cover image Obee & Mungedeech

Obee & Mungedeech

Trude Martin. Simon & Schuster, $15 (107pp) ISBN 978-0-689-80644-5

Beginning with the premise that all babies can speak at birth but choose not to do so in public, first-time author Martin writes a sporadically inventive novel about the breakdown of communication and the struggle for identity. Newborns Kate and Edgar (who call themselves Obee and Mungedeech) become great friends in the hospital; but after going home with their respective mothers (""landladies""), their paths do not cross until, ""4,015 sunsets later,"" they are placed in the same science class. During the interim, Edgar has gained a stepfather and Kate's parents have teetered on the brink of divorce. Through Kate's stream-of-consciousness narration and earloads of energetic dialogue, Martin traces how Kate loses and slowly regains a sense of self. She effectively evokes Kate's emotions, but the feelings of other significant characters, including Kate's parents and Edgar, never become clear. Ultimately, this offbeat rendition of Guess Who's Talking has its share of profound moments, but its format can be cutesy if not hard to swallow. Ages 9-13. (June)