Tag Archives: parody

Wit and wordplay, parody and playfulness, allusion and appropriation: Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair is to classic literature what Hitchhiker’s Guide is to sci-fi and fantasy

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is set in an alternate England, where home-cloned dodos are common house pets and the public’s passion for literature occasionally erupts in street violence. Thursday Next is a literary detective, part of a specialised … Continue reading

Posted in British, Comedy, Contemporary, Crime fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, General adult audience, Novel, Speculative Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adventure for kids, humour for grown-ups: Dragon Boy by Dick King-Smith

Dragon Boy by Dick King-Smith is another classic dragon story from my childhood by one of my favourite children’s authors (he also wrote The Sheep-pig aka Babe). Orphaned John is found crying in the forest by a dragon, Montague Bunsen-Burner. … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's, Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks is my favourite vampire book, spoofing the idea of the handsome, strong, good vampire. Nina and the others in the RVSG struggle with nose bleeds, unconsciousness during daylight hours, being forced to … Continue reading

Posted in 13 years and up, Australian, Contemporary YA, Fantasy, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is the story of a bored boy named Milo who comes home to find a box. It contains a a tollbooth that allows him to drive his toy car into the Kingdom of Wisdom, … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics, Fantasy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons is an hilarious 1930s novel about Flora Post, a young woman with no useful skills but a strong desire for tidiness. She goes to live with the very untidy Starkadder family at Cold Comfort … Continue reading

Posted in 20th Century Classics, British, Comedy, General adult audience, Melodrama, Novel, Parody, Pastoral novel, Speculative Fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment