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I Am the Cheese
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I Am the Cheese (1977) (edit title/settings)

by Robert Cormier (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

In this complicated, chilling novel of the savagery of modern society, Adam mentally relives his past while facing the interrogation and trauma of his present life as a guest of the government. ALA Notable Children's Book; Horn Book Fanfare Honor Book; ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

Summary edit see section history

The book starts off with the central character, Adam Farmer, riding his bicycle to Rutterburg, Vermont with a package for his father. As he travels, he starts to remember the events leading to the end of the book. These same memories are also being filled out in psychiatric interviews that... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The book starts off with the central character, Adam Farmer, riding his bicycle to Rutterburg, Vermont with a package for his father. As he travels, he starts to remember the events leading to the end of the book. These same memories are also being filled out in psychiatric interviews that occur at an undetermined time throughout the book.

One day he receives a phone call from his girlfriend, Amy Hertz. She says that her father met a reporter from the town Adam supposedly was born in, and the reporter had never heard of any "Farmers" in the town. This gave Adam suspicions, and he began spying on his parents. He finds two birth certificates: one with his birthday listed as February 14 (Valentines Day) and another with his birthday as July 14 (Bastille Day). This aroused his suspicions further. He starts looking around the house and then his father tells him the truth.

Adam Farmer's real name is Paul Delmonte. His father had been an investigative reporter who uncovered a large conspiracy and testified against it. After several attempts on his life, he and his family entered the Department of Re-identification. Adam had not been told about his past for his entire life.

Later, they received a phone call from their protector, Mr. Grey, saying that they may have been discovered. They go on "vacation" to hide. One day while on vacation, their "protection" attacked them, killing Adam's mother instantly. Adam survived, and heard that his father was being pursued, but was not sure he had been found and killed at first. He was placed in a hospital where he is interrogated every year by a doctor named Brint. Each time he ends up forgetting everything and begins the journey again.

Adam is not biking to Rutterberg at all; he is in fact going in circles in a mental health facility and all the people he encounters on the way to Rutterberg are actually the patients and workers there. The sessions with Brint in the novel represent the third time he has been questioned. The final interview ends with a list of several possible outcomes, but none bode well for Adam: questioning him until he dies or terminating him.

The chapters alternate between first-person, present tense during Adam's journey and third-person, past tense, during the psychiatric interviews.

Characters/People edit see section history

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

I am riding the bicycle and I am on Route 31 in Monument, Massachusetts, on my way to Rutterburg, Vermont, and I'm pedaling furiously because this is an old-fashioned bike, no speeds, no fenders, only the warped tires and the brakes that don't always work and the handlebars with cracked rubber grips to steer with.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Robert Cormier (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: 1977
ISBN: 0394834623
Page Count: 233

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: pz7.c81634iac
  • Dewey: fic

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Note appropriate for young children due to complicated story line and disturbing content.

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

   
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