new lows.

[yamakasi]

anyone know any novels where a character deals with illness/cancer/death by using imagination to escape from reality? preferably young adult fiction and/or fantasy elements.

/asking LJ for help with homework

thanks!

Comments

[hawlla]

I am useless! Nyet.

[yamakasi]

not useless! i mean, i couldn't think of any off the top of my head either, which is why i made the post. :P

[glittersnipe]

i'm a bit fuzzy, but i think the never ending story has the kid retreating into fantasy from something scary, though i can't remember whether it fits your criteria exactly.

jacqueline wilson's children's novel lola rose has the kid fantasing about being famous because of her shitty home-life (the father's an alcoholic, as far as i remember, but i read it when i was about twelve so i can't remember). one of her other books, tracy beaker is sort of similar, where the kid is in an institutionalised home and makes up stories because of her life being sort of rubbish.

also, in gravity's rainbow one of the characters, tyrone slothrop, has a breakdown during wwii and creates a fictional persona called rocketman and basically lives in fantasyland for a bit of the novel.

there's a relatively obscure irish novel called a goat's song by dermot healy (which is worth picking up if you've any free time, it's a really great book) whose primary character is narrating the novel as an imaginative exercise to deal with his alcoholism. at one point

[yamakasi]

thanks for all of these, i'll check them out :D the young adult/fantasy stuff was a maybe, i can make it work without it.

[yamakasi]

i ended up using the neverending story (in part!). so thanks~

[glittersnipe]

no problem!

[glittersnipe]

p.s. hahaha i feel slightly better about using freetranslation.com for my french essay now, because you're ahead of me and still Asking The Internet

[yamakasi]

♥

seriously, there's only so much googling "young adult fiction cancer imagination escapism" can do. i.e. nothing, so LJ is my next bet.

[chailin]

Erm, oh boy. There was that one with the 1000 paper cranes...I think. And Bridge to Terebithia...I think. Childhood books, I know. I'm totally going by memory here. Pretty sure Pan's Labyrinth doesn't count in any way. And a Little Princess was about loss and such.

I'm sorry my memory sucks. :( I'm sure this is a ridiculously common theme in literature.

[yamakasi]

i have Bridge to Terabithia on my list! haha. but i will check out those other ones; i've read them awhile ago and can't remember if they'll fit for this project now but it's good to be reminded of them.

you'd think it'd be super easy to find a list somewhere, right? apparently not haha OTL

[yamakasi]

i ended up using a little princess (quite a lot!!). so thankyou :3

[chailin]

I'm happy to have helped! I just wish I could rhyme off the others, they just all blend together. :(

[nickel_curry]

I have a book about that, but it's more non-fiction. I can dig it up if it would help. :D And if I can think of any fiction ones, I'll let you know o 3o

[yamakasi]

at this point i will go for non-fiction too. i'll see if i can make it work for the assignment. :P what's the name?