As Useful As A Glonk (Flanimals - Ricky Gervais)

Name: playingcards

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Product:	Flanimals - Ricky Gervais
Date:	13/11/05 (420 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hilarious randomness from Messr Gervais

Disadvantages: Too short

The first book from the distinguished Gervais comedy house, Flanimals is a random collection of made-up creatures, whose whole purpose in life is to be as absolutely pointless as possible.

Although "written" as a children's book, adults can enjoy this just as much (a similar situation to the Simpsons) simply through the bizarre pictures and descriptions of Flanimals included.

For example, take the Wobboid Mump (Lumpus-Chuck-Goggler), which is:

"One of the most useless organisms in the universe. It is basically an eye in jelly. It spends most of it's time looking around trying to find reason in it's existence. It never finds it as it is blind."

This is nicely illustrated by a colourful cartoon picture (all done by Rob Steen) of what is an eye in jelly.

This is basically the gist of the book. Creatures in impossible situations, such as the Underblenge (Ekino Plunge-Dermer) which sticks on rock and waits to catch prey by sticking to their faces, suffocating them with suckers which are impossible to prise off. Unfortunately it can't catch anything as it can't prise itself off the rock it was born on.

Flanimals has three different sections:

1) The Spotter's Guide - shows the 26 Flanimals (one to a page) with a picture and a little paragraph on each of them.

2) Flanimal Behaviour - drawings of Flanimals doing what they do best - generally attacking or eating each other, like the Clunge Ambler being attacked by a gang of Sprogs. ("No reason for this - they're just vicious" is the helpful note attached to this page.)

3) Flanimal Testing - A test for the reader on what they're learnt. Anyone know which Flanimal babies make the best water bombs?


I personally love this book, and I'm waiting for the next book 'More Flanimals' to be delivered right now. It's had criticsm for being too short - and i is quite annoying that it ends so early - but this is a must-have for those people that find 'random' funny, and for only about £7 in most shops now, it's not exactly an expensive book.

Summary: Funny, random, brilliant