Great Westingpectations

I envy "Redlass" and all you others who read THE WESTING GAME as children, 'tweens, and young teens. I certainly don't envy you the way you feel "now," rereading it as adults and finding at least some of the magic gone. Is that one of the worst things about growing up or WHAT? I hope that in general, each of you is making the life you want and deserve; continued best wishes to all who read this. (Tell me this, though: did any of you happen to read this book for the first time as a child, or more recently as an adult, on Sam Westing's favorite holiday?...I did!)

WESTING is another book that turned up in the textbook of my college Adolescent Literature course; I thought it was a YA novel whose pivotal event was a high-school sporting event (you know,dear old Central or whoever against the most archrival of their archrivals, Westing High). Although WESTING boasts a high-achieving high-school athlete, WESTING is about so much more! (WESTING's claim to being-mentioned-in-a-college-textbook fame: mention in a paragraph about stereotyping; "It would be too demanding for a reader to respond to a large number of fully developed characters...the Newbery Award Winner, THE WESTING GAME by Ellen Raskin, is too difficult for many junior high school readers because they can't keep the thirteen characters straight" (p. 56 of LITERATURE FOR TODAY'S YOUNG ADULTS [3rd Edition] by Kenneth L. Donelson and Alleen Pace Nilsen, HarperCollinsPublishers Inc, 1989). Raskin tries to help, though: in a passage that even makes the "teaser" on a preface page, she runs down the list of occupants of Sunset-Towers-on-Lake-Michigan, asks "Who were these people?" and tells just enough to tantalize. For instance, "one was a mistake." Say what? Which one, how'd the mistake happen, and in the great, grand scheme of The Westing Game--or of this person's life--was it such a mistake after all?

But wait, whoever this person is, s/he's only 1 of 13 (uh, 16, thank you very much!) so while you're trying to figure out who's The Thirteenth Fairy at Sleeping Beauty's christening, you get into the lives and interrelationships of the others. For instance,take note of the occasions on which the "Westing heirs" have to sign receipts for letters from Westing's attorney....

If you're coming to WESTING for the first time ever, whether child or adult, how soon will you figure it out? I hope this Epinion didn't blow it for anyone!

Also recommended: a 1976 movie called MURDER BY DEATH, which I couldn't help thinking about frequently while reading WESTING.

P.S. Watch out for that MSG!