Suvudu Universe

Every Boy Should Have a Man by Preston L. Allen explores a world of Oafs and mans (humans). In Allen's novel, the ideas of discrimination, second-class citizens and slavery are explored. The book also entertains having worlds next to each other, where people can travel from one to the next by simply going through a trapdoor. Allen magnificently weaves two worlds that are intricately bound together, yet their own separate ones as well. He develops characters that grow continually and enhance with each experience.

Review

Allen begins the novel in the world of the Oafs. Oafs refer to humans as mans. There are female mans, child mans, man mans, dark mans, light mans, freckled mans, blue-eyed mans, red-haired mans, etc. The main Oaf character, Zloty, begins as a child and wishes to have a man of his own for a pet. Both Zloty's mother and father describe humans as dirty, not able to care for themselves and hard to train. The descriptions mirror a parent's argument against a dog, including the fact that in Zloty's world, a man must be bought or caught in the wild. Allen is making a very large comparison here, involving the time when once humans enslaved other humans, especially when it is revealed that many of the mans end up in the mines. Zloty persists and eventually is given a female man by his father.

Oafs are similar to the mythical giants, only infused with intelligence. The oafs even eat humans and have structure as to what they should and shouldn't do with a man. Mans do not receive an education and there are many that are not taught to speak. Those that learn to speak, play instruments and other fine talents are more expensive than the ones who don't. Owning such a man is a signature of wealth. Mans are reckoned to be sub-Oafs, that they don't experience the same type of emotions as an Oaf. It is believed that mans will speak of silly things and Oafs ignore most of it. Oafs will separate a female man from her child, if it is found necessary. If an Oaf conceives a child with a human, that female will be exterminated. A child of both lineages is regarded as an abomination.

Zloty's female man that he has ends up having a girl child, whom Zloty calls Red Locks due to her red hair. When she travels through to the world where humans are in control, she is dubbed Rose by her husband. The novel becomes Rose's story as the world of the Oafs begins to unravel. After mining the earth of all its nutrients, the Oafs are left with endless winter and nothing that will grow. The seas eventually rise up, flooding the entire world. Rose had escaped from the Oaf world and resided happily in the human world before such a thing happened. She had a son, Mike, of Oafen heritage in a non-consensual union and was almost annihilated for this reason. After Rose is gone, the story follows Mike as he returns to the Oafen world to discover a world of humans and oafs who are the conventional giants.

Review

This novel is highly recommended. Allen superbly captures the dichotomy between a perceived lower class and also the differences between worlds. He toys with the ideas of self-worth and what mans mean to a family. Allen gives a poignant look at what it means to have been enslaved and the possibility of what could happen. This is a book that will be read over and over to be able to understand and grasp the entirety of all that is inside of it.