The First Two Lives of Lucas-Kasha

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.

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.

I am a university student now, and looking back on the events of my childhood that shaped my life, I have to include this book. Never before had anything stuck in my head and stayed with me so much. I have led a full and rich life, but it is fuller and richer than would otherwise be due to the thing this book did to me. Many books, good and otherwise, operate by leaving readers either fulfilled - as in comedies - or unfulfilled - as in tragedies. Very rarely does a book manage to successfully wield both. Though it must be odd to find this in a book intended for a younger audience, I think it is one of the best things that can happen to a child. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the reader is forced to reflect on it, by sheer writing ability and quality of story. Suddenly, a child must both recognize the tragedy and the comedy, and feel it buzzing in their brain for years. I never thought about what I read before. I never thought much about anything, just doing what seemed the proper thing to do. After this book, I began to really think. Thank you, Mr. Alexander, for giving the youth of the world this book. You touch lives, and shape minds more than most teachers, and on a much larger scale. I will never forget the magician, the bucket of water, or Lukas Kasha. I will be thinking of them on my death bed. They have become a part of my psyche. Oh, yeah, buy this book. I strongly recommend it for children 3rd-7th grade, and anyone else in the market for a good read. If I could give it five more stars, I would.

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!!!

This book contains that Alexander humor interlaced with wisdom that has distinguished many of his novels for children. One cannot help but laugh over Lukas-Kasha's pranks and no good mischief. Yet, through all this, one can see the growth of a boy to a young man who finally discovers himself and takes responsibility for it. This is probably one of Alexander's best work, next only to the Prydain Chronicles. It's sad that it's now "hard to find"