I couldn't help interrupting to suggest that the word she was looking for might be
E
XTENDED
, and there was a general groan of exasperation. But Cordelia held up her hand and said no, fold-out was right because . . .
See?!
And from her bag she brought out a pile of what looked like pieces of coloured paper but were actually birthday hats, cut out from a chain of people-shapes joined at the hands and feet. We all had to put a hat on, and I could tell everyone felt a bit silly at first, but after a while we saw that we all looked the same.
And suddenly Hassan got to his feet, pulling up the person on either side of him until we were all standing, holding hands like the paper people. Mady started singing an old Persian happy birthday song, and everyone seemed to know the words, or maybe we just knew the tune, which actually seemed like the same thing, so we sang like the wind whistling down the mountains in Afghanistan or across the red deserts of Australia, and I knew, right then, that this was the place to end my story, at the best moment of my life so far, here in Mady's restaurant.
THE END
LOUIS MONTGOMERY'S WORD BANK
Word
| Meaning |
Synonyms
ABRUPT
Unexpectedly sudden
Brusque, curt, truncated
AMOROUS
In love; from the Latin, amor (says Elena)
Enamoured, loving
APPALLED
Filled with dismay
Horrified, repelled
AROMA
A pleasing odour (unlike Gus's brother's farts, or mine)
Smell
BESIEGED
Surrounded aggressively; laying siege to
Harassed, hemmed in
BLACKGUARD
A bad person without morals
Villain, scoundrel
BREVITY
Of short duration
Being really concise
BUOYANT
Being able to float or rise in a liquid; bounce back emotionally from disaster
Cheerful, optimistic
CAJOLED
Coaxed or wheedled; tried to persuade
CATAPULT
Sprung up; from the ancient military machine for hurling stones; a slingshot
Leapt out, hurled
CLARIFY
Make clearer
Elucidate
COMPANIONABLE
Sociable; of good company
Friendly
COMPASSION
The deep feeling of sharing the suffering of another and wanting to help; show mercy
Sympathy, empathy, concern
CONCISE
Summing up your points precisely, without unnecessary detail
Brief
CULINARY
To do with cooking and the kitchen
Gastronomic
DELETERIOUS
Something harmful
Negative, injurious
DERANGED
Disturbed; in Italian, pazza (says Elena)
Upset, crazy
DEVASTATING
Appalling, unbelievably shattering
Defeating, ruinous
DILEMMA
A dreadful problem, a very awkward situation
Difficulty
DISILLUSIONMENT
The painful state of having your illusions and hopes dashed
Disenchantment
EBULLIENT
Overflowing with excitement
Extremely enthusiastic, exuberant
ECSTATIC
Buoyantly happy; in a state of ecstasy,
Euphoric, blissful
EMPATHY
Entering into the feelings or motives of another person
Pity, sympathy, compassion
EXCRUCIATING
Unbearably painful
Agonising
EXQUISITE
Beautifully made or designed; acutely perceptive or discriminating
Spectacular, magnificent
EXPONENTIALLY
Multiply GIGANTICALLY â by heaps (Rosie says the word is a Maths term, to do with logarithms, but feel free to use it to describe anything that's multiplying rapidly, like bacteria in a wound, or the imagination, with exercise)
FLATULENCE
Too much air in the stomach
Wind, gas, farting potential
FORTIFYING
Securing a position with fortifications
Strengthening
FUNEREAL
To do with funerals
Morbid, really sad
GARBLED
Distorted sound, making a message hard to understand
Scrambled
IMMORAL
Without morals, principles, or ethics
Very bad, like a blackguard
INTACT
All of a piece, nothing missing Whole, complete
Intractable
Difficult to manage or manoeuvre
Stubborn as anything
INTREPID
Courageous
Fearless, undaunted, incredibly brave
IRONIC
The use of words or actions to show the opposite of their meaning
Humorous, clever
IRREPLACEABLE
Unable to be replaced or substituted
Crucial, indispensable
LA CERATED
Torn; distressed deeply; cut with jagged edges (words can lacerate, too)
Mangled, wounded
LITERALLY
To uphold the true meaning of a word
Really, actually
LUGUBRIOUS
Mournful, from the Latin lugubri(s), (says Elena)
Doleful, gloomy
MALLEE BULL
Extremely strong and fit, to survive the dry country of the Mallee in Victoria
MANGY
Of shabby appearance; full of bare spots
Wretched, squalid
MOROSELY
In a melancholy way
Sullenly, gloomily
NONCHALANT
Seemingly unconcerned; having a donft.care attitude
Casually indifferent
OMINOUS
An omen or sign, menacing
Portentous, threatening
PERIL
Imminent terrible danger, serious risk!
