Benny and Omar

Benny Shaw #1

by Eoin Colfer

Two very different cultures collide in this hilarious book about a young sports fanatic named Benny who is forced to leave his home in Ireland and move with his family to Tunisia. He wonders how he will survive in such an unfamiliar place. Then he teams up with wild and resourceful Omar, and a madcap friendship between the two boys leads to trouble, escapades, a unique way of communicating, and ultimately, a heartbreaking challenge.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Friendship, Middle Grade, Childrens, Humor, Contemporary

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father and mother, who were both educators.

He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the Artemis Fowl novels, Eoin retired from teaching and now writes full time. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book MUST be listened to, not just read. The reader has the best Irish brogue and the story is just hilarious. I had moments of helpless laughter while driving to work. It doesn't get any better than that.

Benny's family is moved to Tunisia when his father's company downsizes and their adjustment is not at all smooth. Benny is always looking to cause trouble and when he meets Omar they fall right into step. Benny makes the transition from self-absorbed youngster to someone who is willing to sacrifice for friends and family right before our eyes.

[Lexie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this book for school in Year 8. I didn't really like it, I just found it boring and uneventful, and the writing style was plain. It wasn't terrible, but yeah I didn't enjoy it.

[Seán Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I named my two goldfish Benny and Omar after this book. So sad, so beautiful, GOAT book.

[PC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so great in my opinion,and if you want to learn about ways of writing literature that are fairly formal and standard,do not even bother of reading the title.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benny is uprooted from everything he loves and values when it's either no job or a promotion for his dad--in Tunisia. The family settles into a "village"--a settlement funded and maintained by Eurogas, his dad's employer. There are many luxuries, including a swimming pool--but just on the other side of the wall Benny discovers a street kid, Omar, whose survival mode lifestyle makes Benny rethink everything he has. But it doesn't really hit home until the day Omar takes him to see his sister, who is restrained to a bed and drugged out of her mind at the local psychiatric institution. Benny learns what happened to Omar and his family--and realizes that if Omar needs his help, Benny needs to give it--but the consequences are not easy. This is a powerfully written story, often times very funny, but with a serious undertone--readers will be moved and enchanted. Sometimes hard to get through the Irish slang but this is a minor detail. Junior high and up.

[Rick Hocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this book on audio, which is recommended because of the accents that the narrator skillfully employed. I enjoyed the writing and the humor, although reviews of this book are very mixed. I found this story of a self-centered, teenage Irish boy learning to adjust to life in Tunisia an engaging and entertaining one.

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was a little rough to read with the Irish and Arabic slang topped of with "TV speak" I wonder how kids would relate to it today. I read it over ten years ago and it was sweet and memorable.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in Colfer's wry style, this one leaves lots unsaid about privilege but it walks right up to it and shows it to you. Leaves lots of open room for discussion. It is also funny and sad.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Africa is going to crack open your skull like an old dog with a legless crab. He understood that now. It was like people here didn’t have childhoods. They hadn’t the luxury of playing, or making mistakes, or sulking. You just had a hard life and that was about the size of it. And here he was, smack bang in the middle of all this living…He was in the land of camels.”

Jesus told his disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God…With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:24-26 is my prayer for Tunisia, the land of camels, and like Eoin Colfer’s Benny and Omar, I won’t be in it alone.

“We’re all going on a journey together. And I mean that in more ways than one. I want you to see this trip as more than just a drive down some dusty road. See it as a journey into yourself…Whenever you spend time with a group of people, you have the opportunity to become truly one with the group. Drop that mask you’re wearin’. Let’s see what the real you looks like…This ain’t just a road trip, compadres. This is a mission. And I’m givin’ it a name: Operation Clean Slate!”

“For a split second, he grasped how simple it would be for him to fit in. All he had to do was to accept everyone here at face value. No more smart aleckry, just be nice for a change. His brain was about to unfold this revelation, when he noticed a mosquito straddling his shinbone.” And isn’t that the truth?! Distractions like mosquitos, sunburn like sin.

