Can Alph Pull Through?
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Now and at the Hour
by Robert Cormier
Reviewed by
Graham
F |
 |
6th
Grade |
| Published in: | 1970 |
| Length: | 149 pages |
| Ranking (1-10): |
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| Genre: | Fiction |
| Age: | Young Adult |
What would you do if one day pain flooded through your body out of nowhere and you couldn't make it stop?
Alph LeBlanc has worked all his life to provide for his family. In his old age he gets cancer and a tumor in his arm. At first he thinks it will go away eventually but he soon realizes that he's dying and he isn't going to get better.
His son s and daughters come and visit him consistently and he loves spending time with them but only one of them he really enjoys having be his nurse. Susan's touch soothes Alph's pain and when sheıs gone all he does is wait for her return.
As days go by Alph gets worse and worse. He can't get out of bed and it's difficult for him to talk. The minister comes a couple of times and listens to his confessions like, "I turned my back on god. . . . .," but when he leaves Alph feels worse than he did before the visit.
Alph doesn't want to die and he's puzzled with that because he's a dedicated Christian and he was always taught that he would go to heaven and be better off there. He finally understands what he has to do but he's to sick and unhealthy to do anything about it. He remembers how he could never treat his kids to the good life and they were always fairly poor. Now as he is going to die he realizes that he wonıt be able to leave them with anything when he dies either.
This book was horrible and I don't recomend it to anyone. On a scale from 1-10 (with 10 being the best) I give it a 1. It drags on and on without ever being exciting or fun to read. I do however reccomend Robert Cormier's other books like The Chocolate War, Beyond the Chocolate War, 8 Plus 1, and others you will find in the link.
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