The Rifle
by Gary Paulsen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gary PaulsenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-01
ISBN: 0152058397
Number of pages: 112
Publisher: Graphia
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780152058395
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Rifle
Book Review: A Masterful Writer Turned Cheap Propagandist
Summary: 1 Stars
This book was hande me by a good friend (with a smirk) who knew of my hobby of building rifles much like the central "character" of this little tome. Paulsen uses the skills acquired in authoring volumes of young adult fiction to preach the agenda - guns are bad, to be in the presence of one instantly will "taint"' you much like a piece of radioactive material, and no matter how beautiful and superbly crafted, association wih it can only lead to DEATH.... All who are associated with it die, most horribly. About half way through the slim little volume, one begins to catch on - Paulson is instructing the impressionable young audience with a piece of propaganda. He uses all the skilled writer's gifts: Making the owners die in very bad states; like the first owner, a frontiersman who joined the American Continental Army only to be "seduced" by the rifle's evil spell, and ends up a sniper; shooting "unsuspecting" British officers in what Paulson hints subtly in a cowardly manner....and who dies of dysentery (which Paulson describes as vividly as possible as wallowing in his own excrement..Using the EEEUUUU!! factor, eh Mr. P?) and the whole sucession of of successive owners, like the itinerant Gun Show Trader, who Paulson describes like a Junkie; addicted to beer, living in a motor home he uses to travel from one Gun Show arena to the next; living a life of a lonely outcast so he can hug his beloved GUNS. (And, of course, no women or significant others in the picture either. Mr. P hints broadly Gun Nuts repel girls - take note teen guys!!) Then Paulson introduces the ridiculous plot device of the 200+ year-old loaded flintlock set off by a stray fireplace spark (in a NEIGHBOR'S House, no less - how's that for projected guilt?) with the ball striking the well-loved and exceptionally talented young man next door decorating the family Christmas tree killing him instantly with a massive head wound Paulson describes in excruciating detail that would make the most meticulous Senior Medical Examiner's report sound like a hasty jotted note. The cheap plot device that insulted me was the description of how the first owner (Remember the dying excrement wallower?) had "arefully packed the flintlock's touch hole with "bear grease" so it would be "waterproof". Well. Mr. Paulson only finished part of his homework - if the touchhole was packed with grease, the deceased owner wouldn't have been able to dig it out inside of a week. Not the way you waterproof a flinter. (BTW - you smear TALLOW around the outside of the pan after loading and priming. The 17th century shooters did exactly the same thing) No matter how well it was protected, the powder in an antique flint firearm will ALWAYS be "dead" and will not burn. How do I know? In 35+ years of running a gun shop, I've dug original heavily oxidised balls out of more than one 100+ year old muzzleloader. And, I was curious about it, so I tried it. Several times..Sorry, myth debunked.... But my sorrow about this book is that a piece of subtily and seductively crafted anti-firearm propaganda that has succeeded in landing itself on middle school library shelves. And our side usually cannot get our message of responsibile and law-abiding safe legal use on the school grounds. What a waste by talented man that I understand does really love the outdoors - but not OUR outdoors. No, I didn't buy it - and my friend didn't either. But it made a fine fire in his trash barrel. ....where it belonged.
Summary of The Rifle
A treasured rifle passed down through generations is the cause of a tragic accident in this timely tale. With subtle mastery and precision, this tough, thought-provoking novel challenges the idea that firearms don't become instruments of destruction and murder until they are placed in human hands.
Each book includes a reader's guide.
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