The book that I chose to read is ?The Pits? by Lesley Howarth. This book is
about the ghost of a Caveman who is living with an Archaeologist and his daughter. The
Archaeologist is studying the time and place where the caveman once lived. The
Archaeologist’s daughter found a man in the ice that was one of the caveman’s friends. In
this story, the Caveman is remembering what his life was like back when he was living and
he tells the life story of his friend whose body they discovered.
The Caveman’s name is Broddy Brodson and he had three sisters. Broddy was a
member of a tribe called the Axes. Broddy lived with his family on a plateau and he had to
provide for his family because his father had basically gone crazy. Broddy’s mother was
sick with gang green in her leg. She could not move very well so there was no way that
she could collect food for the family. The place where they lived was called Mended
Vision, this was because there was a magical water there that could instantly heal any sight
problems.
One day Broddy accidentally stole something form one of his friends and he could
not explain to him what happened. Broddy was ashamed, so he ran and joined a rebel
tribe called the Pits. They called themselves the Pits because they lived in the sand pits
down by a lake. The sand pits originally belonged to the Axes, but the Pits stole them.
Therefore, the Pits And the Axes were at war. The sand pits was a crucial area because
they were an abundant source of food and water.
Soon after Broddy joined the Pits. his mother died and he went back to the Axes
to help support his family. While he was gone, his friend that he had accidentally stolen
from, Argos, had been taking care of his family. The winter began to get very harsh, and
after a battle with the Pits, Broddy decided to take his family and take them over a
mountain. Climbing the mountain had always been a dream of Broddy’s because he
thaught that there would be a better life on the other side. Broddy’s friend Arf had gotten
wounded in the last battle and he died while climbing the mountain. This was the body
that the Archaeologist’s daughter had discovered.
I chose to discuss the characters in my story. The main character, Broddy, was a
brave and strong young boy who went through many tough times in his lifetime. Broddy
was forced to take care of his family at a very young age because of his mother’s illness
and his father was strung out on birch gum, a kind of harmful tobacco. One day broddy
discovered a stash of valuables and he traded them for some other things without knowing
they belonged to his friend Argos. When Argos found out that Broddy stole them, he got
very angry and that’s when Broddy left his tribe. The Axes taught Broddy to not care
about anyone else but himself. It was hard for Broddy to be a part of the Pits, especially
since they were at war with his home tribe. Things were never the same between Broddy
and Argos even after Broddy returned to the Axes. I did not agree with Broddy’s decision
to join the Pits, I think he should have tried to explain to Argos what had happened with
his possessions.
Argos was a very big and strong character who was sort of like a big brother to
Broddy’s family. Argos was also a member of the Axes. He was a very good leader and
even went hunting in the extreme winter to find food for Broddy and his family. The only
thing I did not like about Argos was that he never really gave Broddy a chance to fully
explain what had happened with the items he found that belonged to Argos. Another
character was Arf who portrayed as an unintelligent ogre. Arf was not really part of the
Axes because the Axes did not want him in their tribe. They did allow him to become part
of their tribe when he became friends with the Pits because they wanted him to spy on the
Pits. Arf was accepted more as the story went on and especially after they discovered that
he had some sort of Psychic ability.
There were two important characters that were sort of off to the side during the
story and they were the Archaeologist and his daughter, Anna may Needcliff. Anna was
visiting with her father doing some sort of job shadowing. Her father ignored her most of
the time because he was always busy with his work. Anna always felt bad that she had
discovered Arf because she thought that he should rest in peace and not be studied.
Broddy would tell them his story on a computer where he wrote what his life was like
when cavemen roamed the earth. He would type it on a computer after everyone was
asleep. At the end of the story, Anna unplugged all of the machines that were preserving
Arf, knowing that by morning the damage would be irreversible and Arf would finally be
able to rest after all these years.
I thought that this book was very interesting and it makes you wander what life
was really like back then. I would recommend this book to everyone.
