When I was at the Sydney Writers Festival, I listened to George Saunders talk about how much he (as a third grader) was influenced by Esther Forbes’ novel, Johnny Tremain.
So when I got back from Australia, I searched my (very unorganized) shelves and found my childhood copy of Johnny Tremain (cover price: 95 cents).
I sat down and opened the book and started to read, and I could feel something open inside of me.
I thought: oh, I remember this. I remember these dense and profound sentences. I remember Johnny’s arrogance. I remember the terrible accident that serves as his comeuppance, and as a catalyst for change.
And I remember how Johnny Tremain finds a new purpose, a new path.
In an essay entitled “Thank you, Esther Forbes,” Saunders writes that Forbes “did for me what one writer can do for another writer, awoke a love of sentences.”
Yes, a love of sentences, and also a love for the world, and a way of seeing it.
So, thank you George Saunders.
And thank you, Esther Forbes.

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