The Underneath

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt (J APP)

This Newberry Honor and National Book Award Finalist book was hailed by many critics as “lyrical.” I read this book with high expectations, only to finish wondering how it had garnered such high praise. The story is woven together with seemingly unrelated plotlines that leave the reader wondering what is going on until the threads finally converge in one climatic moment.

One plotline involves a bloodhound named Ranger who is forever chained to his master’s porch and a calico cat and her kittens Sabine and Puck who all live under the cruel Gar Face’s decrepit house in the East Texas swamps. Gar Face abuses the animals and one day takes Puck and his mother to the swamp to feed them to the giant alligator he is obsessed with killing. Puck escapes and must find a way back to save Ranger and Sabine from Gar Face’s cruelty.

In another plotline, a character named Grandmother Moccasin is trapped in a pot buried near a tree as punishment for her crimes, which are detailed in an ancient Indian story plot thread.

The novel’s “lyrical” language is annoying, but perhaps it is best suited for reading aloud. The language and style of the book seemed designed in such a way as to be literary and artistic at the expense of spinning a good yarn.

Reviewed by Margaret Ballard