Munmun by Jesse Andrews

After rereading Me and Earl and the Dying Girl last week, I was excited to try another book by Jesse Andrews. I settled on Munmun, a novel quite different to the young adult contemporary that I know this author for. I started off my reading a little uncertain as to whether I would end up liking it. When Stephen Chbosky moved from young adult contemporary to something different, I ended up absolutely hating it. I didn't want it to be the same situation here. Plus, the plot description of Munmun is just bizarre. Still though, I wanted to give it a shot and see if I might find another favorite. 

Munmun is set in an alternate version of the United States in which a person's material wealth determines their physical size. The more munmun (money) you have in the bank, the bigger you are. The poorest of society, known as the littlepoor, are about the size of rats. The ultra-wealthy are literal giants, towering over everyone. The plot of the novel follows Warner, a littlepoor who is on a mission with his sister, Prayer, to try and get bigger. This is not an easy thing to do, as littlepoors are too small for things like public schools, cars, and phones. Warner and Prayer are facing immense disadvantages as they try to make their way around their city and search for opportunities. Their journey together is anything but straightforward and brings them into contact with people all over the scale of possible sizes. Many of these people try to exploit the siblings, and navigating through their world is confusing at best and dangerous at worst.

One advantage Warner does have is his ability to dream. In this universe, the dream world is a shared space. When people fall asleep, they all show up in the same unconscious plane of existence. They can speak and interact with others, even those who are physically far away from them in the waking world. Most people can't really control what they do in the dream world; they just drift along aimlessly. Warner, though, can create intricate images and experiences for people. He is capable of dreaming up peaceful vistas, bizarre adventures, or terrifying nightmares. This ability sets him apart from others, and figuring out a way to translate it into munmuns just might be the answer to securing his family's future.

Munmun was incredibly strange, but incredibly great as well. I really found myself enjoying the absurd world that Andrews created. It was filled with weird language, impossible biology, and dystopian rules. Its message about wealth inequality was well-crafted and creatively expressed. Beyond its themes, the story was compelling on its own. I read this quickly, anxious to see where Warner would end up. I was continually challenged by the text to decipher its weird little phrasings and identify the parallels between it and our world. It was a totally unique and unexpected reading experience for me, and for that nice surprise, I'm calling this one a new favorite. 

The symbolism in Munmun is not subtle. It's clear what Andrews is trying to say as we watch the bigrich giants in society literally step all over the littlepoors. Watching Warner be physically unable to access schools, cars, phones, and the attention of the police is a clear message about how those living below the poverty line find it difficult to access these things in real life. In addition to the obvious, however, Andrews also touches on aspects of poverty that readers may not have given much thought to before. For example, when richer characters show kindness to Warner and Prayer, there is nearly always something sinister or selfish behind it. They have to constantly be on their guard against all sorts of exploitation. They can never just trust anyone - everything has strings attached somehow. They are also constantly made to feel shame for not measuring up (figuratively and literally in this case) to wealthier people. This is so ingrained into their minds that Warner keeps reminding himself to feel ashamed when talking to other characters. There were a lot of situations sprinkled throughout the story that made me pause and realize how privileged I am to not have the same type of worries the littlepoors have.

The idea that was the most intriguing to me, and the reason I am rating this novel five stars, is the acknowledgement that in order to help those on the bottom rung of society, we need to be willing to weaken ourselves. Logically speaking, I know that a society that wants to support its most vulnerable members must make sacrifices (i.e. pay more taxes). However, the way that Andrews explores this concept within his work made me think about it in a different way. In Warner's world, if a richer person shares money with a poorer person, the poorer person will grow bigger. At the same time, the richer person will have to get a bit smaller. You have to purposefully lower yourself in the world, which is a tough thing to get anyone with a lot of accumulated wealth to do. At one point, Warner puts forth an idea that if the wealthiest members of society could contribute a small portion of their munmuns to the little poor, they could get everyone tall enough to access everything they needed. He, of course, is given several reasons why that would never work that all go back to protecting the wealthy. The height analogy provided a different lens to view these ideas in, and I thought it worked well.

That being said, I know that Munmun is not a book that everyone will enjoy. The wacky language and surreal universe will not be everyone's cup of tea, and the swearing throughout the text will certainly turn some readers off. Those that like unorthodox fiction though, will find this to be a quirky story about an important social issue. I don't think that I like this one more than Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, but it was definitely a winner. It made me laugh and think, and that's an excellent combination in young adult fiction. I look forward to reading more from Jesse Andrews in the future.

Challenge Tally

Then vs. Now: 12/27

Total Books Read in 2020: 45