CANDY DOES MINNESOTA OR IS THAT THE ABARAT? (Abarat - Clive Barker)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Abarat - Clive Barker
Date:	13/02/03 (313 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Barker in his element, Imaginative paintings/pictures, Children will enjoy it too

Disadvantages: Hard to consider truly original

Having read Coldheart Canyon, I was hoping for better things from Abarat. Billed as Clive Barker's first children's book since the Thief of Always, I started out with a certain kind of optimism that comes with a fresh start.

***Background***
I guess it makes sense to give a little bit of background to the author as it may have a relevance is any subsequent analysis of the story. Clive Barker was born in Liverpool in 1952. Initially writing horror shorts whilst on Social Security benefits, his Books of Blood provided the springboard from which a further 18 books were spawned. It's worth mentioning that Clive Barker has an unconventional lifestyle. A self-confessed workaholic, he lives in Los Angeles with his photographer partner, David Armstrong, their daughter and a menagerie including four dogs, five goldfish, a parrot, fifteen rats, wild geckoes, a cockatiel and a parrot called *Malingo.

***The story***
To quote from the dust cover "It begins in the most boring place in the world: Chickentown, USA. There lives Candy Quakenbush, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future might hold. When the answer comes, it's not one she expects. Out of nowhere comes a wave..."

Basically, this is the first in a four part fantasy series. Candy Quakenbush is the archetypal, bored young girl with a somewhat dark past. Suffering the banality of a mediocre existence at home along with an oppressive regime at school, one day she wanders into the surrounding desert. There she stumbles across the mythical, John Mischief who is a creature with horns where each horn hosts a brother to conjure the unlikeliest of allies. Eight brothers in all, they become instrumental in the story that unfolds. No sooner has she met this creature than danger calls as the equally bizarre, Mendelson Shape appears. The ensuing chase scene leads to the reformation of the Sea of Isabella, an ancient form that links "The Hereafter"
(i.e. U.S.A. principally and presumably the rest of the world) and the Abarat.

The Abarat is a series of islands whereby each one represents a different time. So at three in the afternoon is the Island of Nonce, followed by Gnomon at four o'clock and so on. Each island is based in a different time and a permanent state of either daylight, darkness or somewhere in between. Each with their own peoples and culture, Candy embarks on a journey that brings her into contact with strange and wonderful creatures.

Her initial voyage takes her to the Yebba Dim Day. Here she perpetuates her escape from Mendelson Shape who is (rightly) convinced that John Mischief has slipped her a key that was stolen from his master some time back. The key is central to the struggle for ultimate power on the islands, albeit the reasons why are obscure to begin with as the author's intention is to make it more apparent as we go deeper into the story. After all, the islands have their own politics and history with the threatening Christopher Carrion from the island of Midnight central to the story that unfolds.

So the reader is left to discover whether Carrion's minion will ensnare the 16-year-old Candy Quakenbush? What is the ultimate role of the mysterious Twenty-Fifth Hour? Who are the three Goddess's from the opening chapter and what are Christopher Carrion's ultimate plans?

***An analysis***
At 388 pages, this hardback version was an easy read. With the book intended for children, the prose is more concise than his books of late along with shorter chapters that propel the story along at pace. Throughout the text are some one hundred or so images directly drafted from Clive Barker's artwork. The paintings are of scenes from the book including many of the creatures dreamt up from the very depths of Barker's surreal imagination.

Having read earlier books from the author, it is easy to see where the inspiration has come

from. A number of previous works including The Great and Secret Show and Galilee to name but two, dwell on the notion that there is a subversive master plan unfolding at a micro level within the world we live. It's as though Barker is convinced that there is a higher purpose if only we could see it and this has become a common thread within his books. Here again, is a whole separate world seemingly hidden within are current set up. It's just that we can't see it because the gateway to it is the form of a sea that only forms and de-forms under a specific set of circumstances.

The Abarat is Barker in his element. Within it, he has a blank canvass on which to create whatever frightening, enchanting or plain beguiling forms he wishes. Maybe it's no surprise that Disney want to incorporate this new creation into their theme parks to capture a very real departure from the conventional Disney creations.

The audience for the book is overtly children. The combination of short chapters, punchier prose and numerous colour pictures makes this appealing to the older child. However, that edge that the writer often generates is still present through the demonical presence of Christopher Carrion, his rather insidious mother (or mater in the story) and several other unsavoury characters with their own agendas to increase their personal power inevitably at the hands of the innocent.

As you'd expect, there are a number of sub-plots within the text, not least the realisation that Candy's father was a violent drunk who left an impression on her personality that may have turned her into the heroine she becomes whilst, at times, making things difficult for her as she comes to terms with her past.

***Conclusion***
So does the book work? An important question to ask when there are 3 more to come. Well, this book was released in the US last year. In November, it appeared at number 10 for 3 consecutive weeks in the New York
Times Best Seller list. It has spawned an $18 million deal with Disney. Big plans are afoot for movies, theme park rides and all of the associated merchandise that goes with it. In a financial sense then the answer simply has to be yes. However, it is always difficult to attribute a tag of genuinely unique on anything so when you start to ponder what other influences are in play here then you realise that, as ever, there is an element of inadvertent plagiarism. Parallels with **Baum's Wizard of Oz and even the all action, child driven world of JM Barrie's Peter Pan are inevitable. Maybe I'm being too harsh as it's difficult to find anything that can be truly said to be totally original.

In the scheme of things, this is a pleasing read with colourful images to capture a child's imagination. There is enough danger present to provide that sense of daring and suspense that will keep the reader interested and some enthralled. I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next part. Barker has returned to his roots with a world of strange beasts and ethereal plots. Go there and see what happens!

Available in book stores and Amazon. ISBN 0-00-225952-4. Price £17.99.

Thanks for reading

Marandina

*Malingo is one of the characters in the story.
**The Wizard of Oz was set in Minnesota

Further details available at Clivebarker.com

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