Elise Broach’s Masterpiece is an enchanting novel for young readers, and a joy for readers of all ages. The two main characters, James, a boy, and Marvin, a beetle, are endearing and very real boys (even though one is a beetle) and the supporting crew of good guys and bad guys draw us into the fun plot of art forgery, theft, and pursuit of the bad guys. Marvin is our wonderful guide to the action and through his careful eyes and reasoned thoughts, we learn a lot about life, art, love, and friendship.
Without sounding the least bit preachy, Broach (through Marvin) challenges her readers to see life and ourselves in new ways through art (“art was a way to find beauty in the most ordinary aspects of life“), and through new experiences (Marvin realizes the importance of going outside of his comfort zone — the world of the beetles — to find “different parts of “ himself that otherwise might have “stayed hidden.“)
Between James and Marvin we see a true friendship grow, even though they cannot use words to communicate; we also see the interactions the boys have with their families and the differences between the love of family and the love found in friendship. Marvin understands that “the sense of being seen and loved exactly for who he is“ is special, and he is lucky to have a family that loves him that way. But he also learns that when a friend chooses you for such all-accepting love, it is magical: “the feeling of being chosen. Out of everybody in the world, Marvin realized, this boy had picked him as the one he liked best of all.”
Imaginary paintings by Durer are at the heart of the plot. The miniature pen and ink drawings represent the four virtues of Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, and Prudence. Marvin ponders, “If you had to choose one virtue, which would be the most important? Was it better to be wise or brave? Reasonable or fair?“ Good questions to think about and worth discussing with the children with whom you share this book. Marvin reasons, quite wisely, “the answer to that question might depend on your situation“ and when an unexpected and very serious situation comes up, Marvin realizes it is not always easy to choose. Friendship, love and duty all come into the equation, and in the end heart and mind must work together.
The only quibble I had with the book was the fact that James had only been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art once despite the fact that he lives close-by on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, his own father is an artist, and it is the Met we are talking about! The Met is an accessible and marvelous museum for kids, and full of fabulous art for everyone. Like this book, the Met offers inspiration that spans the generations, and offers moments of beauty and grace that will stay with the visitor (reader) for a long time. Masterpiece is a great book to read and share with young readers and thinkers.
