Friday, August 14, 2015

Review: The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers

Synopsis: "A bluebear has twenty-seven lives. I shall recount thirteen and a half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest..." says the narrator of Walter Moers's epic adventure. "I should be lying if I claimed that my firs thirteen and a half lives uneventful. What about the Minipirates? What about the Hobgoblins, the Spiderwitch, the Babbling Billows, the Troglotroll, the Mountain Maggot...What about the Venomous Vampires, the Gelatine Price from the 236th Dimension...Mine is a tale of mortal danger and eternal love, of hair's breath, last-minute escapes..." (from the back of the book)

Review: I bought this because I enjoyed Moers' The City of Dreaming Books. But this just wasn't my cup of tea. One review called this, "equal parts J.K. Rowling, Douglas Adams, and Shel Silverstein." Well, this is no Rowling, I can tell you that. But it does feel as if Douglas Adams wrote a book using Shel Silverstein's vocabulary and syntax. And that just isn't me. It's far to nonsensical for my tastes. One compliment I give is that this would be an excellent read-aloud book for kids (although the section where Bluebear becomes the King of Lies might need explaining). With silly words and sillier situations, I can see kids very much enjoying it. And its complex enough that the adult reader might enjoy it also - but not me.

Bookmarks: 6 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 978-1-5856-844-0
Date Finished: 8-1-2015

Pages: 703

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