A Childrens Book for Adults (The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear - Walter Moers)

Member Name: blackviolets

Product:	The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear - Walter Moers
Date:	20/06/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great story and characters.

Disadvantages: n.a

When I first saw this book my initial reaction was wow that's a big book for children to read. What with its bright yellow cover and a cartoon-ish picture on the front, it was easy to be mistaken.

The great thing about this novel is that it is a brilliant story of utter nonsense and sillyness which is perfect for older teenagers and adults to read. It is actually written by a German author,Walter Moers, and it was first translated into English in 2000. Since then it has received world wide success, especially here in the UK and in America.

To get it brand new from a shop, some Waterstones still have it, it will cost you £10.99 which considering it's 703 pages long, is well worth the money. On saying that you can get it for £8.39 from Amazon.

Now everybody knows that bluebears have 27 lives, or maybe you didn't. Because this book centres on strange and downright bizare creatures and monsters that you've probably never heard of, it's nice to know that Walter Moers has a wild and extraordinary imagination.

The book is split into 13 chapters. Each one depicting a new life that Bluebear is entering into. Being brought into the world by mini pirates, raised by hobgoblins, navigator to a blind reptilian rescuer and being under the spell of a spiderwitch are only a few of the adventures he has to deal with.

Each of these lives stick into his mind and helps him to fight on with any unwanted circumstances that occur. Especially when he has an encyclopedia in his head given to him by the great Professor Abdullah Nightingale to help.

Many of the creatures in the book are taken from myths, folktales and past history. Among them being Gryphons, Maenads, Trolls, Yetis, and Pterodactyls.

It is set in the fictional land of Zamonia before the time when many of the continents of the world sunk beneath the ocean. Some of the stories mixed in this book is the mythical city of Atlantis and jumping into a raging tornado.

That is the basic concept of the book. It sounds simple but it can provide a lot of enjoyment and dare I say it quite funny. And that's saying something considering it takes a lot to make me laugh when it comes to reading.

It also includes illustrations so you too can know how disgusting some of these animals are, especially the bollog. A creature perfectly able to live without a head! Then there's the maps as well. It is clear from the back page that we are quite close to Zamonia, Eurasia and Greater Trollia.

Bluebear is a nice enough character, if a little dim witted he makes up for it in courage and determination to do what's right. That's not to say he doesn't get led out into wrong directions-when he starts to turn into a haunting hobgoblin you know it's time for him to get out of there. Another fault about him is that he's far to trustworthy. A personality trait which is not always the best of things in this story.

Although it is not a short book it is definetly worth a read. You may not be able to read it in sitting but sometimes taking time when you're reading something is the best option. Especially with book.

It is full of humour, adventure, devious characters, nice characters, odd stories and situations which our furry hero finds himself in, romance and making and losing friendships.

I really recommend that you get this book because I think that there is nowhere near enough silly stories for older people to read. Although you don't get to see how Bluebears life finally turns out, as you are only seeing half of his life, I'd like to think that how the book ends he would have a happy 13 1/2 lives to go.

Summary: .