As the city of San Juan pulses to summer's sluggish beat, its teenage football prodigy El Brujito, the Little Magician, vanishes without trace. Paul Faustino, South America's top sports journalist, is reluctantly drawn into the mystery. As a story of corruption and murder unfolds, he is forced to confront a bitter history of slavery, and the power of the occult.
The Penalty
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"* "Physical, spiritual - Arthurian, even - this is true enchantment." TES Teacher on Keeper * "A blast of fresh air... so strong and vibrant, so passionate... A hugely original and enjoyable work of fiction." INIS on Keeper"
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The thrilling sequel to the award-winning Keeper.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first encountered Mal Peet's writing when I was given a copy of 'Keeper' some years ago. I was immediately struck by the author's vivid descriptions of the dreams and aspirations of a poor boy with a passion for football, set against a backdrop of deforestation in Latin America. This novel is very different in content but retains Keeper's direct prose and earthy descriptions of the ironies of life. Penalty has a dual-narrative which touches on slavery and exploitation, as well as Peet's recurring themes of dreams, reality and old magic. Written primarily for teenagers but with a style that is at times quite adult in it's directness, the story quickly establishes a pace and draws the reader in without gimmicks. It certainly left me wanting more - Tamar here I come!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By eeksqueak
Format:Paperback
A mesmerising, hypnotic story steeped in mystery, which uses football as an entry point into a many-layered story of lost origins and the power of belief. The disappearance of a young football star leads journalist Paul Faustino deep into the jungle wilds, retracing the steps of African slaves brought there centuries before. At the mercy of others, far from civilization, this skeptical and cynical man will be shaken to the core, forced to question what he really believes. Sensually evoking the steamy heat and bubbling tensions of its setting, Mal Peet has crafted a rich and sometimes disturbing look at the occult lore that still exists at the roots of Brazilian culture. Though the book starts in a fictional city, it has close parallels with the Brazilian city of Salvador, with its history of slavery and rich Africanised culture. 'The Penalty' may refer to the price of forgetting the origins of slavery and the influence of the spiritual world. This book is like being in a trance from which you can't quite wake up - I've never read anything else even remotely like it. Highly recommended.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mysticim,magic realism and soccer in South America
23 May 2008
By F. J. Harvey
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Mal Peet garnered a number of awards in the field of Young Adult Fiction with Keeper ,his debut novel .On the surface this would appear to be much the mixture as before-a key figure in the previous novel - South American sports journalist Paul Faustino -reappears ;the book features a soccer player in a pivotal role and there is a dose of religion and mysticism thrown into the mix as well.All pretty similar to Keeper but this time out the role of soccer is relatively muted and soccer mad boys who relished the vivid evocation of matches in the earlier book will perhaps be disappointed by the absence of any such passages in this book .The Penalty is a darker ,scarier book with more focus on religion and the troubled history of South America than on "then beautiful game"
Faustino becomes involved in the disappearance of a soccer prodigy -the gifted teenageer El Brujito (the little magician)who simply disappears after being substituted in a big game .Faustino's search takes him upriver ,to a remote and virtually inaccessible part of the jungle where he finds a world still largely in thrall to the Old Gods ,those of Africa and with their roots in slavery
Much of the book takes place in flashback with the narrative being provided by a captive African slave and he tells of transportation to Lation America ,the survival of the old ways and also features some quite violent scenes of murder and sexual violation .It is abook over which an air of violence and coruption ,both moral and legal, hangs and I am unsure of its susitability for juvenile audiences on these grounds
It is strongly written and powerful but too dark and distiurbing to be an auatomatic recommendation for soccer loving kids and adults who enjoyed the previous book .I would instead urge it upon those who like South American fiction as it gives an interesting British take on the themes commmon to Latin American novels
Faustino becomes involved in the disappearance of a soccer prodigy -the gifted teenageer El Brujito (the little magician)who simply disappears after being substituted in a big game .Faustino's search takes him upriver ,to a remote and virtually inaccessible part of the jungle where he finds a world still largely in thrall to the Old Gods ,those of Africa and with their roots in slavery
Much of the book takes place in flashback with the narrative being provided by a captive African slave and he tells of transportation to Lation America ,the survival of the old ways and also features some quite violent scenes of murder and sexual violation .It is abook over which an air of violence and coruption ,both moral and legal, hangs and I am unsure of its susitability for juvenile audiences on these grounds
It is strongly written and powerful but too dark and distiurbing to be an auatomatic recommendation for soccer loving kids and adults who enjoyed the previous book .I would instead urge it upon those who like South American fiction as it gives an interesting British take on the themes commmon to Latin American novels
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