Fade, by Robert Cormier

           FADE               

by Robert Cormier    

The novel opens in the late 1930s, with 13-year-old Paul Moreaux, a sensitive writer-type living with his family in the Catholic Canadian-French section of the small town of Monument, Massachusetts. 

Falling into several categories, including mystery, suspense, supernatural, and coming-of-age, Cormier creates a tight plot and a believable main character, who, despite his mystical gift, the reader can empathize with.

Though he is a ‘good Catholic boy,’ who attends confession and tries to be a good person, he has a severe crush on his attractive and flirtatious aunt Rosanne and carries a guilty conscience about his lust. Paul’s father works at a local comb factory, and Paul, along with his siblings, go to a Catholic school in the day and work at local shops doing odd jobs or delivering newspapers in the evening. Paul’s father goes on strike with the rest of his co-workers, keeping with the historical aspects of the novel.

In the beginning of the novel, a strange family photograph introduces the main members of the family as well as an important mystery: Though Paul’s father and his family are all present for the photo, somehow Paul’s uncle Adelard is missing. Of course, the photo is a great curiosity for Paul, who is constantly questioning his father and other family members how Adelard simply vanished from the photograph – though there is a space in the portrait where he was standing.

When Adelard comes to visits, Paul begins to learn secrets about himself and those around him. Paul’s uncle Adelard can vanish, and Paul quickly learns that he can too – the Moreaux family curse has been passed from uncle to nephew for generations. Paul learns to “fade,” and at first uses his invisibility to spy on friends, neighbors, and his aunt Roseanne. But with this mysterious gift of invisibility he also learns terrible and dark secrets about his friends and family by following them, unseen.

Throughout the rest of the novel, Paul grows and passes on the gift to his nephew, Ozzie. The narration is kept highly intriguing as it passes between three different narrators, keeping readers guessing and scrambling to place together clues left by Cormier. Ultimately, the novel is an effective suspense and supernatural story that I would recommend to a YA audience, ages 12-14 and older, with some caution. The book explores sexual themes, as well as heavy issues such as incest, murder, and mental illness.

Adolescent Literature, Emily Faison, February 17, 2012