“The law is important, Mex. Society cannot function without it.” “What if the law is wrong?” “What if the heart is wrong?”
Nowhere Boy is a story of a Syrian refugee in Belgium. He finds a cellar to hide in but is discovered by an American boy and the story follows their journey toward friendship and freedom. Marsh’s story compares the true story of a Belgian hiding a Jewish boy and addresses topics of when to disobey the law, or parents, smuggling, lying, and authority.
Reading as a Disciple
“What mattered wasn’t who you were. It was who you could be.”
Max is an American boy who has come to Belgium for a year with his family. He feels lost and alone in a place unfamiliar and struggles with his own identity, constantly comparing himself to his sister who seems to have it together. The book centers around finding your identity by helping and serving others. This is a great idea and one many people teach and strive for. But is that where we find our identity?
As disciples of Christ, our identity must come from Christ alone. It is not something I can choose and create out of my own liking. That would be a humanist perspective and what the rest of the world preaches; half of Disney movies are centered around this idea. What matters is that we look to God for identity, not our own aspirations.
Reading Communally
“People were always weighing their suffering against others’, not using it to form bonds.”
What if we were able to connect with others who are also suffering? When we are in the midst of the valley of despair we don’t usually think about others’ pain but this quote reminds us to set that aside and still move to connect with people and perhaps in that season of pain you can find a friend and person to lean on. Isolation is a friend of pain and it truly takes effort to not hide away from others when we are suffering.
Max was lost, without purpose, searching for his identity. He found purpose in helping Ahmed, if that was the right purpose can be left up to debate, but despite his decisions in helping Ahmed, it can still be said that he had the “courage to listen.” Something that many struggle with today, listening to those in pain, but it takes courage to stop our busy schedules to listen to what others have to say in the midst of their despair.
Final Thoughts
Overall a great book but I would recommend it to be read in a group, not necessarily for individual reading. There are so many topics to unpack and discuss: disobeying parents, when is it ok break the law, immigration policies, smuggling, authority, lying… It’s a good starting point for discussion on many topics but doesn’t go in depth when it might have been nice. The low rating was because the main character isn’t relatable or likable; it took a while to get into the book. It still has something to offer for YA readers.
Other books:
The Lost Year (on my to-be-read pile, story involves Ukraine!)
