Reviewer: Sharon Brunner
Evil forces trapped animate objects in a Misplaced Universe in M. Kelly Peach’s book The Adventures of ArgyLe Sock. The animate objects varied from articles of clothing and socks to metal items such as paper clips, scissors, and clipboards. These objects could speak, move around,d and have intelligent thoughts. The capitalized L in ArgyLe meant he was supposed to be worn on the left foot. He had a brother named ARgyle and this sock was to be worn on the right foot. A LSSU hoodie was mentioned on page 24 so the story may have occurred in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, or someplace in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (U.P.), and the time period appeared to be present time. The author currently lives in the U.P. In the book, the animate objects were referred to as Things with a capital T. Often a blue light would appear before they were sucked into the crack or opening, and they would end up at the Misplaced Universe. ArgyLe was also referred to as Gyles and he was amongst other objects made mostly of metal when he was trapped in the alternate dimension. The animate objects faced dangerous enemies when they traveled as a group referred to as the Argylenauts. They went on a harrowing adventure to find out how Gyles could return home.
The themes that appeared throughout the book were bravery, friendship, and loyalty. When they faced the terrifying killer robot, Gyles jumped on the robot and blocked his sight. The Argylenauts stuck together throughout their journey across uncharted lands knowing they may run into mind-controlling Dataks and other perilous adversaries in the effort to find a way for Gyles to return to earth to save his brother from a fiendish puppy. Gyles developed close friendships with the Things he met at the Misplaced Universe. He transformed from a self-centered, know-it-all Thing to a compassionate and dedicated friend and brother.
When reading this book the book “Alice in Wonderland” came to mind. In this book the Queen of Hearts led a pack of playing cards that came to life. The book was published in 1865 and written by Charles Lutwig Dodgson under the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll. Another book that came to mind was “The Nature of Things: The Secret Life of Inanimate Objects” by Lyall Watson which explored the concept of lifeless objects taking on the memory and energy from emotional fingerprints associated with their interactions with humans. The objects could retain traces of the past that influenced the present. A movie that came to mind was “Toy Story,” which expanded to four additional movies in which dolls came to life. The main characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear found themselves in many predicaments. They lived in a boy’s bedroom. The animate objects in “The Adventures of ArgyLe Sock” portrayed the characteristics of humans such as various feelings, intelligent thoughts, loyalty and friendship.
I felt the book related to me personally because I recently lost one of my husband’s socks. I looked in the clothing and in the dryer and could not find it. Did it go to the Misplaced Universe and has to help clean up the universe of all the unwanted paper? My belief in the life of trees kind of fits with the same concept in the book. It was known to some degree that trees take care of each other; for example, they ensure that other trees have enough water. Trees work under an integrated system. During my studies and working with other Native Americans, I learned that it was believed that Mother Earth takes care of us. Animals also teach us important lessons to live by. What I learned from attending paranormal conferences was that objects can become haunted and could take on a threatening evil presence.
What I liked about the book was the humorous antidotes displayed throughout the book. It was hilarious when the dryer sheet forced the sock to enter the lint trap and ended up being trapped in the Misplaced Universe. Peach gave the inanimate objects believable feelings. When the toy truck was hurt by the killer robot, he was crying in pain. In the alternate universe, the Things could do what they wanted without getting caught by humans. On earth they had to be careful and only talk at night or when the humans were not present. It was endearing how much Gyles cared about his brother. I thought the latent reason behind the massive amount of paper such as paper receipts at the Misplaced Universe was an indication of how much is overspent by the Americans. Peach mentioned a receipt for multiple movies that would be watched once and then left on the shelf to collect dust. There was so much waste. I thought it was humorous when he mentioned the mountain of misplaced homework and government documents. What I found a little hard to accept was paper clips and other metal objects playing games with small beads and walking. The sock on the front cover had legs so did the paper clips have legs. Had a little difficulty picturing it and how they talk and see. Gyles kept mentioning his oculars.
I recommend The Adventures of ArgyLe Sock for its endearing content about loyalty and friendship, because of its extensive humor, its creative way of how the Things solved problems and handled difficult tasks, and its demonstration of the bravery of the characters when they faced terrifying circumstances. Before the Argylenauts started on their harrowing adventure, the one in charge, the clipboard, had a map drawn up. It was exhausting and extremely difficult for the mechanical pencil and other tools to prepare the map. The Things became tired and needed to sleep which gave them human characteristics. Gyles missed his old friends and feared for his brother’s life. A game was played by paper clips and a small bead and the game was watched by a large crowd. They improved their method of playing so they would win. Peach did a wonderful job of bringing a lot of the objects to life by creating realistic scenarios. The book was filled with lots of humor and many heart-filled experiences.
Title: The Adventures of ArgyLe Sock
Author: M. Kelly Peach
