The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad trip
Review: "The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha" is a fast-paced, funny adventure by Newbery-winner Lloyd Alexander. It's got action, a dash of romance, humor, tragedy, and a moral lesson that doesn't beat you over the head. It's not quite perfect, but fairly close to it.

Lukas-Kasha is a professional bum, an accomplished slacker, a boy who takes great pride in doing nothing at all. But all that has to change when a strange magician sends him through time and space in a bucket of water. He washes up on a strange beach, and is quickly whisked off to the city of Abadan and is crowned King Kasha. (It was prophecied by the astrologer that the next king would come from the sea)

At first, Lukas is fine with this. Then he finds that the sinister vizier Shugdad is using him as a puppet -- and when he rebels, Shugdad plans to do away with him as he did the previous two kings. So Lukas runs away into the desert with a proud slave girl (Nur-Jehan) and a tart-tongued poet (Karim), to get help from the fierce, honorable Bishangaris. But Shugdad still wants to kill Lukas, and will do anything to get control of Abadan.

Alexander uses a cultural backdrop to most of his books -- most notably Wales in the Prydain Chronicles, but he also uses China, India, Greece, and so forth. This time, it's the Middle-East; he does an outstanding job of the exotic city of Abadan and the raw wilderness of the desert. There are some outstandingly funny scenes, such as Lukas tricking a merchant out of a horse. And the subplot about Lukas's growing selflessness is an excellent, subtle moral lesson.

Lukas is one of Alexander's most likeable heroes. He initially isn't very sympathetic because he is so proudly, insistently lazy, but his untapped decency wins out when he is called on to be a king, or a warrior, a trickster, or a peacemaker. He just needed something to spur him on. Nur-Jehan is flatter than most of Alexander's heroines, because she lacks that special spark that the other heroines do. Karim is likeably acidic, the voice of reason, and the astrologer Lucman is sweet because he simply cannot get his predictions right, until he's scrounging in the streets.

It's not Alexander's best, but it's up near the top of the list. "The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha" is definitely worth a read, and definitely a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: Remains one of my favorite books of all time
Review: I first read "Lukas-Kasha" at twelve, and loved it so much I promptly read it a second time. I then wrote an enthusiastic book review of it. At thirty, I still remembered it and wanted to read it again -- only to find it was out of print. About six months of searching landed me two well-used copies, which I promptly gave away in my enthusiasm to win converts. Perhaps I'll now buy five or six.

I've read a few other Lloyd Alexander books, and they strike me as rather formulaic fantasy, a genre I don't care for. "Lukas," on the other hand, is a very non-formulaic fable. Rather, it is a keenly insightful, compassionate, and honest treatment of universal issues facing adolescents: developing an identity, deciding between right and wrong, developing deep friendships, coping with loss and disappointment, and formulating a system of values.

One adult friend of mine dismissed "Lukas Kasha" as "puerile;" I can't agree. While I admit some of the dialogue and a few of the jokes are labored, the overall narrative gives a convincingly optimistic vision of the triumph of compassion over greed and self-interest. If you know of a sensitive, earnest young adolescent, male or female, perhaps a little misunderstood, you couldn't do better than to give him or her this book.

Rating:
Summary: Amazingly good!
Review: Lloyd Alexander spins another adventure tale, one of his best. Whether you've read Mr. Alexander before or not, you will not be disappointed in this book. Only Roald Dahl rivals Alexander's originality. I remember this book from when I was a child, and how it seemed so thrilling, so original, so engrossing.

Rating:
Summary: Great for boys
Review: My son is 11, and just read this. He raves about it. It is funny and a good adventure, exotic and colorful.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: Remembering Lloyd Alexander from when I enjoyed his novels in grade school, I just had to pick up and read this book when a younger sibling checked it out of the library. It was every bit as entertaining and delightful as I remember his other books (mostly the Prydain Chronicles) to be. It tells the humorous tale of the town delinquent, Lukas Kasha, and how he is magically transported to the kingdom of Abadan where the people instantly hail him as king. All is not well in the kingdom; however, and the story shows how Lukas is transformed (almost against his will) into a mature and responsible man. Lloyd still spins a wonderful story, and "The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha" is guaranteed to entertain.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: Remembering Lloyd Alexander from when I enjoyed his novels in grade school, I just had to pick up and read this book when a younger sibling checked it out of the library. It was every bit as entertaining and delightful as I remember his other books (mostly the Prydain Chronicles) to be. It tells the humorous tale of the town delinquent, Lukas Kasha, and how he is magically transported to the kingdom of Abadan where the people instantly hail him as king. All is not well in the kingdom; however, and the story shows how Lukas is transformed (almost against his will) into a mature and responsible man. Lloyd still spins a wonderful story, and "The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha" is guaranteed to entertain.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best!
Review: This is an absolutely enjoyable book. Lukas Kasha is a young man who claims the title of the town laze- when a magician sends him to another land and he's the new king of this land. Lukas Kasha much grow up, learn to govern, and stick to his morals in a kingdom of very few morals. (Killing is the norm for many of the people in this new land.) The plot is fast paced and the characters are fun. It is easy to get swept up in reading this book and loose all sence of time. Wonderful. I particularly liked the lessons Lukas learns during his adventure and how he takes them right away and puts them into place in his life. I also liked how he tried to do right by people even though encouraged not to and the easier way would be to not help the people he did help. Truly a great lesson in how everything that you put out, you get back ten fold.

Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: This is a FABULOUS book!
Review: This is by far my favorite Lloyd Alexander title (and I've read almost all of his children's literature). It's characters are engaging, and the plot is unpredictable and fast-paced. The ending is surprising, and the whole thing is loads of fun!!!

Rating:
Summary: Another Classic by Lloyd Alexander
Review: This is the eleventh or twelfth novel I've read by Alexander, and every one of them has truly deserved a five star rating. I know Alexander has built a strong legion of fans, but he should still be read more often. Few writers (especially in childrens' and young adult literature) give their readers more think about, and even fewer do so while entertaining as well as Alexander does.

The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha is one of Alexander's best. It is told with humor and is exciting. The protagonist is Lukas-Kasha who is the town rascal in a fifteenth-century European town. He runs across a magician who sends him into another life. He is Kasha, King of Abadan. He wants to continue his old rascally way, only with a lot more resources and freedom, but his position forces him to become involved in the country's affairs. It is in a disgraceful war, and the real power in the country lies with the Grand Vizier who is a tyrant. When Kasha is stripped of his position and the Grand Vizier becomes "king," the country is in severe danger, and Kasha (along with friends) must try to save the country and gain back power.

All of Kasha's experiences serve to give him insight into his old life. Kasha begins to grow up. He learns lessons about growth, responsibility, and personal values. He is profoundly changed by his experiences. Overall, The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha is excellent, and it wil serve well as a jumping point into some of Alexander's even better works like (his masterpiece) the Westmark Trilogy, (of course) the Prydain Chronicles, and The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!!!
Review: When I was in 6th grade the librarian and my reading teacher forced every student to read a book from a list of acclaimed works for kids. We had no say so in what book we read; they just gave each of us a book and told us to read it and write a report.
I hated the idea and resented the assignment. I assumed I would hate the book, too.
Instead, this book won me over. I was enthralled from the very beginning. If you have a child who detests literature and wouldn't consider reading a fiction book, give this book to them. 20 + years later I think I'll read it again.