Radiance Descending

by Paula Fox

Eleven-year-old Paul is forced to confront his rage at a family situation he cannot control--his six-year-old brother Jacob's struggle with Down Syndrome--and the effects it has on the entire family.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Family

112 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Paula Fox was an American author of novels for adults and children and two memoirs. Her novel The Slave Dancer (1973) received the Newbery Medal in 1974; and in 1978, she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. More recently, A Portrait of Ivan won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 2008.

A teenage marriage produced a daughter, Linda, in 1944. Given the tumultuous relationship with her own biological parents, she gave the child up for adoption. Linda Carroll, the daughter Fox gave up for adoption, is the mother of musician Courtney Love.

Fox then attended Columbia University, married the literary critic and translator Martin Greenberg, raised two sons, taught, and began to write.

Reviews

[A I · Rating 1 out of 5]

The rating is for the character, not the writing.

I’ve never hated an 11-year-old more than this kid. Don’t really feel like his folks necessarily handled things very well either. Idk. So many conflicting feelings about this one. Just…kinda ick.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Paul is so angry that his younger brother, Jacob, has Down's Syndrom [the book actually uses the preferred name, Down Syndrome] that he's embarassed to be near him. . . . Then, through a series of surprising events, Paul begins to wonder whether Jacob is indeed a person worth loving." That's on the back of the book, and a complete misrepresentation.

It's sad. Depressing. Annoying. Twelve-year-old Paul despises his 7-year-old brother, who has Down Syndrome. Paul is annoying and spiteful, and generally unlikeable. Grandpa - very likeable. Mom - OK. Daddy - likeable. Jacob - likeable. Paul -- annoying, bratty, unlikeable, mean, self-centered.

And he's a self-pitying brat right up until page 101, the very end of the book. We never see Paul "begin to wonder whether Jacob is indeed a person worth loving," like the blurb on the back says. It's a bummer. It seems like half a book to me; indeed, it is very short, shorter than a lot of short stories, but there's really no plot movement here, no growth in the characters, very few bright spots except one walk Paul unwillingly takes Jacob on.

Fox is a good writer, but in her determination to write a believable story, we end up thinking that it's quite likely that Paul will hate his brother forever, and die a hateful creep. It seems unlikely that that would happen in real life, but this story is relentless in its determination to show how pissed off this kid is at having a brother who is different and who takes all the parental attention away. That could be a great story, but it covers that ground quite well by half-way through and didn't need to torture its readers for the second half.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a little more closure and resolution at the end of this story. Paula Fox does an excellent job of portraying the range of feelings that a sibling of a developmentally challenged child might feel. But I would have liked to see more change and growth from the main character, Paul. Paula Fox takes a more realistic approach, letting the reader know that relationships don't change overnight. Maybe by giving a glimmer of possible change Fox is laying the foundation for a more permanent, mature change in Paul's character.

"People don't think about trouble until it slams into them. You'll be more ready for it. It always comes--in one form or another...We weren't ready for it," he said carefully, as though choosing his words. "Jacob has been a test for Mom and me. One day we fail. The next day we get a B."

[Duane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm usually a big fan of Paula Fox's work, but this book was a big let down. She writes a story about Paul, a older brother of Jacob,who has Down Syndrome. The story follows Paul as he does everything he can to erase Jacob from his everyday family life. Fox goes too far and makes Paul a character you truly don't like even if he has legitimate reasons to be who he is. The ending is completely flat and is one of the worst endings I've ever read in a book. She leaves the story in mid sentence and frankly I find that very rude and non professional. Not worth the time to read.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Jacob was born, Grandpa told Paul that his brother was different. Jacob had Down syndrome. But, Grandpa said that after awhile Paul wouldn’t notice the change. He said, “…the difference will slip into your life like a flat stone into water,” and he wouldn’t notice it. Paul disagreed. From the day Jacob came home, everything changed. Jacob became the center of attention, and Paul began to live his life outside of the family circle as much as he could. He spent most of his time at home alone in his room behind his closed door. Paul didn’t think about Jacob any more than he had to, and he ignored him as much as his parents would allow. Then, seven years later, Paul has to take Jacob to a doctor’s appointment. He follows his brother down the street and watches as he experiences their neighborhood. Jacob visits all of the shop owners along the way. For the first time, he really notices his brother and sees how others treat him. Then, on Jacob’s seventh birthday, things begin to change.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Kevin Lanahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars because it is a pretty accurate depiction of what goes through many a young person's mind when they have someone with a disability in the family.

It would be nice if older siblings were understanding of their special-needs siblings, but the loss of parental attention, the teasing from other kids, and the family upheaval that the older sibling sexperience makes them sensitive like Paul in this book.

That being said, the book was not particularly touching. Paul has a moment at the end, but there isn't really growth throughout the book, it just all happens at once at the end, and Paul's acceptance is not particularly definitive.

Who should read this? Probably parents who have this type of dynamic in their families.

