The Vandal

by Ann Schlee

Living in a world where the government controls its citizens' memories, Paul is made to forget his destruction of a sports center as well as the reasons for his crime

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopia, Fiction

188 pages, Hardcover

First published November 10, 1979

About the author

Ann Schlee was born in Connecticut in 1934 and spent parts of her childhood and adolescence in Egypt, Sudan, Khartoum, and Eritrea. She went to boarding school in England and read English at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1957 she married artist Nick Schlee, brought up their four children, and wrote five children’s novels, including The Vandal, which won the 1980 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Rhine Journey, the first of her novels for adults, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1981. Subsequently she combined her writing with teaching, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1997.

Reviews

[Kate Sherrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extraordinary book, part Tripods Trilogy, part Dark City, part Random Acts of Senseless Violence - - the best parts of all three. The aliens stealing our memories are just the upper class, our hero Paul is a male Lola if Lola were haunted by the ghostly memories of folk belief, and instead of Capping there's a nightly Drink and a limited sort of computer that remembers only what you need of what the Drink takes from you (but of course it doesn't let you decide what you need). Its ending is reminiscent of Richard Linklater's brilliant addendum to A Scanner Darkly, but much more hopeful. Anyone can win...

[Mike Gustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a frightening look at a future Britain where having memories of the past becomes a crime. This is especially true of collective memories that can provide connections to the seasons and the natural world. It might be handy to have a reference book concerning British folk customs around when you read The Vandal. I recommend Christina Hole's A Dictionary of British Folk Customs (Granada Publishing, 1984. Information about such things is also probably available online.

Why reference material? One example: In past times people were deathly afraid that Winter would be permanent. Once the sun's power declined, the days got shorter, and the plants and crops withered, it was important to fight the encroaching darkness. Lighting bonfires was one option; brightly lit Christmas trees are a more modern method.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a reissue by Catnip Publishing, it was originally published in 1979 and won the Guardian Prize for Children’s Fiction. I was told that you would have no idea it hadn’t been written recently, and I have to say that’s absolutely right. It feels fresh and current, it definitely doesn’t feel older than I am!

The book straddles the boundary between sci fi and dystopia nicely. It works so well because it’s not a big stretch of the imagination to see how this could be a potential future – the idea of this level government control is all too believable.

I loved the world building in this book, I found I could really imagine how it looked and functioned. I liked Paul a lot as a lead character, his spirit in particular had me hooked.

[Devan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good book it keeps you guessing. It has good parts and bad parts. Its about a boy named Damon and he is a person (Spoiler)"That wants a girlfriend and if it doesn't go his way he does something bad and vandalizes things".This book had you guessing from the beganing to the end of the book.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very compelling and at times disturbing read. This is a dystopian society set in the future. Imagine that you only have very basic memories. You are allowed to remember what the personal MEMORY machine allows you to and no more. At the end of each day all other memories will fade away, this is helped along by a drink you are given. You're told these things are done out of love and to protect you. You go to school or work and do what you're told. The people who do have other memories of times before or things they shouldn't remember are called ill. People who do what is considered a misdeed most go to a psychiatrist and do special welfare work to make up for it. And then the truly "ill" they go someplace else entirely because nothing list matters.

I enjoyed this book but I did feel that the end was a bit rushed and would have liked to have it explored further.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some really good ideas in it. It's essentially a question about memory and what would we choose to forget if we had the means to. It also had an interesting examination of what would happen if pyschiatrists ruled the world. However it felt too brief and short. It ended very abruptly and I would have liked to continue reading.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a cliche, but…

Yeah, this was a good book. Schlee is a good writer, but I do think she went the wrong way with this book - I think it could have been amazing, if she had written it as more philosophical, with perhaps a cliffhanger at the end, where he forgets stuff, and no harm would be done if she made it slightly longer

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

After years of trying to remember the name of this book I have finally found it. Unfortunately I remember very little about it, so I will have to hunt down a copy before I can give a proper review.