[LISTENED TO: October 15, 2014] Whales on Stilts
When this book came out it was hugely popular in my library. I was very curious about the title–it’s crazy, right? But I had no real sense of what the book was about (I wasn’t even sure if it was meant to be funny or a drama–it was on every reading list of that year but who knew why). Well, had I ever looked at the book carefully I would have known it was a comedy and I would have realized that it was exactly the kind of comedy that I love.
This book is part one in Anderson’s Pals in Peril series. I believe the series shares characters, but I’m not sure if it is necessary to read them in order (we’ll find out when we listen to Book 2 next week). Of course there are more than three characters in this book, but the three main characters are: Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut! and star of his own adventure series; Katie Mulligan, star of her own horror books series Horror Hollow; and Lily Gefelty, a girl who is friends with both of them.
What is wonderful about the book is that the narrator describes Lily as being remarkably unremarkable. She hides behind her bangs, doesn’t want to be the center of attention and is grateful that her two superfriends have known her for longer than they have been famous. And what is doubly wonderful is that Lily is the catalyst for solving the major crisis that is about to hit her town. In fact, Lily is the first one to even suspect that anything is awry.
On Career Day she goes with her dad to his office. His office is in (I love this) an abandoned warehouse at the edge of town. They make parts for human-cetacean relations. What that means exactly is, well, stilts for whales. Seems normal enough, at least according to her dad. But then Lily meets her dad’s boss, Larry. Larry wears a sack over his head and has very blue rubbery skin. He also pours kelp over his head multiple times a day. But her dad says he just has a skin condition–there’s nothing to worry about.
But worry Lily does, especially when she sees the armed guards and laser beams. Just what is going on? And what does Larry mean when he says he’s going to take over the world?
The Jasper Dash character is a parody of old boy detective stories. He makes wonderful, awe-inspiring gadgets and costumes that are current circa 1950. His getaway car is rocket powered by only gets to 35 MPH. His copier repairman outfit is futuristic (or at least futuristic circa 1950). His is even sponsored by Gargletine Brand Patented Breakfast Drink. Midway through the book we even get to see a list of all of his books. And, even better, there’s a hilarious footnote, perhaps one of the funniest things I have heard in an audio book, in which the narrator tries to explain who has recently read this particular book that you found in a beach house. It is so funny, I had to stop the car and listen to the end of it.
So Jasper’s inventions are crazy weird and out of date but they do work–Jasper is not a figure to be mocked, just gently teased. But mostly he is a good friend to both of them, willing to do anything to help.
Similarly, Katie Mulligan’s adventures are the stuff of legend. On a regular basis, her house is subject to attack from all manner of insane monsters. And each time something happens to her, the team of writers from Harcourt (this self reverential teasing was outstanding) come and talk to her about what happened, so they can write the next book in the series. In fact, midway through the attack by the whales, the writers are there trying to get exactly what Katie was feeling when she fought the whales. The fact that Lily and not Katie actually did most of the work upsets the writers very much because Lily does not look like a hero–she’s more of a sidekick. Katie is very helpful to Lily as well, although not in any kind of superhero way, mostly just as a friend.
We also get an ad for all of Katie’s books, too. I wish I knew what these looked like in the books (the one down side of audio books).
Of course, the entire premise of the attack is absurd, so the way of defeating them is absurd too. And yet despite the nonsensical nature of everything in the story, Anderson writes so that the fear and concern is definitely real (even if Larry is a goofy bad guy). He also likes to take shortcuts. So, he doesn’t describe the fight scene because those are always boring. And he doesn’t describe the fleeing scene because that’s boring too. But the real action definitely is not.
Indeed, the book is exciting right up until the end.
The end pages of the book features question for classroom discussion. And you must read them because they are very very funny. They were created by Ann Mowbray Dixon-Clarke and they mess around with the very nature of discussion sections with questions like:
4. Of all the page numbers in this book, which is your favorite. Discuss.
There’s even essay questions which are just insane and lead to a final question in which Ann Mowbray Dixon-Clarke basically states that she should marry Larry the whale-human hybrid. And in the followup interview with M.T. Anderson, she wonders if he ever imagined Larry being married to someone like her.
It is weird and hilarious.
And speaking of weird and hilarious, just about every interview I’ve read with M.T. Anderson is very funny. My favorite thing that I’ve seen thus far is from his website: “My favorite foreign edition of this book is the Taiwanese version, which is called, in Chinese, WHALE-MONSTER INFANTRY DIVISION!”
The audio book was read by Marc Cashman, who we knew from The Gecko & Sticky series. I liked him in those books, but I thought he was outstanding here. The way he read the different section (footnotes and ads) in different announcer voices and the way he did each character slightly differently was fantastic. he really captures that fifties-era superhero vibe.
This book reminded me of another of our favorite audio series, the Brixton Brothers (even though this came first). Like that series, the books have pictures which we completely missed out on because we did (and absolutely loved) the audio. I understand the pictures are great. I’m also curious to see how he did the ads for the other books. So, one of these days I may just have to read the books as well. It will be time will spent.
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