midst...
The nuclear symbol on the spine and the book title, Compound, give a basic idea of the story content. I am currently playing the PC version of Fallout 3 Game Of The Year Edition. Players begin this game as a baby living inside a 'vault'. I strongly recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed this story or the 'concept' of this story. My virtual vault life made me eager to read Compound. Yet, this story wasn't quite what I expected.
Having seen Blast From The Past, which fans of Compound may enjoy, I was suspicious of the families' need to live in a fallout shelter. I was frustrated by how flippant the father was about Eddy being left behind. The children were forced to accept his choices and actions at their young age, but their mother seemed too passive. Important details were also missing. There was no mention of radiation suits or visible counters to read radiation levels in the atmosphere.
The story skips from day one in the vault to six years later. Yikes, what an incredibly long time to be isolated with your family! There was practically an endless supply of books and music. After awhile the books might seem irrelevant, if life as you knew it no longer existed. Fantasy and apocalyptic stories would keep their appeal. I could stay amused with my video game library for quite some time, but not fifteen years.
So when Eli first enters the compound he guiltily thinks of what a great fort all the cushions would make... Yet its six years before he fully explores the compound ? Okee...
The emotions Eli had about not owning up to his sibling were profound. These revelations almost made me relieved I have no siblings... :) The thought of having to eat my siblings made me doubly glad I have no siblings. Ugh. I immediately thought Motel Hell and people jerky. Were there even any condiments left ? Even if the father was insane, this whole concept eluded me. How long were the supplements fed breast milk ? Was five year old Lucas still booby feeding or was he being fed from the food supply? I can't imagine there being enough meat on a person to justify raising them as human cattle. I couldn't see how the mom went for this. She insisted she wouldn't have allowed them to be sauteed, but how could she risk procreating with someone who entertained such ideas ? She mentioned she believed it might be left up to them to repopulate. I guess she fell for the whole Grease "Lets Do It For Our Country" proposition... She leaves this man alone with these lil 'dumplings' to give her other children music lessons ?
I also wondered if there was a supply of dog food they could have eaten. Did the father ever anticipate Cocoa going with them? Was there an inventory of Alpo hidden away somewhere ?
The story ended too abruptly. The father's motivation and mental status left too many loose ends. When Eli (conveniently) hooked up with Eddy and Gram, his first successful attempt at maintaining an online connection, Gram typed “tabloids right about dad-major nutcase.” “Report from secret source dad's biological mom crazy.” Eli's mother later argued this was just a rumor... that he wasn't 'completely' certifiable. The father offers up several motivations, but there should have been a chapter where Eli enters his father's 'real world' office searching for answers. After his experience one might expect him to finally question his surroundings.
I also had a hard time seeing how someone as lucrative as Mr. Yanakakis, could be so unbalanced... But there is quite a history of eccentric, wealthy people , such a Phil Spector, or those listed here...http://listverse.com/2009/03/15/10-incredibly-eccentric-people/ As someone on the internet so aptly pointed out wealthy people are called 'eccentric' and regular people are called 'crazy'.
In the end the family allows Phil to continue running the company ? They must all be nutcases. Does anyone consider charging him with conspiracy to commit fraud and kidnapping ?
I liked how dad could still be around watching them, a threat looming in the shadows, leaving trails of Tums in his midst...
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