Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
deadpan perspective and impeccable language, 11 Jul 2005
Hailed as 'one of the most charming voices since Holden Caulfield', Burton Rembrand is the eight year old hero of this unusual and occasionally bewildering narrative of love, loyalty and the injustice inherent in not being understood by the adult world.
Burton tries to express his feelings for another girl his age and is thrown into an institution for disturbed children for his troubles. His deadpan perspective and impeccable language -he is, after all, the spelling champion of his grade- carry the novel though the flashbacks gradually constructing the events which led to him being locked up. He is no madder than you or I, merely puzzled and frequently driven to tantrums by his situation and its restrictions; he makes sense of it all by writing his story on the walls of the 'quiet room', his sanctuary from patronising adults with only his best interests in mind.
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60 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heart Stopping, 28 Feb 2003
It was the quirky title that initially drew me to this book, and without a doubt, I was more than satisfied with the novel itself. When I Was Five is the tale of eight year old Burt, who is sent away to a childrens residential home by his parents, after trying to express his love for his friend, Jessica. Buten captures perfectly the mind of an eight year old. The prose is simple, and at times very funny. But there is no escaping the horror behind the humour, and often while I was laughing, my heart was aching for Burt, who is so misunderstood and bewildered. All he wanted to do was be a good friend, and he can't understand why he is being punished.Originally, this book was aimed at the young adult market, but I think it works perfectly as an adult book. It is one of the best books I have ever read, pure and simple. Read it, because if you don't you are missing out on an amazing talent and a heart stopping book.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful story about childhood innocence and silly adults, 19 Jul 2006
This book was initially published under the title Burt.
I do not know if there are any differences between the two publications. Burt was translated into French with the title "Quand j'avais cinq ans je m'ai tué", which translates approximately as "When I was Five I'm killed myself", with a grammatical error in the title, as a kid would talk. The grammatical error that was central to the title's success in France does not feature in this newly titled American edition.
The book was a huge success in France. Howard Buten became something of a celebrity there, publishing more books, with some success, though never the hit that this one book was.
This book is beautiful. I read it when I was 16, when it first came out in the French translation, got all my friends to read it and everybody loved it. I read it a few more times back then, some twenty years ago.
I always thought it a little sad that an American author would not find readership among his countrymen. But hopefully it could change with this new edition and the snappy title.
Howard Buten is a very decent human being who, among other things, is a clown artist. He performs in France regularly.
This is Howard Buten's best book, as far as I am aware (I have read three other of his books, also very good).
"Burt" aka "When I was Five I killed Myself" is a masterpiece.
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