AuthorsBookshop.com: MY NAME is MICHAEL

By Sarah Moore "Sarah" (Nashville, TN) :

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Book That Will Stay With You Long After you Close the Pages, January 19, 2009
This review is from: My Name Is Michael (Paperback)
Sometimes I find it difficult to review a book when its message is so powerful and its potential to have a lasting impact on everyone who reads its pages is of great consequence. Will I do justice to what is being conveyed? How can I effectively capture the feelings I had when reading the book and the way its characters still enter my thoughts? These concerns sat with me as I reflected on the new release My Name is Michael by P.J. Thomas. This short book of fifty-six pages tells the fictional story of a child beggar in China, but the personal research done by the author in learning about this forgotten segment of Chinese society is horrifically real. I am confident that you will, as I did, become gripped by this book and read it in one sitting. Then, you will want to pass the novel onto your friends so that you can have others with which to share a discussion about this unforgettable story.

Michael is a young boy in modern China who earned his beloved school name from an American teacher who tells the kids about the beauty and liberty in the United States. Tragically, in short time, Michael would be kidnapped and come to know a life which held no semblance of comfort or freedom. He is taken to the home of Mama Chang, who plays host to enslaved child beggars. Michael is quickly taken to The Butcher for procedures that, as graphically described, are revolting and provide physical results that make him a more sympathetic character to passersby. Despite these unimaginable circumstances, Michael never loses his ability to love, befriend, or place the needs of others above his own. My Name is Michael is an amazing testimony to the innocence and truth in children that endures in the face of the harshest abuse and dimmest future.

P.J. Thomas reminds us in the prologue that his book is a work of fiction, but he also acknowledges the reality in which his story is based. I must admit that I had no idea about the sinister practice of stealing children, disfiguring them, and then placing them on the streets to earn spare change. Luckily, though, the story of Michael and other boys like him has found a powerful voice. Thomas spent two years in China learning about its people and, when he took notice of the many children with deformed bodies, he managed to find a few people who were not terrified to share what they knew. The resulting book is a beautifully crafted piece of art. Each chapter heading, such as "A Cry for Help" and "Return to the Butcher" prepares us for another moment in which we will catch our breaths or become enraged. The use of stark words and phrases throughout the text creates a powerful image of emptiness. There is no room for flowery language in the world that Michael knows.

In addition to the power of his words, Thomas lays out the book in a way that captures and maintains a reader's attention. Starting with the front cover sketch of a young boy who has lost both legs holding a bruised, abandoned baby, Thomas includes the occasional artwork to make his already stark images even more clear. By seeing the visual interpretation of The Butcher or Mama Chang's face, the reader must face the concept of these unspeakably horrible people actually being human. Each chapter is also formatted to be short and feel almost abrupt. We are let into snapshots of Michael's life and the reader gets whisked away after a few quick pages, effectively recreating the uncertainty and lack of peace in Michael's life. Whether or not that was the author's intention, this style choice definitely heightened the reading experience for me.

My Name is Michael is an important new novel that should be read by government officials, social activists and individuals who have concerns for children in any part of the world. As the character in the book known only as "The American" tells Michael when recording his life to that point, "When people read your story they will become outraged and speak out." This is not a book that will make you feel good or that simply should be another check mark on your desired reading list. However, it is an expertly-written piece of fiction that is rooted in truths that will be, and should be, difficult to forget. My hope is that My Name is Michael becomes one important way in which information about the atrocity of child beggars is shared and action can be taken.

Barbara Pineda :

HEY TOM,
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE THE BOOK AND IT MADE ME CRY A LOT. FOR ME EVERYTHING WAS REAL.
I NEVER READ A BOOK ALL AT ONCE AND THIS BOOK MADE ME SIT DOWN TO READ IT ALL AT ONCE
I'M GLAD YOU WROTE THIS BOOK CAUSE PEOPLE COULD KNOW THE WAY SOME KIDS ARE TREATED IN THEIR COUNTRY, NOT ONLY IN CHINA.

Heather / Outskirts Press:

From Heather
I will begin with my thoughts on your work. What an interesting story you have here. You have created very believable characters and use description nicely. Those two elements really help to enhance your writing. It is obvious that you have put much thought and effort into your work. There were times even that I wondered if your story were really fiction or perhaps based on non-fiction. Overall I think that your work demonstrates strong writing with a story line that flows nicely. Your book is written well.