Emily’s Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary (published 1961) is a funny semi-autobiographical historical novel about a girl in the 1920s living in rural Oregon, written by the esteemed and well-beloved Beverly Cleary. I hadn’t know Cleary had written any historical fiction books; I’d only been familiar with her Ramona and Henry Huggins books, some of which feel contemporary to the 1950s and 1960s, which was indeed when they were written. Emily’s story gave a unique insight into the troubles and triumphs of living in rural American in the 1920s, as well as echoing the same feelings and embarrassments that tweens experience today.
Somehow, Emily’s decisions turn into small adventures. Her mother blames the mix-ups on Emily’s “runaway imagination.” In some respects, I wanted to hear more about her imagination! But there were plenty of episodic adventures here. During Emily’s year, she and her mother start a public library, Emily gets her family’s pigs drunk, she gets to ride in an automobile with her grandfather, and she comes to love and appreciate the neighbor she’s always been intimidated by. Some of these, as you can see, are unique to the era, but in general, Emily feels like any tween living her life.
Most of all, she wants to avoid embarassment in front of her mother’s friends. Somehow, everything relates to her discomfort at being herself. From the beginning, it’s clear that her own misunderstandings cause more embarrassment than anything else, something that I’m sure my daughters would understand since apparently, I’m the most embarassing of all mothers.
One big cause of embarrasment for Emily is her relationship with her neighbor, Fong Quock, a man who came from China by himself many years ago (50 years?) and has lived in the small town of Pitchfork, Oregon, ever since. This was the only recurring character that gave me a little feel of cringe. Honestly, though, I don’t think he was treated in a racist way. He was involved in town and endearing to me. One day, Emily corrects him when he calls her dog “Plince” instead of “Prince.” I suppose this could be considered racist. But instead, Fong Quock laughs and it becomes a town joke: the dog’s called Plince for the rest of the book. Fong Quock also becomes influential in the down because of his support of the library. Although there are comments about how he has become more American since he arrived (he no longer wore his hair in a cue, and he wore American clothes), Emily becomes more comfortable near him, and eventually sends him a Valentine, shown how much she appreciates him. Is this racism or just a nine-year-old girl getting comfortable with someone she’s been intimiated by?
A few times I thought Emily was a bit immature for a nine-year-old. Would she really think her mother was selling her for a monkey wrench? Other times, however, I felt like Cleary captured a child this age remarkably well: I was convinced that my child may hae made similar choices. One example is when she was wearing her “best dress” to the hobo party, only to discover that because it’s so small it matches the other “hobo” costumes remarkably well; that is, it looks silly and “cheap.” Emily was clever too — renaming her pie when it didn’t turn out well. I loved the chapter when she helped her grandpa open gates while they were out for their first automobile ride! It gave a little bit of context to the earliest cars and different life was in that era. (They were delighted to be going so fast, at 25 miles per hour.) Emily shows her strength and growing confidence.
Some may not have liked the episodic nature of the book, but I saw them as all tied together with Emily’s embarrassed connection to Fong Quock, her desire to read more, and her creativity as she imagines the results of her decisions. Yes, most of the time her imagination “ran away” with her and the result was not at all as she had dreamed. Would we have wanted it any other way?
Beverly Cleary herself was nine years old in 1925, and she lived in a small “pioneer” Oregon community similar to Pitchfork until she was six years old. I’ve read some other books about her life, and I’m delighted to say that a number of the events, the house, and the Emily’s adventures are parallels to Beverly’s own. What a delightful way to learn about life in the 1920s than through Beverly’s own amusing stories! Cleary has shown her talent once again in Emily’s Runaway Imagination.
