A Cardboard Palace

A Cardboard Palace written by Allayne L. Webster, (MidnightSun Publishing)   PB RRP$17.99   ISBN 9781925227253

Reviewed by Stefan Nicholson

The romantic, bohemian city of Paris is the setting for Allayne Webster’s new novel. Many Paris tourist landmarks are described in great detail during the course of the story, which adds to the authenticity of the author’s research.

The story is centred around a migrant shanty town on the outskirts of the city that is threatened with demolition. The poverty and hopelessness of its residents is shown through the lives of the homeless children who are forced into criminal activity by greedy opportunists and desperate parents.

The first chapter immediately introduces one of these children, Jorge, and his English criminal minder Bill who takes on the modern equivalent of a cruel Fagan.

The story follows Jorge’s struggle with Bill’s manipulation of his army of child thieves.  There is a secondary story surrounding Jorge’s love for Ada who is being forced to marry at the age of 10, accepted by the camp culture. Some of his friends die due to sickness and accident. Jorge realises some relief from his hopelessness in the guise of Australian chef Sticky Ricky who mentors him and the empowerment of his fellow companions as they rise to fight for a better life. The battle then is between the survival of Jorge and the defeat of Bill.

The first chapter is written in past tense to rapidly show the mechanism of the petty theft used by the team on a typical day.

From the second chapter on, the story is written in the present tense through the eyes of Jorge, to create a film-like effect. This is an interesting approach because the present tense allows the story to flow with the immediacy of sequential events, adding to the characterisation of Jorge.  We are there with Jorge as events unfold which makes the climax more intense and satisfying. It does however include expanded descriptions to the story line and the general element of suspense is somewhat diminished because we only see what Jorge sees and not what is happening elsewhere.

This story will be enjoyed by the intended middle-school audience, no doubt with some lively class discussions on the social issues it raises and the way it was written.

A Cardboard Palace

A Cardboard Palace written by Allayne L Webster, (Midnight Sun Publishing) PB RRP $17.99 ISBN 978-1-92-522725-3

Reviewed by Elizabeth Vercoe

The back cover blurb claims this novel to be a humbling story about one boy’s desperation to escape a life of crippling poverty. And yes, the book is definitely this. But it is also so much more. A Cardboard Palace is a deeply engaging, thoughtful and ultimately life-affirming book that captures the reader from the very opening lines where action and characters are instantly present on the page. We meet eleven-year-old Jorge as he’s being clipped over the ear by his nasty boss Bill, while preparing to rob an old man with smiling eyes and a walking stick.

Jorge lives on the outskirts of Paris in a cardboard house, along with an army of child thieves. Stolen from their faraway homelands with the promise of making money for their struggling families, Jorge and the other children from this shanty town are under the control of Bill. Bill lives in an apartment with running water and a soft bed, while the children are forced to spend their waking hours stealing money and wallets from the millions of people who pour through the city centre.

The Paris of Jorge’s childhood is markedly different to the Eiffel Tower tea-towels and glossy travel brochures. The children’s Paris is harsh, dynamic and tinged with danger.

I love that we travel alongside Jorge; feeling the challenge and conflict of hunger, of criminal activity and of being unsafe. We laugh at his wonderful capacity for humour (especially sarcastic one-liners) and broader observations, and marvel at the dreams he manages to hold. We are drawn into this harsh yet remarkably human community where we’re not asked to feel sorry for Jorge, but rather to appreciate the world from his point of view. We see the obstacles in his way and hope that he’ll overcome them.

This is a captivating story that will transport both girls and boys into the action-packed and often seedy underbelly of Paris, a city that holds great sway in the collective imagination. This book is highly recommended.