The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux Reviews

• 
  Betsy

  One Sentence Review: In a nutshell, it's
  Candide for kids (take that as you may).
• 
  Deborah O'Carroll

  Re-read September 2019
  
  Since I got a copy of my own, I've been meaning to re-read this. I opened it to look at the first page before bed, and next thing I knew it was 1 a.m. and I'd re-read half the book already. XD Finished it this morning and couldn't stop even on a re-read. Still one of the strangest books I've ever read, dark but also fun, and I don't know why I love it but I do! *hugs book* This author is amazing.
  
  Original review
  
  I read this a few years back, and, if I’m going to be honest, I don’t remember this book very well. All I know is it was one of the strangest books I ever read and I adored it to smithereens. There was this boy named Pepper Roux who thought he was going to die when he turns 14 and there was a lot of running around with pursuits and I think there were candles and scaffolding and back alleys and ships and a best friend I think and it’s all from the unreliable narrator point-of-view of the hero and… yeah. That’s what’s in it. I think. I could be totally wrong though because honestly it’s terrifying how little I remember about this. I very much need to get it from the library again and reread it. I just love this author. She’s brilliant.
• 
  Lizzy McGovern

  “On the morning of his fourteenth birthday, Pepper had been awake for fully two minutes before realizing it was the day he must die.” This is the opening line of the rip-roaring adventure awaiting the “le pauvre” (poor thing) –Pepper Roux. Pepper and those around him, his parents and aunt, had known since the day he was born that he was not to live beyond his fourteenth birthday. Everyone was resigned to it, even Pepper. The night before he was born, Pepper’s spinster aunt Mireille had a dream of St. Constance, who told her, “in perfect diction,” that Pepper Roux was to die by fourteen. To make sure that Pepper would indeed be going to heaven, his aunt and mother made him go to church and pray all day, every day, on his calloused knees, making sure he was truly sorry for whatever "wrongdoings" he had committed since the last time he prayed. His Aunt Mireille filled his pockets with prayers and messages to give to the saints and family members in heaven. But when the day came for Pepper to die, he, in fact, did not die. He did not want to disappoint, but in truth, Pepper wanted to live. He wondered how this could happen: had he somehow sidestepped fate, shaken off the saints that were to capture him and whisk him away to heaven? He did not know, but felt like an intruder in life, an escapee, and that at any moment the angels and saints would realize their mistake and come after him in a flourish of fire and ice. But even so, when given the opportunity, Pepper sought out a life not his own.
  
  His attempts to slip into other peoples’ shoes propelled him all over France and from one life to the next. He donned the Sea Captain hat of his father, the apron of a butcher's assistant in a fancy department store, as well as stepping into the life of a horse trainer, newspaper writer, telegram deliverer, juvenile delinquent and many more. Through each of these misadventures Pepper was a bit naive, always seeing the best in others and too trusting of some unsavory characters. In every life he led he inadvertently caused mayhem while trying his best to spread joy and goodness in the depraved lives he saw around him. Yet Pepper knew too well that Death was after him. Ultimately, Pepper (with the help of a few surprising friends) came to learn to finally face his own death, and that things and people are not always what they seem. Pepper Roux is one extraordinary character –unforgettable, and the kind of person you would want to know in real life. You want Pepper to succeed and overcome the obstacles in front of him; you also want to protect him from the danger around him. This is a wonderfully crafted story filled with plenty of adventures. It's a book that once finished is not easy to leave behind.
  
  I also must suggest checking out the audiobook version of this story, narrated by Anton Lesser. Mr. Lesser brings the characters to life with such vibrancy and articulates the French words with flavor. Ms. McCaughrean’s sentences twist and turn and are filled with humor and wit; Lessen brings this humor to light in an incredible way that helps the story break out from the pages.
• 
  Terri

  I tried. I never abandon a book, but I just couldn't get through this one. We read it for a children's literature book club that I belong to (and most members of the group felt the same). Then, when I read the inside back cover and realized that it was by British author, Geraldine McCaughrean, I knew why I didn't like it. McCaughrean also wrote the award-winning "White Darkness," another book that I had trouble getting through.
  
