User:Steve Quinn/My Brother’s Book

My Brother’s Book is Maurice Sendak's last book, which was completed before the American writer and illustrator's death in May 2012 at age 83. Although Mr. Sendak was well known for producing children's picture books, this book is aimed at an adult audience. It was originally published posthumously by HarperCollins in 2013.

In memoriam
Previously, Sendak's most well known previous works indicate a fathomless depth of complex feelings. He previously stated, "I cry a lot because I miss people. They die, and I can’t stop them. They leave me, and I love them more.” This book was written in memory of his brother Jack, who died in 1995. This book also seems to contain an undercurrent of requiem for his longtime companion of fifty years, Eugene Glynn, who died in 2007. Hence, the overarching themes are of loss, danger and flight, which are well known "Sendakian themes."

Also, this last book written by Mr. Sendak appears to be reminiscent of a book he illustrated at age seven. It was co-authored by his then 12 year old brother Jack, who wrote the text. It was entitled "We Are Inseparable" and their muse was their 16 year old sister, with whom they were both infatuated. It is about a love affair between a fictional brother and sister. During a culminating hospital scene, the brother is extremely bandaged after an accident. The two are embraced when they declare, "we are inseparable!" before an immediate tragic ending.

The story was well received by Sendak's older relatives just after its completion. However, "We Are Inseparable" has never been published, only recounted in various interviews by Mr. Sendak.

Another theme is "home". Not in the domestic sense, but home as earthly existence. Likewise, the opening fireball relegates the story to a cosmic realm rather than ordinary concerns.

Plot
The book focuses on two brothers, Guy and Jack, ensconced in a series of fantastical settings and circumstances.

A giant fireball, a meteor, which is a "fallen star" that "scorches the sky", strikes the earth "on a bleak midwinter’s night." This forcibly ejects and separates the brothers to opposite sides of the globe. Jack is thrust to a stark polar region and Guy is catapulted to a greener, warmer climate. The tale ends with the brothers united and "they share an earth-bound sleep."