I Am the Cheese
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| Laurel Leaf edition cover | |
| Author | Robert Cormier |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young Adult, Children's literature |
| Publisher | Pantheon |
| Released | 1977 (September 1, 1991 reprint) |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 234 pp (first edition, hardback) & 214 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-394-83462-3 (first edition, hardback) & ISBN 0-440-94060-5 (paperback edition) |
I Am the Cheese was written by American author Robert Cormier and first published in 1977. It is categorised under young adult literature.
Contents |
[edit] Explanation of title
The name of the novel comes from the last verse of the song, The Farmer in the Dell. The cheese stood alone. Adam says that he is 'the cheese', meaning that he is the stranger.
[edit] Plot summary
The books starts off with the central character, Adam Farmer, riding his bike to Rutterburg, Vermont with a parcel for his father. However, as he travels, he starts to remember the events leading up to this point. These same memories are also being prised out in psychiatric interviews, occurring at a later time. Adam Farmer's real name is Paul Delmonte. His father was an investigative reporter who came across a large conspiracy which he testified against. After several attempts on his life, his family entered the witness protection program. One day, they went on vacation and were attacked. Adam's mother dies instantly but he survives. He was placed in a hospital where he is interrogated every year. Each time he ends up forgetting everything and begins the journey again. The people from his journey are the same people in the hospital.The tapes in the novel are the third time he has been questioned. The chapters alternate between first-person present tense, during Adam's journey, and third-person past tense, during the psychiatric interviews.
[edit] Characters
- Adam Farmer – protagonist
- Anthony Delmonte - Adam's father
- Amy Hertz - Adam's friend/girlfriend
- Louise Delmonte - Adam's mother
[edit] Literary significance and criticism
I Am the Cheese began in 1975 as Cormier's experimentation with first-person present tense. When Cormier sent the manuscript off to the publisher of his previous novel, The Chocolate War, he was confused and depressed, convinced that he was alienating his new young adult audience due to the complex and ambiguous story.
However, I Am the Cheese proved to be a success, and a worthy successor to The Chocolate War.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Phoenix Award, 1997
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
It was made into a 1983 movie directed by Robert Jiras and starring Robert MacNaughton, Hope Lange, Don Murray, and Robert Wagner.
[edit] Release details
- 1977, USA, Pantheon ISBN 0-394-83462-3, Pub date ? ? 1977, hardback (First edition)
- 1977, USA, Laurel-Leaf Library ISBN 0-440-94060-5, Pub date ? ? 1977, ? binding