  My biggest beef with the book was the poor use of time and place. It began with the cover, which was very misleading. On first look, the book looks like it is going to be a pirate adventure (1400 - 1500's?), which threw me off in terms of the time in which the story takes place. It isn't until terms like "steamship" and "typewriter" are used that one begins to figure out that the time period is later. I had to read the MARC record information on the back of the title page, which states that the story takes place in the 1900's?
  
  In reality, the book follows the episodic adventures of protagonist Pepper Roux, an unrealistically clever fourteen year old. In addition, for the American ear, McCaughrean's wording and cadence are choppy and confusing.I felt the book was a hot mess. However, it is apparently very popular in England. Unfortunately, I don't think most American teens will find much to like here.
  
  
• 
  Cheryl

  So strange I'm not even sure how to rate. But I did really like an awful lot of it, especially the fact that it is so original, so trope-defying. Another reviewer compares it to Candide, I saw a bit of The Gingerbread Man. Parts are awfully dark and/or mature for the 11 year old children who will read up to this, and some of the satire will go over their heads. But on the surface it's a fun romp, so maybe they'll read it when 11 and again at 14? I think it would be worth their time.
• 
  Ron Gastgeb

  I believe this is what's known as a rollicking adventure, perhaps the a rip-roaring one. It reminded me of the sort of books I read when I was a kid: the kind that obviously don't make sense to an adult, and therein lies the magic.
• 
  Nicole

  A cute comical little book. I wasn't particularly impressed, but I did enjoy it and it was an easy read.
• 
  LisaSunshineGirl

  A twisting and turning adventure featuring a likable protagonist. Reminded me of the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer and the Morrigan Crow series by Jessica Townsend.
• 
  Shazzer

  As posted on
  Outside of a Dog:
  
  Sometimes you should absolutely judge a book by its cover. One of my favorite books of all time, Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund, is a book I must have picked up at the bookstore about twenty times, drawn to its cover image of a lone figure on a beach, before I ever bought the darn thing and began to read it. Covers can make or break you, and when faced with an overwhelming amount of material and a finite amount of time, sometimes snap judgments must be made, and yes, you must judge a book by its cover. And then there are times when you really, really shouldn’t. Geraldine McCaughrean’s The Death-Defying Pepper Roux is most certainly one of those times.
  
  I didn’t pick up Pepper Roux when it was initially released. I was working at the bookstore then, and passed by the book many times. The cover offered me an idea of swashbuckling adventures on the high seas, and that just wasn’t something in which I was willing to invest my time. Fast forward to the end of 2010, when I start to see this title on people’s lists of favorites for the year. I start to think, perhaps there is more than meets the eye, and so when it became available, I snatched up the library’s copy and took it home to enjoy.
  
  I won’t keep anyone in suspense. I loved it, loved every bit of it. I loved it like I love Dickens, and that’s saying something. And in fact, The Death-Defying Pepper Roux is quite Dickensian in its own way, telling a sprawling tale full of colorful characters, centered around a young man called Pepper (and often many other names) who has been told by his meddlesome Aunty that he will be and should be dead at the age of fourteen. This information came to Aunt Mireille in a dream before his birth, the death pronouncement made by Saint Constance (who has excellent diction, by the way). This is why, on his fourteenth birthday, Pepper commits the terrible sin of surviving another day and runs off with his seafaring father’s jacket, commandeers his ship and makes for the high seas.
  
  Here, it would seem, was the swashbuckling I was dreading, but I found none of it on the page. Instead, Pepper is a quiet captain, living under his father’s drunken reputation, and keeps mostly to his cabin, interacting only with the ship’s steward, a cross-dressing man called Duchesse. In fact, Pepper’s high seas adventure does not last long at all, and almost before I knew it, Pepper was busy disappearing into someone else’s life, escaping the wrath of saints and angels alike by continuing to live. Pepper becomes a meat slicer at a delicatessen, a newspaper writer, a telegraph delivery boy, even the deceased husband of a penniless widow. He makes friends and enemies with his peculiar ways and continues to evade the heavenly hoards he just knows are hot on his trail, ready to take him in.
  
