The BOY who SWAM WITH PIRANHAS review

Title: The Boy who Swam with Piranhas

Author: David Almond

Release Date: 5^th September 2013

Publisher: Walker

‘Fish fish fish fish!

FISH FISH FISH FISH!

Fish in buckets and fish in bins!’

Stan’s Uncle Ernie has developed an extra ordinary fascination with canning fish, and life at 69 Fish Quay Lane has turned barmy!

Then barmy becomes barbaric and Stan runs away with the fair, where he finds himself a new kind of family: Dostoyevsky and Nitasha from the hook-a-duck, the mysterious Gypsy Rose... and the legendary Pancho Pirelli, the man who swims with Piranhas.

Finally, Stan has a chance to shine; to be the person he was meant to be. But does he have the courage to dive into the churning, swirling waters of the piranha tank?

Stan finds his life monotonous working for the family fish business and when his Uncle Ernie does something (almost) unforgiveable, Stan decides to run away with the fair. Fitting into a new kind of family, Stan realises his destiny

The boy who swam with piranhas is a touching book that is both funny and sad at the same time. The speech is written in David Almond's phonetic style for some of the characters and this is really the only thing that linked it to The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean, well, that and the strange larger than life characters which are beautifully constructed. See (http://lilypadlibraryuk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-true-tale-of-monster-billy-dean.html) for my review of The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean.

To say that I disliked the abstract style of The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean, I loved the structure of this tale (although that probably says more about me as a reader than David Almond's writing!). For me, the story flowed and it was very clear cut which bits the reader was meant to enjoy, the story wasn't predictable, just nicely comfortable. The settings were detailed and elaborate and added depth to the story as the characters travel cross country to be together again.

The characters of Uncle Ernie and Nitasha were the most complex because they weren't necessarily good or bad characters, they offered something much more complex. All the other characters are very clearly labelled as 'good' or 'bad' and offer security, we are meant to like Annie and Dostoyevsky and dislike Clarence P Clapp and his ‘lads’ whereas Ernie and Nitasha do some bad things but are so well loved by the other characters that they can be forgiven.

There was a little interlude where the storyteller threatens to abandon the track of the current story (following Stan) and drift off to another location where Annie and Ernie are. This almost reminded me of Lemony Snicket who likes to go off on a tangent and creates frustration for the reader who really just wants to know what will happen next!

Overall a nicely enjoyable read. It was really easy to get into and offered lovely creative characters that were lively enough to leap off the page. I would recommend this to someone who wants to read something a little bit quirky (but not as abstract as The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean) and I would be shocked if you didn't find at least 75% of it highly enjoyable. The illustrations are also really well done and add to the character of the novel.

4.5/5 An unusual book with a carnival feel 

THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER Billy DEAN Review

Title: THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER Billy DEAN telt by hisself

Author: David Almond

Release Date: 5^th July 2012

Publisher: Penguin

 

I WOS A SECRIT SHY AND TUNGTIED EMPTY HEDED THING.

 

I WAS TORT TO READ and rite and spell by my Tenda little Muther & by MR McCaufrey the butcha & by MISSUS MALONE AND HER GOSTS. SO I AM NOT CLEVA, SO PLEASE FORGIV MY FOLTS AND MY MISTAYKS.

 

 

I AM THE WON that GLARES INTO YOUR HARTS & THAT PROWLS INSYDE YOR DEEPIST DREMES.

 

WONCE I WAS THE ANJEL CHILDE.

NOW I AM THE MONSTER.

JUST READ AND LISSEN AND TAKE NOTE.

LET the words enter yor BLUD & BOANS.

 

I AM BILLY DEAN.

THIS IS THE TRUTH.

THIS IS MY TALE.

 

The amazing and astounding Billy Dean, brought up in a small room in the town of Blinkbonny by his aggressive father and his meek mother is finally introduced into the world in this unusual account.

This book was recommended to me by a friend and although it didn’t appear something I would enjoy, I thought I would give it a go. How I wish I hadn’t! While I understand the beauty within a novel such as this one and I don’t doubt that many readers will find it profound and intriguing, I did not. Some readers might enjoy reading about the dissection of a dead mouse or the neglect of a small boy but I am not one of those people. Although I prefer a good laugh out loud novel, I appreciate and have been known to enjoy a few thrillers and tear-jerkers but maybe my tiny little brain couldn’t comprehend the enormity of the message within the novel as I just ‘didn’t get it’.  
 

Written from the point of view of Billy, the narrative followed his train of thought and many words were spelt phonetically. I found this surprisingly easy to follow and it definitely created Billy’s character. There are some brilliant characters in the book and my favourite one was Missus Malone who seemed a cross between a pantomime baddie and a pantomime dame, melodramatic and over the top but with a tragic story of her own.

The plot lifted off about a third of the way in but up until that point, the limits of Billy’s surroundings meant that the reader was offered the strange musings in his head rather than much story. When Billy does venture into the outside world, his description of the landscape was poetic and I enjoyed this much more than his troubled thoughts. However, this didn’t lift the mood of the book enough and I felt it was all just a bit slow and strange.

I decided to persevere with the novel as it had been recommended but I must admit, I felt I was wading through mud at times. There isn’t a proper climax at the end of the novel, more of a collection of events that happen. Having read other reviews of this book, there are a variety of responses so I wouldn’t dissuade people from reading this book but it really wasn’t my cup of tea.

2.5/5 I hated it but you might not.