Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

Last updated

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
Jeremy-Fink-cover.jpg
The cover of the first edition
Author Wendy Mass
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's novel
Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Publication date
November 2006
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback)
Pages289 pp
ISBN 978-0-316-05829-2
[Fic] 22
LC Class PZ7.M42355 Jer 2006

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life is a 2006 children's novel by Wendy Mass. The story follows twelve-year-old Jeremy Fink and his neighbor Lizzy Muldoun as they attempt to retrieve four keys that unlock a wooden box delivered one month before Jeremy's 13th birthday. The novel contains information that provides a connection to Every Soul a Star ,[ citation needed ] a children's novel also by Wendy Mass.

Contents

An independent film adaptation of the novel, starring Maxwell Beer as Jeremy Fink and Ryan Simpkins as Lizzy Muldoun, was released in 2012. Writer/director Tamar Halpern adapted the book and directed along with Jamar Crawford.

Plot summary

One month before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy Fink and his best friend Lizzy Muldoun were out in his New York City apartment when the mailman delivers a package addressed to Jeremy's mom. Lizzy convinces him to open the package. Inside the package, they discover a wooden box with four keyholes and the words, "THE MEANING OF LIFE: FOR JEREMY FINK TO OPEN ON HIS 13TH BIRTHDAY." Jeremy immediately recognizes the box as the work of his father, who died five years earlier in a car crash. An accompanying note explains that the friend taking care of the box lost all of the keys. Determined to open the box, Jeremy and Lizzy contact a locksmith who explains that he is unable to pick the locks or break the box open without destroying the box and possibly its contents. The two friends set a goal to find the keys by the end of the summer so Jeremy can still open the box on his thirteenth birthday.

Lizzy's impulsiveness gets the duo into trouble for destroying property and they must spend the summer performing community service. Jeremy and Lizzy are assigned to work for Mr. Oswald, an antique dealer preparing to retire to Florida, who sends them to deliver some special antiques. Once the first house is reached, the children realize they are returning items to the original owners, people who pawned these items when only teenagers. Each item is being returned with the original letter stating why the owner chose to pawn the items.

The people Jeremy meets help him learn important lessons about life by sharing their views. While doing community service they must find all of the keys they can, continuously worrying about the performance they must do at a fair due to losing a bet to Jeremy's grandmother.

It is only in the end that Jeremy truly understands the meaning of life when he opens the box.

Reception

Publishers Weekly described Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life as a "meaningless novel" not to be missed, saying that much of "the novel's charm derives from Jeremy and Lizzy's unique friendship". BookPage described it as "a moving, hilarious and altogether engaging tale of self-discovery". [1]

Film adaptation

Fink Films, in association with Kidzhouse Entertainment, released a film adaptation in 2011. Tamar Halpern wrote and directed the screenplay, and the film starred Mira Sorvino, Joe Pantoliano, Maxwell Beer and Ryan Simpkins as the eponymous Jeremy Fink and his best friend, Lizzy Muldoun. [2] The film won Best Family Film at the Garden State Film Festival 2012. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Pantoliano</span> American actor

Joseph Peter Pantoliano is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions.

<i>Barton Fink</i> 1991 film by the Coen brothers

Barton Fink is a 1991 American period black comedy psychological thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hired to write scripts for a film studio in Hollywood, and John Goodman as Charlie Meadows, the insurance salesman who lives next door at the run-down Hotel Earle.

<i>Wishmaster</i> (film) 1997 American film

Wishmaster is a 1997 American fantasy horror film directed by Robert Kurtzman. The film was executive produced by Wes Craven, and is the only film of the Wishmaster series with his name attached. Its plot concerns a djinn, a wish-granting, evil genie who is released from a jewel and seeks to capture the soul of the woman who discovered him, thereby opening a portal and freeing his fellow djinn to inhabit and enslave the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post office box</span> Rented mailbox at a post office

A post office box is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office.

<i>Peter Pan</i> (2003 film) 2003 American film directed by P. J. Hogan

Peter Pan is a 2003 fantasy adventure film directed by P. J. Hogan and written by Hogan and Michael Goldenberg. The screenplay is based on the 1904 play and 1911 novel Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J.M. Barrie and the Disney animated feature of the same name in 1953. Jason Isaacs plays the dual roles of Captain Hook and George Darling, Olivia Williams plays Mary Darling, while Jeremy Sumpter plays Peter Pan, Rachel Hurd-Wood plays Wendy Darling, and Ludivine Sagnier plays Tinker Bell. Lynn Redgrave plays a supporting role as Aunt Millicent, a new character created for the film.