  I found so much to love in Pepper Roux; it’s hard to know where to start. I loved Pepper, for one thing. He grows from a single-minded child to a complex human with an incredible heart, an increasing penchant for lying and a natural tendency towards goodness. Not to mention a hell of a survival instinct. I loved Duchesse, especially when the character returns for the novel’s final act. I loved his “dear hearts” and his brute kindness. I pictured him a giant of a man perfect for squeezing like a teddy bear. And I loved the humor of it all. Pepper’s naiveté made for some easy laughs, for sure, but some expertly made sentences were just as enjoyable. Sentences like, “It voided a pellet of undigested mouse parts: its own little explanation of what it had been up to lately” made me laugh out loud, often without really knowing why. That’s the Dickens in it again. Little moments of humane hilarity that tickle the funny bone without so much as lifting a finger to do so.
  
  I’m dreadfully sorry I judged Pepper Roux by its cover in the beginning. I’d like to say I’ve learned my lesson, but if I didn’t learn it with The True Meaning of Smekday, I’m unlikely to have learned it now, either. But I am truly grateful to have been turned on to Pepper Roux and I look forward to being able to press this book into just the right child’s hands and say, “You have to read this.”
  
  One last note on the cover: it has grown on me, but I’ve since discovered the originally UK cover, and much prefer it.
  
  
• 
  Sheenagh Pugh

  I liked this book a lot, but not, in the end, quite as much as I expected to. There's nothing amiss with the writing; as usual McCaughrean is literate, engaging and challenging, not talking down to her readers because of their age. And it's certainly a page-turner, especially in the first half. The problem for me is that in the end, I'm not sure quite where it's aimed and what it's saying.
  
  It is carefully not set in a specified time (the Foreign Legion references aren't conclusive because there have been more French campaigns in the Ivory Coast region than you'd think), but the chronology at the very end implies that its hero must have been born no later than about 1915. Avoiding spoilers as much as may be, young Pepper's childhood has been blighted by an aunt's prediction that he won't live past the age of 14. The book shows him learning, more or less, that his destiny is in his own hands and those of other people, not of saints and angels.
  
  Now it's a fact, of course, that certain children born in the 19th century and the early years of the 20th were pretty well known to be not long for this world, due to what was then known as consumption and later as TB. In the western world, at least, this doesn't happen any more (Pepper himself is clearly not consumptive), and since this book is written for modern children, one must assume she's using this historical condition as a metaphor for something wider, something children can still be affected by. This might well be adult expectations of them and the limits these can place on them. Throughout the book, Pepper exceeds people's expectations of him and gets by pretty well in situations adults themselves have problems coping with. In fact he is accepted as an adult, mainly because, as the book keeps reminding us, people see what they want to see. Only when things have got really sticky does someone get him out of trouble by forcing others, and the reader, to see him at his real age, and this is a clever moment, a reminder of how much we have allowed ourselves to see through other eyes.
  
  Pepper's aunt's prediction is couched very clearly in religious terms; Pepper does literally believe that saints and angels are out looking for him to do him in, and I thought and still think that the logical end of the journey would be Pepper, and the reader, concluding that religion itself was a load of hooey and that angels didn't exist. But that isn't quite what happens; in fact there is a (to me) unsatisfactory explanation for the aunt, late in the book, which basically involves personality failings and isn't terribly relevant to anyone who doesn't have this particular aunt.
  
  The ambiguity, of course, extends to the title. "The Death Defying Pepper Roux" means just about the exact opposite of "The Death-Defying Pepper Roux", which is the punctuation we'd have expected. McCaughrean knows this perfectly well, indeed she uses the hyphenated version of the phrase in the body of the book. So why the unhyphenated title? There could be two reasons: the simpler, which I fear may be true, is that the publishers thought a hyphen in the title looked cumbersome and would Puzzle The Kiddies, most of whom have no idea how to use one because their teachers don't either. If that's so, then her use of the correct version in the text is a subtle rebellion, a signal that she knows how to punctuate even if the marketing men don't.
  
  The other possibility is that she wants the ambiguity, that the book is somehow not about Pepper Roux, who defies death, but about death, which defies (and resists) Pepper. If that's so, I can't see quite how, but the fact that it's even possible rather underlines, for me, that I'm not sure in the end quite what the book's message was. Good read, though.
• 
  Lindsey

  At first I had no idea what to make of this book. I suppose given the cover art and title, I was expecting a story of daring escapades in which a boy who thought he was supposed to already have died was completely fearless in the face of danger, leading a crew of misfit sailors into certain death scenarios and coming out completely unscathed. It took me a while to adjust to the fact that, in reality, it’s nothing like that at all, but is more of a dark comedy about a clever but unassuming boy who runs from death directly into the arms of various strangers who are not necessarily the best type of people to be surrounded by.
  
