The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, and Other Stories
by Tim Burton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Tim BurtonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-10-22
ISBN: 0060526491
Number of pages: 115
Publisher: It Books
Book Reviews of The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, and Other Stories
Book Review: Strange but funny, perfect for the Tim Burton fan
Summary: 5 Stars
Bizarre, strange, dark, nonsensical, and just plain weird; these are words often used to describe the mind of Tim Burton, one of the country's best-known filmmakers. Burton is also the author of several books, including the much loved The Nightmare Before Christmas, a book that was developed into a movie and became a cult classic, and The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, a truly odd yet surprisingly funny book of poems/short stories. For fans of Burton, this is one book that doesn't disappoint. The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories is, as the title implies, a book of numerous short stories. Each one is quite brief, typically just a page or two, and all are written in the form of poems. Each story is illustrated with simple stick figures or very simplistic drawings that a child might create and they capture the essence of each story perfectly. Some stories may leave you scratching your head and wondering, while others are laugh-out-loud funny. An example of the former might be The Girl with Many Eyes:
One day in the park
I had quite a surprise.
I met a girl
Who had many eyes.
She was really quite pretty
(and also quite shocking!)
and I noticed she had a mouth,
so we ended up talking.
We talked about flowers,
And her poetry classes,
And the problems she'd have
If she ever wore glasses.
It's great to know a girl
Who has so many eyes
But you really get wet
When she breaks down and cries.
Melonhead, on the other hand, would most likely elicit a reaction of `eww' while also causing a laugh:
There once was a morose melonhead,
Who sat there all day
And wished he were dead.
But you should be careful
About the things that you wish.
Because the last thing he heard
Was a deafening squish.
Quill says: A truly bizarre, yet funny, collection of short stories sure to please Burton's many fans.
Summary of The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, and Other Stories
From breathtaking stop-action animation to bittersweet modern fairy tales, filmmaker Tim Burton has become known for his unique visual brilliance -- witty and macabre at once. Now he gives birth to a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children -- misunderstood outcasts who struggle to find love and belonging in their cruel, cruel worlds. His lovingly lurid illustrations evoke both the sweetness and the tragedy of these dark yet simple beings -- hopeful, hapless heroes who appeal to the ugly outsider in all of us, and let us laugh at a world we have long left behind (mostly anyway).
This unassuming hardcover in black buckram with a dark lavender title plate is the door into a world of twisted pleasures. Filmmaker Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas) tells 23 winsomely macabre stories about boys and girls who don't fit in. Their bodies are misshapen, their habits are odd, and their parents are appalled by them. But they do try hard to be human, like poor unwanted Mummy Boy, who's "a bundle of gauze": he goes for a walk in the park with his mummy dog. Some kids are having "a birthday party for a Mexican girl." They think Mummy Boy is a piñata: "They took a baseball bat and whacked open his head. Mummy Boy fell to the ground; he finally was dead. Inside of his head were no candy or prizes, just a few stray beetles of various sizes." For all its simple humor, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories is a peculiarly disturbing book about the violence that children suffer. It is illustrated in pen and ink, watercolor, and crayon. The themes and imagery are at a young-adult to adult level.
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