<i>Rose Madder</i> (novel) 1995 novel by Stephen King

Rose Madder is a horror/fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King, published in 1995. It deals with the effects of domestic violence and, unusually for a King novel, relies for its fantastic element on Greek mythology. In his memoir, On Writing, King states that Rose Madder and Insomnia are "stiff, trying-too-hard novels."

<i>Chitty Chitty Bang Bang</i> 1968 film by Ken Hughes

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes, produced by Albert R. Broccoli, and with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes. It is loosely based on the children's novel Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car (1964) by Ian Fleming. The film stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, James Robertson Justice, Robert Helpmann, Heather Ripley, and Adrian Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian Seldes</span> American actress

Marian Hall Seldes was an American actress. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for A Delicate Balance in 1967, and received subsequent nominations for Father's Day (1971), Deathtrap (1978–82), Ring Round the Moon (1999), and Dinner at Eight (2002). She also won a Drama Desk Award for Father's Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rat Fink</span> Fictional character created by Ed Roth

Rat Fink is one of several hot rod characters created by artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, one of the originators of Kustom Kulture of automobile enthusiasts. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. Rat Fink is usually portrayed as either green or gray, comically grotesque and depraved-looking with bulging, bloodshot eyes, an oversized mouth with sharp, narrow teeth, and wearing red overalls with the initials "R.F." on them. He is often seen driving cars or motorcycles.

<i>The Golden Bowl</i> (film) 2000 drama film directed by James Ivory

The Golden Bowl is a 2000 period romantic drama film directed by James Ivory. The screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is based on the 1904 novel of the same name by Henry James, who considered the work his masterpiece. It stars Kate Beckinsale, James Fox, Anjelica Huston, Nick Nolte, Jeremy Northam, Madeleine Potter, and Uma Thurman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Urie</span> American actor (born 1980)

Michael Lorenzo Urie is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC dramedy television series Ugly Betty. He can be heard as Bobby Kerns in As the Curtain Rises, an original podcast soap opera from the Broadway Podcast Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Pan</span> Character created by James Matthew Barrie

Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical island of Neverland as the leader of the Lost Boys, interacting with fairies, pirates, mermaids, Native Americans, and occasionally ordinary children from the world outside Neverland.

Wendy Mass is an author of young adult novels and children's books.

<i>Pawn Stars</i> American reality television series

Pawn Stars is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24-hour family business opened in 1989 and originally operated by patriarch Richard "Old Man" Harrison, his son Rick Harrison, Rick's son Corey "Big Hoss" Harrison, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell. The series, which became the network's highest rated show, and the No. 2 reality show behind Jersey Shore, debuted on July 26, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Lewis</span> Australian writer working in Sydney (born 1962)

Wendy Lewis is an Australian writer working in Sydney who has written a number of non-fiction books about Australian people, history and events. She also writes for the stage, specialising in dark comedy and musical theatre. Some of her plays are published under the pen-name Julia Lewis.

Ryan Simpkins is an American actor, known for their performances in films such as Pride and Glory, A Single Man, Revolutionary Road, and Fear Street Part Two: 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Harrison</span> American businessman and TV personality

Richard Kevin Harrison is an American businessman, reality television personality, and owner of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop which is featured on the History series Pawn Stars. Harrison and his father, Richard Benjamin Harrison, opened the shop in 1989, which they co-owned until his father's death in 2018.

Tamar Halpern is a writer and director living in Los Angeles. She holds an M.F.A. degree from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

<i>11 Birthdays</i> 2009 childrens time loop novel by Wendy Mass

11 Birthdays is a children's time loop novel written by Wendy Mass and published in 2009 by Scholastic Press. It is the first novel in the Willow Falls series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booka Michel</span> American musician and film producer

Booka Michel is an American musician and film producer.

References

  1. Mass, Wendy. "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life: Reviews" . Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  2. "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (2011)" . Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  3. Mass, Wendy. "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life: Awards". Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2015.