  The story generally assumes that most people Pepper encounters are going to try to take advantage of him in some way, or, at the very least, completely misinterpret everything about him. However, if you pull yourself out of the narrative for a moment and recalibrate what you’re expecting, the tale of young Pepper is actually pretty funny, especially all of the little narrator intrusions that Geraldine adds throughout the story. My favorite is a little jab at editors mentioning that no editor can read something without changing it. (Having editor disputes lately, Geraldine?)
  
  Anyway, all of that said, don’t take the book too seriously, and I believe you will really enjoy the read, especially the jabs at Catholicism, and the base nature of people. Otherwise, you’ll likely be frustrated that the book is not something different than it is. I recommend this book to young readers who enjoy a good dark comedy.
  
  -Lindsey Miller,
  http://www.lindseyslibrary.com
• 
  Robert

  I've never read any of McCaughrean's other books (although Peter Pan in Scarlet is sitting on my shelf and awaiting my attention). I only picked up the book because of the title and cover, and the promise of rip-roaring adventures of the most appealing kind.
  
  Well, it is a children's book. Not so much young adult, as proper children's literature.
  
  I'm not even going to pretend embarrassment. I enjoyed this book, and here's the review.
  
  Pepper Roux's death has been foretold the night he was born, in his aunt's dream. His father, a sea captain, is mostly absent from his life. Finally, the deadline gets closer and closer ("by the his fourteenth year"), and, on his birthday, which is the last possible day he can die within the terms of the prophecy, Pepper suddenly tries to run from fate...
  
  ...and starts adventures which are exuberant, ranging from sea-faring to horse rustling, from journalism to the soldiering in the foreign legion, from shop work to fighting the mafia. Almost every chapter tells a new adventure - it is a quite episodic book, seemingly meant for reading chapter by chapter, before bed time - and every adventure is worth reading about. I suspect I would have loved this book as a child.
  
  As adult, there are some things that irk. Some of the characters are a little too outrageous. Some of the resolutions a little too easy. And the basic premise perhaps a little too demanding on the suspension-of-disbelief front.
  
  Still, it's a pretty good children's book, and I'd recommend it to anyone with a 10 year old (or an inner 10 year old) who likes to read.
• 
  Shane Harcombe

  Whimsical. That is the only word to describe this book. I found it to be enjoyable & infuriating at the same time. I wasn't loving it, despaired at some parts of the story, but wanted to finish reading it. In the end, I (mostly) loved the colourful characters, the style of the writing, but didn't enjoy the actual plot.
  On a side-note, the writer obviously has a large amount of Catholic guilt from her past, leading her to create a truly horrible character in Pepper's Aunt. I feel sorry for whatever experiences she had that lead to that.
  Final side note - what an awful cover shown above! I would never have picked p the book if it had the blue, American cover. The original beige/red English cover is the version I read.
• 
  Karin

  Reminded me of a Don Quixote-style picaresque tale. Rollicking historical adventure featuring a naive 13yo boy who has been told his whole life that he would die before his 14th birthday. When that day approaches and death hasn't found him yet, he takes off to try and steer clear of her clutches and has a series of mishaps and adventures, meeting a number of colorful characters along the way. Though not completely to my taste, I was very impressed by the author's command of character, plot, etc. Solid, high-quality, children's lit.
• 
  Shannon

  I found this book to be full of clever, and beautiful writing - and the story line was never dull, but I did not find myself fully engaged with the characters. The adventures of Pepper Roux as he defies his fate of dying of at age 14 was entertaining - but to me the characters were not developed enough for me to connect with, or care about them. (Most in my book club disagreed..) Overall, a nice read but not one I couldn't put down. (Childrens Lit genre 10-10-10)
• 
  Lizzie J

  3.5 stars
  
  This book started off really good for me. I thought that it was an interesting concept about a boy who is told that he's going to die when he's fourteen. In order to avoid his death, he steps into other people's lives and roles and "becomes" them. I enjoyed reading his transition from a ship's captain, to a department store employee, to a newspaper journalist, etc.
  
