Review: The House of the Scorpion

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I never would've picked this book up on it's own, unless I was just looking for the longest book on the shelf, which does happen sometimes. Looking at the cover, you would never guess that it was a science fiction story- I guessed that it was probably historical fiction. But it was required reading for a class i'm in, so I figured I would give it a shot. Boy was I surprised.

First of all, if you're looking for a quick, fun read... put this book back on the shelf. It's an amazing story, and probably in the same league as Harry Potter when it comes to my favorite books. But even for the fastest readers, this book is going to take a while.

For one thing, it's dense. It deals with the psychological issues of cloning humans and animals, along with several other controversial issues. It definitely requires some thought to read. That being said, if you don't mind any of this stuff (like me), this book is not to be missed.

Matteo Alacran is certainly not an endearing character. He takes after the man he was cloned from, El Patron, in many ways. Without the guidance of his friend Maria, he would have turned out much differently- and taken after El Patron in many ways.

Nancy Farmer does an excellent job showing her vision of our future world. Unlike many dystopian stories, not every part of the world is corrupted, dark, and grim. But many are. Just like today, not everything is horrible, but not everything is wonderful, either. Perhaps that's part of the magic of this story.



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