“The sneaky thing about sunburn is that it doesn’t come up until later on. You think you’re grand. You think you’ve already got enough of a base tan to protect you. But then as soon as you try to go to sleep, the agony begins…There is always great rejoicing in the world of men when a smart aleck gets his comeuppance…Take your revenge and choke on it.” As a teacher, one of my favorite quotes is “Can’t and won’t…They’re just can and will plus negative attitude.” Instead, I prefer, “‘Al-hamdu li’llah’…Another baby step on her voyage back to the land of the living.” Eoin Colfer’s Benny and Omar is a metamorphosis!

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

eponymous sentence:
p87: Benny and Omar's level of sneakiness were virtually nil.

punctuation:
p11: Too late the keeper, who was already eating a victory burger in his head, realized the danger.

le mot juste:
p40: He grabbed the handle of Georgie's backpack, thinking that perhaps a little rabbit-punch to the kidneys would be suitable retribution, but the girl from the pool was watching him.

p91: There were a few chunks of cracked cement along the frame where the wall wasn't quite flush.

p189: Benny peeled himself out of the sagging cement and rooted around in his jacket.

ocr:
p112: Between haring around on the back of a mobylette and lepping off the top of a perimeter wall, they used up enough lives for a whole sackful of cats.

I stopped trying so hard to figure out the dialogue before I even got halfway.

[Hannah of the Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like it as much as I expected to. It's funny and it's a unique setting. But between the Irish jargon, the TV references I didn't understand, and the oddly-transcribed Tunisian colloquial Arabic, the dialogue between Benny and Omar was REALLY hard to follow. I was also hoping for more character growth on Benny's part and not just a series of stupid decisions. But mostly I was hoping to learn more about Tunisia - and despite a few adventures off-compound that are probably supposed to be eye-opening, the perspective of this book stays solidly rooted in the expat bubble. All that said, as far as adventure and travel stories go, this book is probably a pretty good choice. And it's definitely original. So, if you're looking for a middle school age book set in a not-often-explored part of Africa, you might love this. 2.5 stars

[Benedict Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Eoin's writing. And it's interesting that this both his first publish book, and also the first book of his which I didn't feel compelled to read the next chapter.
Eoin spends long on character development than with his other books, and less time on plot. The plot only really got cracking in the final third, and even then the story ends with some pretty big questions around what exactly happened.
Still a worthwhile read, and very interesting in terms of seeing Eoin's development as a writer.

[Suzanne Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some things, didn’t love others. The narrator for the audio was fantastic. The TV dialog between Benny and Omar was very funny. Benny kept making really stupid choices. I’m glad that he finally came to appreciate his brother and think of someone besides himself. It’d be fine if my teenagers read it. It does show insight into a completely different way of life - an orphan in Tunisia. Finished 8/17/19

[Michele Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tunisia. Cute story of two boys from vastly different backgrounds who become friends, take chances and rescue a young girl in need. Not a lot of back story about the country in general, but details about the way foreign interest comes into the country to use resources and then leaves the country as poor as ever.

[Humera · Rating 1 out of 5]

An odd disjointed book with no real story or purpose. I guess I didn't realize people are recommending it for ages 10 and above.
Also most reviewers are saying to LISTEN to the book rather than reading it.

[Shannon Brehony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a beautiful tale of two kids who couldn’t be from more different worlds if they tried. Somehow amidst it all they form an unbreakable bond. An easy read with lots of twists and mischief! I really enjoyed it!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story but too much cussing for a kids' book.

[Deedee]

IL: MG - BL: 4.0 - AR Pts: 8.0

[Natasha Dunbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite childhood books

[Jamie Leeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book. I loved the friendship between Benny and Omar!! Two different kids who bonded together.

[Andy Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant read and so well written.

[Jan Norton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is written for young teen boys. It was an OK read.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to the kids. A good story with strong characters, although I think some of the cultural perspectives are outdated. We really enjoyed the ending of the book.

[SoccerReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7

[Paddy Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting story. Very interesting!

[Stuart Levy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun "buddy story" about a boy from Ireland who moves to Tunisia and the friendship that he forms.

[Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

To me, I dont really like this book because it is a slow reading book. It describes a lot about points. If you like to have good descriptions of what youre reading, this book is for you. This book is more of an adventurous then I had thought. I would most likely not read a book by Artemis Fowl again.

[Swankivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nifty little book about a sort of selfish, sheltered kid having to leave his happy life as a hurling player in Ireland to move with his family to Tunisia because of his dad's job. I really liked that it showed how his family (and the other people from white-majority/industrialized nations) was having a very different experience of Africa than do the native Tunisians, and the way Benny acted out and talked back to teachers and other students to establish himself as NOT a victim was pretty intriguing. I also did like his relationship with Omar. What I didn't like (or really believe) was the way the two communicated. Sometimes I couldn't actually even follow it, and other times I just thought it was improbable that Omar would be able to communicate in catch phrases from television if they were literally the only English he knew. (If he didn't know those words outside of the catch phrases, I don't know why he knew when to use them. I could buy a few of them, like singing a Pepsi jingle to explain that you want a soda, but other than that it seemed really unlikely.) I thought it was interesting how the story could also get you sort of invested in what was going on with hurling even if you had no personal knowledge or interest in the sport. I was kinda expecting hurling to become more central to the plot as it went on, and it became less and less important.

I didn't like some of the condescending, emasculating names Benny called his brother and the comparison of his supposed femininity with weakness, and I didn't like that there was some really weird mentally-ill-fat-character stuff that was kind of embarrassing to read (they basically made this one intellectually disabled kid an overenthusiastic fat joke, requiring the other characters to stop him from causing the protagonist bodily harm by bribing him with candy). There were just some weird choices made by the way the story was told, not the way the characters showed their values. I thought some of the character growth for Benny was well handled, and I did enjoy reading it most of the time, but kinda just like hurling, it wasn't the kind of thing that really gets me going.

[Julie Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benny was a happy Irish kid obsessed with the sport of hurling, with some wisecracking and tormenting his younger brother on the side . . . until his father's job situation plopped him in Africa and forced him to change everything from his everyday activities to what he takes for granted. Newly transplanted to Tunisia, Benny flounders for his bearings until he develops a rivalry and then a friendship with a Tunisian kid named Omar. Even though they don't speak the same language, they find common ground. Benny soon faces circumstances that have him learning what brotherhood means . . . in more ways than one.

I didn't really buy the premise of a Tunisian kid speaking in television phrases as the only English he knows, because he'd have to know context for them too and it seemed improbable that he'd be able to make himself understood outside the odd advertising jingle. I also thought the perspective choices were weird; it was written in third person primarily tied to Benny's point of view, but occasionally it entered other characters' heads briefly for convenience's sake, and sometimes the narration even cut away to talk to the reader. I found it distracting, and was also sort of irritated by some of the portrayal of mentally ill folks (not the way they were treated by characters in the story, but by the way the narration spoke of them). However, I did enjoy Benny's character because the way he learned his lessons was not contrived or caused by one singular event, and he was still sort of a little jerk throughout--he didn't have a ridiculous moment of redemption that rendered him unrecognizable from his previous self. Some of the stuff he valued and tried was kind of adorable, and I did like that he questioned his privilege (and that the book showed the well-meaning white people camping out in Africa as some self-congratulatory hippies, which is true to life in many ways), but overall even though the book held my attention I didn't find it enthralling.

[Dione Basseri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's....pretty dang obvious that this is one of Colfer's first works. Not BAD, but just barely adequate for publishing. Honestly, I'm surprised this one got an audiobook recording at all. It's just...very mediocre.

While there's something to be said about Colfer's look at a country I've never seen referenced in literature (except...Colfer's own, in the second Artemis Fowl book....), there are a few points where things feel a bit wrong. I was shocked when the mother of the family referred to Tunisa as "some uncivilized pit, with diseased water and mosquitoes and foreigners," going on to claim that "the only culture they have belonged to the Romans." This is very early in the book, but we never really get a refutation of these pretty prejudice words. In fact, adoption of European culture is a pretty big plot point, with Omar only able to communicate with Benny using television quotes. (And how...would he understand what those quotes meant? No clue.)

Still, Benny is shown as a very open-minded character, doing his best to balance demands from his family and the struggles of Omar. And, when the big test comes, Benny opts to ruin his own chances at an easy life at home so that Omar might have a far, far better improvement in his own life.

Colfer's writing returns repeatedly to Tunisia, where he did missionary work in his younger days, and he is likely to write about it again. Hopefully with a bit more interesting plots and a fewer prejudice statements from prominent characters.