  Around the middle to end of the book was where I started to lose interest. I thought the ending became really disjointed and confusing (but, at the same time, it almost seemed supposed to be that way, as all the different people come together and figure out exactly who this boy really is.)
  
  And then the end.... I didn't really like it. The speeding summary through Pepper's life, ending with his death at ninety-something, just didn't work for me. No reader wants to find that their beloved character has moved on from us and lived his entire life in the course of two pages.
  
  
  Swearing: A couple mild swear words as well as one (or maybe two?) instances of a harsher word.
  
  Sexual content: none
  
  Violence: There's a stroke of violence toward the end, as Pepper's friend Duchess gets into some fist fights with other characters. There's also an army sergeant that tries to shoot at Pepper (and, in the process, other people in the crowd.)
  
  Religous/spiritual/magical content: There are frequent references to God, the saints, and priests as Pepper tries to avoid the death that Saint Constance "promised" his aunt.
• 
  Tiffany

  I’m baffled by so many poor reviews on this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it & thought the writing was absolutely beautiful.
  
  The tale of Pepper Roux, a boy who was doomed to die by his 14th birthday, this book tells the tale of him running away from death & all of the scrapes he gets into. It’s funny at times, heart warming at times, haunting at others. I truly loved it.
  
  My one beef with this book is that I’m not entirely sure who this book is geared towards. Everything I read said middle grade, but I feel this book is a bit too mature for that age range. In addition to some violence & haunting nightmares, there are curse words (damn, bitch, ass, piss), references to prostitution (the word whore pops up multiple times) & a smattering of drunkenness. Yet, it’s childishness seems to exclude it from adult & young adult fiction (though YA is likely its closest fit).
  
  One other thing to note - there are a lot of religious references in this book (specifically Catholicism), some of which are weaponized on young Pepper. If you’re not familiar with Catholicism or are bothered by someone abusing it, you may not enjoy this book as much as I did.
• 
  Jarm Boccio

  Pepper is on a most unusual journey — to outrun his death. Predicted by St. Constance, who evidently communicated his untimely end at 14 with his tante, Pepper sees the event as unchangeable — until he survives a shipwreck and floats into the next day without incident.
  
  “People see what they want to see,” Pepper observes, as the MC seamlessly takes on multiple identities. With tongue-in-cheek humor (some call it dark), I smiled my way through this entire audiobook, deftly read by the clearly creative Anton Lesser. His myriad of voices keeps one glued to the plot, as Pepper lies his way from one identity to another. Being kind at heart, the boy uses lies to placate, protect and comfort others, until, of course, he is discovered.
  
  The reader will find this story endearing and unbelievable all at once, but will not fail to be entertained. The words woven by the author are a verbal masterpiece — that alone is a reason to read this MG novel!
• 
  James Hamilton

  I finally finished, and the best thing I can say is that it's done. There was just a lot to not like about this, including the fact that the way this was sold was not a great representation of what it was actually about, and the depictions of faith that are presented. Worst of all, the ending so muddled and just not worth it, that I really would have been better off never having read it, or even trying to read it at all. I took a chance on this from the library, and that's okay, but I definitely don't recommend this.
• 
  Ita

  Didn't work for me so I DNF 1/3 of the way in.
  
  I'm just in the wrong mood for this right now. Pepper's aunt is an evil religious bitch who brainwashed him thoroughly. After reading some of the awful things she did to him as a child when he was "evil", I couldn't take it any more. Sadly, it rings true and I'm sure there are lots of kids who are currently undergoing the same type of brainwashing in Murica.
  
  Maybe I'll get the book and skim.
• 
  sara

  At the start, not gonna lie, it was boring. There was no hook until like half way through. It took me wayyy too long to even get started with this book and it being so lengthy, it was just a hard read. However, in the second half, it really bounced back and was way easier to read. If I could rate this book a 3.5 I would. Overall, I would recommend this book for someone with a long attention span that isn't bored when a book it taking forever to take off. 7/10
• 
  Bailey Olfert

  The best thing about this book is its beginning, which quickly draws interest. Unfortunately it could not sustain my interest, but I acknowledge that I'm not the target audience for this story. Only recommended for those under 12 years old.