by Oliver Jeffers
This is a toughie. Stuck is, without a doubt, one of my
favorite picture books of the year. I knew the moment I read it that I needed
to blog about it. The difficulty comes in figuring out exactly how to review a
comic tour de force like Stuck without spoiling the absolutely hilarious
running gag that makes the book such a blast to read.
I’ve been a fan of Oliver Jeffers ever since his first
picture book, the magically poignant Lost and Found (which was, coincidentally,
the very first book I reviewed in the very first issue of Cookie). That book
was easy to write about. It is a gorgeously illustrated story about a boy who
helps a wayward penguin back home to the South Pole. It, too, has plenty of
wonderful subtle humor, but none of it is so intrinsically tied to the plot
that a summary of the book would ruin the jokes. And that is the case with
Stuck. To explain why Stuck is so wonderfully funny, would be to take away the
joy of discovering that absurdist, mildly subversive humor yourself.
Stuck is about a boy who needs to get his kite untangled
from the branches of a tall tree. To say more than that would be too much. What
happens next is so simple — and so unbelievably silly — that it’s pure genius. Like
the best sketch comedy, Stuck manages to take one basic joke and keep building
upon it and enhancing it for bigger and bigger laughs. It’s laugh-out-loud
stuff. You’ll just have to take my word for it.
Stuck releases on November 11th.
Stuck releases on November 11th.
Best for: Fans of The Simpsons or perhaps even Monty Python;
anyone who understands that humor can be sophisticated and silly at the same
time; kite lovers.
No comments:
Post a Comment