“What music do you hear when you sleep?”: Musings on The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

There were numerous things that I found unfamiliar and quite disturbing while reading The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing.  One of the first things I do before reading a book is to look at the Table of Contents.  I was surprised to discover that the Table of Contents was divided by sections.  It was difficult to get past the fact that there were no chapters in this book.  Also, Mr. Gitney’s, or 03-01’s, numerical system of naming took some time to become familiar with reading.  There were strange experiments that took place in the Novanglian College of Lucidity including Octavian as one of the major experiments.  The diction and vocabulary used in this book is quite advanced for a middle school reader.  There were several words that I had to pause for reference while reading.  For these reasons, this book proved difficult and tedious for me, and at the same time it was an emotional journey. 

           

I found myself saddened that Octavian had to fight for his own mother’s attention.  “Increasingly, I was in awe of her majesty, and did not know what I might say to please her…I reached my seventh, and then my eighth, year, I became aware of how dull my wit was when confronted with her beauty…I vied for her attention only as one man of many” (p. 35).  Cassiopeia being 13 years of age was but a child herself when Octavian was born.  There was one instance when she “laid her head down upon my lap, burying her face in my chest…I felt that I was become her mother, and she my son” (p. 36).  This shows the inner child and insecurity Cassiopeia felt.  She was ripped away from her kingdom and everything she knew at such a young age.  It was with sorrow that I read about the life of Octavian and Cassiopeia.

When I arrived at page 222 and found the words blotted and scratched out, I pondered it with mixed emotions.  I longed to know what Octavian was thinking during his mother’s death, but I was also relieved that we were not exposed to his heartache and mourning.      

           

I found that I did not truly enjoy reading the book until after Octavian’s escape.  Observing Octavian through the letter writing of Evidence Goring was intriguing.  I found it refreshing to see Octavian through a third party lens.  There were no more experiments, detachment, or silent observations.  Despite his deep depression and heartache, Octavian was more real in the moments he was in the militia.  “I went to him & put my Hand on his Shoulder. Said he to me, ‘God forgive me.  Her name – I never knew her Name’” (p. 260-261).  It was in that moment that Octavian realized he had never known his mother’s real name. 

During the interview after Octavian was captured and returned to Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Gitney, I desperately wanted Mr. Gitney to stand up to Mr. Sharpe and rescue Octavian.  It was he who had loved his mother, Cassiopeia.  I was not surprised that Dr. Trefusis was the one to rescue Octavian from Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Gitney.  I felt all along that Dr. Trefusis was the one who admired Octavian the most.  I would even venture to say that he felt a fatherly love for Octavian. 

The quote that lingered with me throughout the reading was “what music do you hear when you sleep?” (p. 155).  When the world disappears and we are all alone within ourselves and our dreams, what is the music that drives us forward?  What is the longing of our hearts and our innermost desires?  Are they the same as Octavian’s?  “…that we should have final proof that the human was made in love for the operations of magnanimity and fairness, reason and excellence, and that we all, unfettered by passions, could work together for the perfection of man” (p. 73).

Even though I grew to appreciate the book the more that I read, I would be hesitant to use this book in a middle school classroom.  When I looked up the reading level of the book online, it was for a ninth grade level.  Perhaps using this book in a high school American Literature or American History class would be more beneficial to the students.  I could definitely envision doing read alouds from the text for middle schoolers.  There are many issues (race, slavery, class divisions, war, family, friendships…) the book addresses that would beneficial for middle school students to discuss.                  

Anderston, M.T. (2006). The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the nation.     

          Cambridge, MA: G.P. Candlewick Press.