Grisly Tales from Tumblewater
by Bruno Vincent
A new one this time, folks! First published last year, 2010, and certainly worth attention. I`m not sure whether it really is good for children, though. The tales are undoubtedly grisly. Still, one never knows... To quote Daniel Dorey, to hear a story about something really terrible happening to someone else makes one not just sorry for the someone else, it also makes one feel lucky not to be them...
So young Daniel Dorey comes to Tumblewater, a place where it rains forever, the day before his medical studies are due to begin. What with mishap after mishap, he finds himself not only deprived of any possibility of starting his surgery studies and left penniless, but a "wanted criminal" to boot. A teenager too trusting for this sludgy half-ruined town of crooks and thieves and weirdos owned by no longer human landlord Caspian Prye, he has not committed any crime, but he has to flee and hide. Luckily for the boy, some persons he meets are decent people, and they help him.
The curious thing about Tumblewater is this: everybody there seems to have at least one story to tell, and they like telling their stories. Daniel thinks he should write all or at least most of the tales down and publish them. If only his own story does not prove fatal...
Young Daniel`s adventures are more like a background for the stories told by the people he meets. Every tale is grisly and terrifying and sad, not a single happy ending in the book, except perhaps for this: at the end of the book, Daniel Dorey is still alive.
The author surely can write. His horror stories are depressing yet fascinating. And, just perhaps, the children of nowadays should better get used to No Happy Ending tales. Anyway, I`m not sure I would want to translate this particular book. On the other hand, I would strongly disagree with those who might want to put the book under a ban. I suspect there will be quite a few such.
© Dodo