For this week, I chose to read Mad Toy, a reading that I enjoyed but did leave me with the question of why the book is called Mad Toy. First off, I read the third section, “Mad Toy” first which definitely coloured my perception of the story when I realized my mistake and went back to read it from the beginning. What I gathered about Silvio’s life and what kind of person he was was very different after reading the whole book compared to just reading the third section. Since we see Sivilio through the main changes in his life, from the naivety of boyhood to his realization of the harshness of the world to his eventual settling into place, I felt empathetic towards him and was rooting for him throughout the book. I got such a sense of life for Silvio and a taste of what Agrentinan’s life was like and all the different people from different countries were featured. There was mention of Silvio’s mother being referred to as Frau, which after looking it up, refers to a German-speaking woman. Also the use of Italian words from the husband and wife who owned the bookshop Silvio worked for when he was 15. Also, the Andalusian cobbler was featured.
I found there was an overarching theme of books and literature throughout the book. Even in the first section of Silvio’s youth and thieving days, the group he was in chose to rob a library and take books not only to sell but to read themselves. Then when Silvio must find a job his mother says something about how until his sister was down with school, he could write something. Silvio then gets a job in a bookstore, which he attempts to burn down out of spite of his bosses. The third section even starts out with him deciding between which books to read. Finally, Silvio finishes off with the job of selling paper.
One quote that stood out to me was in the third section on page 91, “supremely calm, with a serenity that came from my bad luck”. I just loved this line and thought it described Silvio quite well. He is a person who is used to things not going his way, but throughout the book, we see him mostly proceed through calmly, never yelling or making a big fuss. There seems to be a quietness with his rage, a stealth that might have come from his thieving days.
Additionally, the book felt very chronological in the way it advanced, like it almost was a biography or a recollection of past experiences. It almost felt like a long story. But the main question I would love to know more about is why the book is called Mad Toy. So I’ll ask all of you! Does anyone have any inklings or ideas?
“I felt empathetic towards him and was rooting for him throughout the book.”
This is interesting–and I don’t disagree–but in sympathizing with the protagonist, don’t we end up sympathizing with someone who is arguably fundamentally bad? He’s a ne’er-do-well, a thief, a (attempted) arsonist, and in the end he even betrays his friend in order to better himself with the reward of a job in the South. Do we end up complicit in such misdemeanours?
Hi Grace! I had the exact same question about the title of the book in my blog post! 😀 Maybe it represents the growth from childhood (by the toy) in a crazy way. I also found it really interesting that you were empathetic towards the main character. In my post, I wrote about how I just wasn’t able to connect with Silvio and didn’t find myself sympathizing with him at all. Looking forward to the discussion in class about this!
Hi Grace! I found that his life transitions were also very interesting to me. I feel this movement from boyhood to the realities of the world are depicted very clear in this book and discussed a great deal.
HI Grace! I enjoyed reading your post this week and definitely agree with a lot of the points you made such as “quietness with his rage, a stealth that might have come from his thieving days,” which was beautifully written. Additionally, I didn’t know that was the meaning of Frau! I thought that might’ve been a shortened form of his mother’s name, thanks for sharing that piece of information. I also had the same question as you as to why the title of the novel is “Mad Toy,” but if I were to guess, I will say that “Mad” usually is used to describe irrationality or insanity. I think that many adolescents experience a sort of quarter-life crisis as they grow up and face societal norms, injustice, and reality in general. For the “Toy” part of the title, Silvio was adept in making gadgets and explosives, so maybe that is what the title is referring to? I look forwards to hearing everyone else’s interpretation of the title in class.
Hi! I also noticed how books and literature seemed to play a big role in this novel, similarly to “Combray”. As for your question, I have no idea why the book is called “Mad Toy”. Many people have been asking that question and so I’m also curious to the reasoning behind this title.