"It would have to rain today," said Rush, lying flat on his back in front of the fire. "On a Saturday. Certainly. Naturally. Of course. What else would you expect? Good weather is for Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday; and rain's for Saturday and Sunday, and Christmas vacation and Easter.""Oh, Rush, do stop grousing," said Mona, turning a page peacefully. She wasn't even listening to what he said; all she heard was the grumble in his voice. (3)Thus starts The Saturdays, Enright's first book about the Melendy family, and I was won over immediately. Enright does dialogue well, and captures her characters' emotions well, too—excitement and boredom and annoyance and anger. The illustrations (also by Enright) are charming, and the setting (NYC in 1941) is exciting. The book's opening made me want to read the whole book aloud (though I didn't) and also just made me grin. I kept grinning as I learned more about the Melendy kids: Mona (who's thirteen), Rush (who's twelve), Randy (short for Miranda; she's ten and a half), and Oliver (who's six). They live in a brownstone in NYC with their dad and with Cuffy, who's their cook/housekeeper/nurse (their mother's dead, but that's not a central plot issue). On the rainy Saturday that starts the book, the kids decide to start pooling their allowances so they can take turns doing something exciting on future Saturdays: they call their plan the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club, and each one starts planning what he or she will do when it's his or her turn (though Oliver, of course, is deemed too young to actually go out and do anything by himself). As the book continues, we get to see what each kid chooses to do on his or her Saturday; Oliver even has quite an adventure of his own. (All the kids are sweet and funny, but Oliver's totally my favorite, whether he's drawing battleships that look like teapots or nonchalantly asking police officers for directions: one police officer asks if he's a little young to be out by himself, and Oliver just says "No, I don't think so," and keeps going.) But the book isn't just plot-driven excitement or getting to know the characters: there are also lots of really satisfying descriptive passages. Enright writes about how things look or smell or sound in a way that's concrete and delightful; passages like this reminded me of similarly satisfying bits in some of my favorite kids' books, particularly L.M. Boston's Green Knowe series: [The rain] plinked and splashed and ran in long curly streams down the skylight. The windows were speckled and running, and occasional drops even fell down the chimney and hissed into the fire. All the city sounds that could be heard above the rain were wet sounds; the long whish of passing automobiles, damp clopping of horses' hoofs, and the many voices, deep, or high, or husky, that came hooting and whistling out of the murky rivers at either side of the city. (4)
One of my childhood favourites, I revisited this book and found the story of the four Melendy children in 1940s New York still as engaging as an adult - I was also struck by how well-written, linguistically this children's book was, that made it stand head and shoulders above some others I have read.Of course, in the current climate of PC-correctness, one has to acknowledge that the White, upper-middle class background of the children gave their concerns about enjoying their Saturdays an insulated ring in the midst of WWII. To be fair, Enright alludes to the diminished circumstances through her adult characters, most notably Cuffy, their housekeeper and default maternal figure in the absence of the children's deceased mother. In the very first chapter, an innocuous comment by one of the children, Randy, who observes through the water stains on their attic playroom ceiling, the shape of Adolf Hitler, gave this glancing mention a hint of the children's awareness of harsher realities. The children's father, Mr Melendy is cast in the mould of most idealised American fathers of yesteryear - moderately successful, preoccupied with his work, but nonetheless indulgent of his children, in an absentminded way, and a sport most times, e.g. when the older boy Rush, rescues a stray dog that wrecks some havoc in the house, and yet he allows him to keep it. The novel focuses on the resourcefulness of the children in pooling together their limited allowance (fact is they are privileged enough to have it for leisure) so that each child can spend it in a way he or she enjoys it for one Saturday, and traces the adventures each of them has, which also culminates in lessons learnt. Read in the 21st century, this book is still a refreshingly sweet and promising start of the Melendy Quartet, the four-book series on the Melendy children.
What do You think about The Saturdays (2015)?
Adults who allow and encourage cruelty to children is not acceptable, neither is this book. Housekeeper Cuffy "fat in a nice, comfortable way" p 9, with harsh soap scrubs, makes baths and hair painful. Mona 13 spends her fair share of pooled Saturday allowances on professional haircut and manicure. I had the same too-heavy long blonde braid, private exhilaration, public approbation. Manicures heal and prevent infected fingernails. Called "silly .. vain" p 98 "fool .. concerned about yourself" selfish p 101, Mona rushes from part-finished supper in tears, has to apologize for "vanity" p 102 and scrape hands raw. The first half is sweet, depicts sturdy slim bodies in strong line drawings by the author. Miranda "Randy" 10 sees French painting show, is invited to petits fours by subject who coincidentally knew both their parents, learns treasures may lie hidden beneath assumptions and prejudices. (view spoiler)[ Mrs Oliphant "Elephant" at 11, kidnapped by gypsies from her sheltered Parisian home, welcomes them to her lighthouse for a whole summer of Saturdays. (hide spoiler)]
—An Odd1
This is the first thing I've read of the author's, but I'm definitely going to look for more. Loved the timelessness of it. A few items give away the period, but most of it is just a sweet tale of some smart kids.
—Shelby
Somehow I missed out on Elizabeth Enright while I was growing up, an oversight I intend to avoid for my children! "The Saturdays" is exactly what children's literature should be: innocent, erudite, interesting, and fun. I enjoyed reading about a New York City in which 10 year olds could be allowed out on their own without anyone calling the cops having the parents arrested for endangerment and neglect. And I loved the fact that what our kids wanted to do on their days off was visit an art museum, an opera, or - horror - get a fancy hair cut! I will be keeping my eyes open for used copies of this and the other books in the series: I think my kids will love them when they're 8 or 10 years old, and if they don't - well, I'll enjoy them anyway!
—Annette
