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Who hasn't felt at some time that you didn't belong with your family? Maybe you were switched with another baby at the hospital where you were born. Fern Drudger really doesn't match her parents. Her parents live an unadventurous life and are thoroughly pleased with it. Fern is imaginative, loud, and does not fit into her parents' mold which causes everyone many problems. Fern's escape from her parents is through her reading, which is her only indulgence into her own self. Mary Curtain was the nurse present at Fern's delivery and really did accidentally switch Fern with another baby, Howard. However, this fanciful tale isn't simply the exchange of the children; it's discovering the past by finding your own special gifts now. The confusion for the family begins when Fern's parents invite Mr Drudger's boss for dinner. The real purpose of this is for the boss's son, Milton Beige, and Fern to meet each other and hopefully later marry to continue the family business. Both families have no desire for loudness or for anything that does not neatly fit into their routine lifestyles. During the dinner though, is when the doorbell rings and Fern's real father, Bone, tells the Drudgers of the mix-up and wants to exchanges Howard for Fern for the summer. The Beiges cannot tolerate interference with the meal and leave. Bone has been in jail and is the opposite of the Drudgers in almost every way. Fern's real mother died, but Fern is given her mother's diary, which allows her to get acquainted with her real family. Through her experiences with her father, hypnotism, and the book, The Art of Being Anybody, Fern discovers her gifts through her bizarre family. Also, Fern's mother had written a coded book that possibly could be decoded through Fern since no one else can break the code. THE ANYBODIES definitely has a unique approach. The author, N E Bode, even writes in sections where the reader should take a break, stretch, and get a drink of water. With fairies, live creatures falling out of books and nuns turning into lampposts, the reader is truly part of this delightful and imaginative experience.
Reviewed by Teri Davis, July 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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