PERPLEXITIES
Things that puzzle, or are very complicated or intricate
Puzzlements, intricacies
PIQUANT
Pleasantly disturbing taste or odour
Spicy, pungent
PONDERING
Considering carefully
Thinking over, weighing up
PUNGENT
Sharp, biting taste or smell; pointed, penetrating comment
Acrid, caustic
REMOTEST
Furthest away
Isolated, distant
REVERIE
Lost in thought
Trance, daydream
RIGOR MORTIS
Muscles going stiff and rigid after death
ROBUST
Strong, healthy, well.developed
RUEFULLY
Expressing sadness or regret; often with a faintly sardonic, bitter kind of compassion
Wryly
SARDONICALLY
Scornfully, mockingly, influenced by the Latin herba Sardonia âSardinian herb', a poisonous plant that distorts the face of the eater (says Elena, who was told by her Aunty Maria from Sardinia)
Cynically, sarcastically
SCABROUS
Rough to the touch, not very nice, a bit rude
Knotty, yucky
SINISTER
Suggesting an evil force or motive; from the Latin, meaning on the left, which was thought to be unlucky in the old days, (says Elena)
Malign, dire (rhymes with wire), ominous
STAGNATE
Stop moving or flowing; lie inactive for ages; become stale, lose energy
STATISTICS
The collection, organisation and interpretation of numerical data
SUBLIME
Majestic, something of extremely high worth
Awesome, grand, supreme, noble, exquisite!
TA NTALISING
Teasing or tormenting by giving a glimpse of something appealing but keeping it out of reach
TERRESTRIAL
Of the earth or its inhabitants as opposed to something heavenly
Earthly, mundane
THYME
An aromatic herb from the genus
Thymus, often used for seasoning
TRANSFIGURED
Figure or appearance changed
Transformed, altered
TRANSLUCENT
Allowing light to shine through but blurring, making images indistinct
TUMULTUOUS
Noisy and disorderly
Riotous
VA LIANTLY
Acting with valour or stout heart Bravely, courageous (Compiled with assistance from
The Heritage Illustrated Dictionary
and Elena Spezia)
ANNA FIENBERG
began writing stories when she was only eight years old. She says: âI've always had a passion for words. I used to collect them, like some people collect stamps. Certain words gave me a special, billionaire feeling, and when uttered, seemed to have a magical effect. But it was my son and his passion for wrestling that gave me the idea for this book. He and his friends spent hours trying to roll their eyeballs up into their heads, poking out their tongues and scowling like the wrestling star, The Undertaker. They folded each other over like envelopes, pounded, leaped on, crashed into, headlocked, and jumped over each other. The noise from the other end of the house was sometimes so alarming.
âOne thing I noticed as I was growing up was that it was good to have a passion of your own, but lonely if no one else shared it. Words were the perfect passion to have, though, because eventually, if you figured out how to use them in the right way, you could share what you cared about most. And when you read other people's words you could go inside their minds and understand what they cared about most. What I love about books is that they tell you what everyone is thinking, but not saying.
âIt was C S Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, who said, “We read so as not to be alone.” Those wonderful books of his, and all the myriad of others I've read in my life have always been such rich company. I hope when you pick up Louis Beside Himself that you'll find that sort of company, too.'
Anna Fienberg has written picture books, junior novels and fiction for teenagers and adults. Her books include the popular Tashi series, The Witch in the Lake, Number 8 and Horrendo's Curse, which was an Honour Book in the 2003 CBCA awards.