To Be Or Not To Be

To Be or Not to Be

A Coming of Age Story with a Dash of Sci-Fi Novel by T. J. P. Campbell

This is a story that tackles the question of existence and ill fortune mainly through the trials and tribulations of a young girl, Sally Munkton—a girl with a unique character. The story aims to lead the young reader into the golden age of reading. The story is a tour de force in melodramatic dissection and in the depth of emotional content that it springs unexpectedly on the young reader.

This novel is crossover material also, in the sense that the prose is designed for the adult reader who can especially appreciate the suspense of knowing things about life that they know the young Sally Munkton and her peers cannot understand. The story also aims to remind the adult reader of their childhood in a uniquely entertaining way. It is an adventure story that uses the techniques of mystery and suspense to lead the reader to the ultimate resolution of the tale. It is an emotional rollercoaster.

The story has a definite yet unpredictable plot, but is also strong on character development. A reader may well see this as a coming-of-age story; particularly at its conclusion, where Sally Munkton exhibits the telltale signs of reaching a higher level of maturity (as if her whole mind has reconnected all its parts on reaching a new understanding of life). This spectacular hair-standing-on-end ending aims to evoke a tremendous explosion of excitement and emotion in the reader. The ultimate aim of the whole story is to produce an experience that transcends life itself (as only fiction can do) yet feels as if it really happened—despite its “impossibility”.

In terms of the story material itself, we introduce the Munktons with the surprise visit of the queen of Britain (a fictitious queen, though many readers may see it as Queen Elizabeth II—at the time the writing, the current queen of Britain). Sally’s family do not believe that the Queen will be visiting them for Tea despite Sally’s claims. Eventually, even Sally convinces herself the Queen will not be arriving—but the queen arrives. It is in the build up to, and during the Queen’s visit to the Munktons’ house, that we are introduced to the beginning of the mystery. We discover that there is an ‘unmentionable’ family matter. At the conclusion of the aftermath of the Queen’s visit, the ‘unmentionable’ is mentioned. It is the fact that the father of the Munktons’ recently died saving a boy who lived opposite them from a speeding car. But the beginnings of the mystery are the fact that the Queen hints that for some reason the father is to feature in a future meeting that will take place at a later date.

The reason for title of the novel and its subject matter becomes apparent as we see Shakespeare’s “To, be, or not to be” soliloquy (from Hamlet) introduced early in the story and feature prominently during and just after the Queen’s visit.

Many months later, just when the family were giving up hope of the Queen meeting them again, the Munktons’ receive an invitation to the New Year’s Honours Congregation to be held at Buckingham Palace. They arrive at the palace with some friends.

During some adventures on the eve of the congregation day, Sally discovers information that suggests that her father achieved something significant before he sacrificed his life saving the boy across the road. She discovers that the main award at the conclusion of the congregation is to be for her father—but she doesn’t know exactly why, and cannot even hazard a guess. The mystery deepens …

The mystery of what Sally’s father did is dramatically revealed at the finale of the congregation. Although clues to this conclusion are in some sense given earlier in the story (through the Queen’s Christmas Speech), the conclusion, when it comes, is almost certainly impossible for the reader to have imagined. All the questions and mysteries raised in the book are answered. Ultimately, the conclusion to the mystery is tied to Sally’s understanding of the question…To Be, Or Not To Be?

To Be or Not to Be:

Sally and her brother Tim learn Life’s lessons through an incredible adventure.

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