[Moonshadow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a few issues with this 100 page little book. I was going To give it two stars, but the end saved it. The end made me cry and those tears really elevated the story for me. Give it a try it won’t take you long to read and Paula fox is a good writer.

[Shanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paul hates his little brother, who has special needs. For seven years. Why didn't his parents do something?

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Radiance Descending by Paula Fox is aimed towards a high school audience but Fox's writing is as en pointe as ever and this book is worth reading at any age.

Paul is three years old when his parents return from the hospital carrying his new baby brother, Jacob. Although he notices that the baby looks different, it is only as Jacob grows older that Paul begins to understand what it means to have Down's Syndrome. And from his point of view, it means that Jacob gets most of his parents time and energy and is an embarrassment to Paul and a burden he's not interested in shouldering.

The book describes Paul's on-going rejection of his brother and without judgment looks at what having a child with special needs does to a family. As the parent of such a child I can be very hard on books that attempt to describe this experience without having had it.

Not in this case.

Radiance Descending is a sensitive look at a loving family's struggle to raise two children to become their fullest selves. The writing is lovely and the relationships depicted are full and more complex than many such stories (though still somewhat simplified.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading one portrayal of such a family that does not pretend to represent the experience of all families or all children with special needs. Despite some over-simplification, the overall effect is both informative and touching.

[Elizabeth Boatman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a tough book. Older brother Paul spends the entire book denying the existence of his younger brother Jacob who has Down's syndrome. Paul's behavior seems extreme and the parents do very little to help him understand the situation. His only hope is his grandfather and the family moves away from the city where the grandfather lives.

One thing I did like about the book is the development of Paul. I thought the flashes of maturity that he experiences were nicely handled. They happen in a moment and then the "Pual-child" is back and thinking of boyish things. This occurs a couple times as the story progresses and gives the reader the chance to see that Paul is changing and his feelings toward his brother can change as well.

[Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Synopsis
Five years separate Paul from his younger brother, Jacob, who has Down syndrome. With meticulous tenderness, this story gentles Paul out of his rage at a family situation he can't control. Slowly, dramatically, Paul begins to let the light of Jacob's presence in the family stream into his brightening view of the world.

When he sees all the attention which his parents and people in the neighborhood give to Jacob, eleven-year-old Paul struggles with his feelings toward this younger brother who has Down syndrome.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a junior fiction novel so I guess I shouldn't have set my expectations too high. The book was really repetitive - 100 pages could have been reduced to about 30. Paul wants nothing to do with his younger brother, Jacob, who has Down's Syndrome. As The boys get older, Paul shuts Jacob out more & more. Their wise old grandpa steps in and helps Paul understand his brother's disability. That's it, that's the story. A better choice if you're looking for a junior novel about differently-abled siblings, try "Rules" by Cynthia Lord, or "A Small White Scar" by K.A. Nuzum.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pre-teen, Paul, has to learn how to live with his mentally challenged younger brother. For most of his life he has tried to learn not to think about Jacob, until he moves to a new town and finds himself helping to care for Jacob. With help from his grandfather, Paul realizes that people in the town don’t think of Jacob as a reflection on Paul. The ambiguous ending prevents the story’s moral from being too didactic.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. I usually like Paula Fox, but this one was kind of flat. It's about Paul who has a younger brother with Down Syndrome. Paul can't stand Jacob. Jacob has taken all of his parents' love and time and he's clumsy and strange looking and always saying dumb things. I kept expecting Paul to finally wake up, and he kind of did, but the book seemed to end too soon. It kind of left you hanging.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with rating this one. It was very well-written, but it's just so depressing. The boy is really mean to his brother; I think Fox took it a little too far, trying to get the reader to understand his frustration with his brother. Instead I just felt angry at the character, not sympathetic.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

a baby w/down syndrome is born, and his five year o. he's different, slow, gets all the attention older brother resolves NOT TO THINK ABOUT HIM. feel good ending, everything turns out okay. but not in this book. the last chapter gives a glimmer of hope. defn. not your "everything turns out okay" novel.
well worth reading.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I think Cynthia Lord's Rules handles a very similar topic (though that brother has Autism, not Down's) in a much more relatable way. I would recommend that book over this one to my students.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was heavy on the "why I can't stand having a brother with DS" and light on the "Wow, he's a person, too" at the end. I wish she'd carried it on a few more chapters to show Paul's changed attitude toward his brother and how that would have affected his own life, too.

[Maddison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow! This book totally SUCKED! Honestly how can a book get worse than this? The whole freakin story is about a stupid little kid who hates his DS brother! Awful. Hated this book but hey its like a hundred pages:outrageously easy A

[Frank Hoppe · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a very short piece, less than 100 pages. While the main character Paul, who resents his brother Jacob (who has Down Syndrome), grows older but seems to not develop much as a character, he eventually has a breakthough. Ultimately unsatisfying.

[Alfie Dagondon · Rating 5 out of 5]

how i can read it ??