The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: and Other Stories
by Tim Burton
List Price:
Our Price: $5.98
You Save: $13.97 (70%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Tim BurtonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1997-11-05
ISBN: 0688156819
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Book Reviews of The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: and Other Stories
Book Review: Dark and funny.
Summary: 5 Stars
There isn't a whole lot to not like about this book. While it is short, sometimes brevity is key to good storytelling. Tim Burton's little comic strip style book perfectly captures readers with it's dark wit and laughable illustrations. While this is and never could be considered good literature by any stretch of the imagination, it is never-the-less an entertaining read with a cast of colorless characters (most of the illustrations are in black in white) that will make you laugh out loud. Any fan of Tim Burton or dark humor will enjoy this quick read!
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 pi?ata: "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.
Comic Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Fun stuff with twisted humor
American Psycho (Uncut Killer Collector's Edition)Release date: 2005-06-21; DVD
Best price: $4.90
Price in other shops:
RushmoreMURRAY,BILL; Release date: 1999-06-29; DVD
Best price: $5.78
Price in other shops:
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agencyby Douglas Adams
Pocket; Published: 1991-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witchby Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
HarperTorch; Published: 2006-12-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.04
Price in other shops:
Clerks (Collector's Series)Release date: 1999-06-29; DVD
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
Sealab 2021 - Season 4Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-08-08; DVD
Best price: $9.82
Price in other shops:
The Gashlycrumb Tiniesby Edward Gorey
Harcourt; Published: 1997-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.34
Price in other shops:
The Rules of Attractionby Bret Easton Ellis
Vintage; Published: 1998-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.12
Price in other shops:
Squee's Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrorsby Jhonen Vasquez
SLG Publishing; Published: 1998-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops:
Breakfast of Championsby Kurt Vonnegut
Dial Press Trade Paperback; Published: 1999-05-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.91
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Tim Burton: A Child's Garden of NightmaresPlexus Publishing; Published: 2002-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.85
Price in other shops:
The Gashlycrumb Tiniesby Edward Gorey
Harcourt; Published: 1997-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.31
Price in other shops:
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (Widescreen Edition)none; Release date: 2006-01-31; DVD
Best price: $4.65
Price in other shops:
The Nightmare Before Christmas (2-Disc Collector's Edition) + Digital CopyRelease date: 2008-08-26; DVD
Best price: $20.98
Price in other shops:
Nightmare Before Christmas, TheDisney Press; Published: 2006-08-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.63
Price in other shops:
Squee's Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrorsby Jhonen Vasquez
SLG Publishing; Published: 1998-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.06
Price in other shops:
Edward Scissorhands (Widescreen Anniversary Edition)DEPP,JOHNNY; Release date: 2000-09-05; DVD
Best price: $7.82
Price in other shops:
The Cat with a Really Big Head, and One Other Story that Isn't as Goodby Roman Dirge
SLG Publishing; Published: 2002-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.64
Price in other shops:
Burton on Burton, 2nd Revised Editionby Tim Burton
Faber & Faber; Published: 2006-09-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.61
Price in other shops:
Creepy Susie: and 13 other tragic tales for troubled children.by Angus Oblong
Ballantine Books; Published: 2004-09-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.46
Price in other shops: