The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor of the Nation

Characters: 

• Octavian- A boy of African descent. Brought up in luxury but still considered a slave
• Cassiopeia- Octavian's mother and an African princess
• Mr. Gitney- Head of Novanglian College of Lucidity and owner of Octavian and Cassiopeia
•  Bono- A slave in the Gitney house. Bono and Octavian are good friends. When Bono gets sold to a Southern owner he leaves Octavian with a need to escape.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, written by M.T. Anderson, is based in the 18^th century during the American Revolutionary War. It is told by a young boy named Octavian. Octavian and his mother, Cassiopeia an African princess, live with philosophers and artists in Boston. Mr. Gitney, the owner of the house, has taught Octavian how to read, write, etc. Octavian is a slave, and the subject of a science experiment. The philosophers living in the house want to determine the intellectuality of an African American compared to a Caucasian.  

Octavian is a boy of African descent. He is brought up in luxury, but he is still considered a slave and apart of the scientists’ experiments. He is very skilled at the Violin. He is fluent in Greek, Latin, and French. His mom is, Cassiopeia an African princess. When she was 13 she got pregnant and was sold into slavery.

Freedom is a big theme in this book. At first Octavian doesn’t realize that he is a slave. It takes him a while to figure that out and what it means to be a slave. The colonies were fighting for their freedom against the British. Race is another big theme in this book. In the Novanglian College of Lucidity there is a door Octavian is forbidden to open. When he does open it, he finds a chart classifying the different races and he learns that he is an experiment. The scientists wants to see if the African race is “innate” and can be corrected through the right education. The scientists are willing to treat Octavian as an object rather than a human.

Quotes:
"You must learn fear. I do this for your own sake. Fear is like happiness, but the smile is wider" (Anderson 24). 24-06 said this to Octavian on their carriage ride.
Mr. Gitney asked  Octavian to meet him in the forbidden chamber, and questioned him, "Have any voices presented themselves to you-speaking in remote quarters" (Anderson 196). 
Mr. Gitney got mad at him for having an egg, "And then they imprisoned me in darkness; and though there was no color there, I was still black, and they still were; and for that, they bound and gagged me" (Anderson 314). 

Matthew Tobin Anderson is the author of this book. He is an American writer known for a variety of books; ranging from children’s books to young adult novels.  The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation is the winner of the 2006 National Book Award and the Honor book of the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award. He tried to make the language in the book as accurate as he could to 18^th century time period.  Majority of the books he has written are not history related. Based off what he has written you would not expect him to write a novel pertaining to history.

This book is written very well. Some parts are hard to understand. This book could have been passed as written in the 1700s-1800s because of its language. The main character, Octavian grew as a person throughout this book in a very complex way. After the death of his mother he ran from the College and he faces his chance of independence some time before America declares its independence from England.

Octavian Nothing is recommended by the critics. It is rated 3.5/5 on Goodreads. It is definitely recommended if you enjoy philosophical books that are set in the 1700s-1800s.