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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I came upon Edward Carey's Iremonger series by mistake. I don't mean that I stumbled across his books and didn't know what I was getting into…it was more that I had Mr. Carey mixed up with Edward GOREY. If you've seen their artwork at a glance then you might see how I came to make such a grievous error. I had seen some of Gorey's art a few years ago and made a note to grab some of his work…and then I was recommended this trilogy and thought I had finally got around to completing my goal. However, I think this was a happy accident because I really enjoyed this disturbing set of books. Firstly, I appreciate authors who do their own illustrations because they see their characters and worlds most clearly and they tend to feel like living things instead of one dimensional drawings. Heap House, Foulsham, and Lungdon make up the Iremonger trilogy and they chronicle the story of that clan of foul, loathsome dealers of filth, the Iremongers. In particular, these books detail the misadventures of Clod Iremonger and the irascible Lucy Pennant. Even though this sits on the shelves of the young adult section and are chock full of illustrations I must caution that no punches are pulled. All that is base and evil is dragged to the front and shown in shocking detail which is probably why I like it so much. There are no characters without flaws. However, this is not to say that this is told in a realistic fashion because if it was then I'd immediately fear for our very lives. The Heaps are made up of all the trash of that great offal generating city that goes by the name of London. The Iremongers are Regents of the refuse and under them are the residents of Forlinchingam (or Foulsham as it comes to be called). They are kept separate from London (Lungdon to some) by giant walls. You'd think this cruel enough but there's a terrible illness striking at the people. It's ridiculous. It's unsettling. It's…well I don't want to give the game away.
I'm really glad it took me a few days to review this one - it seems to have improved by thinking about it afterwards. This was the second of the books I got at my reading spa, and when I first saw the cover, I thought the author was actually Edward Gorey. It's been illustrated in very much his style, and apparently I'm not the first person to make that mistake. It's the first in the Iremongers series of children's books. Clod Iremonger lives in Heap House, built on the rubbish heaps of London, and the Iremonger family are responsible for sorting that rubbish. Each Iremonger is given a birth object, which they have to keep with them. Clod's is a bathplug, which he carries around like a fob watch, with the chain wrapped around a shirt button - much more convenient than his grandmother, who got a mantlepiece and has never been able to leave her room. Clod hears the birth objects speaking - they just repeat a name, over and over. This was funny, and really unusual, with a gripping ending, but I didn't originally feel wowed by it. This wasn't a reflection on the book though - I should have waited another couple of days between books, because I was still suffering the book hangover from finishing Deathless. I woke up the next morning with my brain still running on this one, and realised it was much better than I had given it credit for. I'd definitely recommend it, and will be reading the sequel.
Clod Iremonger, of the Iremongers of Filching, wanders the halls of the mansion Heap House and sometimes he hears things. Things that should not be talking are talking.
On top of that, he's due to be betrothed, and there are strange things afoot. Then he meets Lucy Pennant, an orphan brought to be a servant at Heap House. She has crazy red hair and a lot of questions.
Think Dickens plus Gaiman and maybe a little Sendak. I look forward to the next book in the series.
On top of that, he's due to be betrothed, and there are strange things afoot. Then he meets Lucy Pennant, an orphan brought to be a servant at Heap House. She has crazy red hair and a lot of questions.
Think Dickens plus Gaiman and maybe a little Sendak. I look forward to the next book in the series.
This is very much Charles Dickens meets the Addams Family kind of bizarre settings full of eccentric characters, dark secrets and unfortunate events that would give Lemony Snicket a good run for his money.
First of a proposed trilogy. I am looking forward to more of the dust-eating, garbage loving, sinister Iremongers.
First of a proposed trilogy. I am looking forward to more of the dust-eating, garbage loving, sinister Iremongers.
This was pretty delightfully weird and gothic. Feels like it owes a lot to the Gormenghast books but it's not as substantial/dense.
It was really interesting, and the style was really cool, but that's what made it hard to read, because the sentences were all linked together like this in long, rambling clauses and phrases, which fit the book and its setting, so I can't complain.
Heap House, a palace located among the heaps of refuge from every thing that London has tossed. Every scrap of discarded lunches, each broken bit deemed useless, even people for whom no place exists in London Society get dropped off to eke out a living scavenging the rubbish.
Clod Iremonger has lived in Heap House all his life. In fact, he never expects he'll leave, though he hungers to know of places far beyond the bizarre architecture that makes up his home. He catches glimpses through that architecture, as the Heaps are known for lumping discarded buildings together and added them to their home, meaning that houses and businesses, street corners and advertisements are inter strewn in the parlors, kitchens and bedrooms that make up the palatial Heap House.
Meanwhile, Lucy Pennant grew up in Filching, on the edge of the Heaps. She expected to be 'married' to the Heaps eventually, but fate lands her at Heap House instead. Just in time for everything to start going south. Lucy, a curious and stubborn girl has a tough time adapting to the facelessness of servitude in Heap House. She refuses to let her past be forgotten and future all too familiar.
When the two meet it could mean the end to the Iremonger's reign over the Heaps, or it could mean an end to everything all together?
I won't spoil anything here, but to say the ending was unexpected is to say that the Great Pyramid is a tomb. I would highly recommend this to fans of British Humor (should that be 'humour'),Lemony Snicket, or just books that are original and quite odd.
I very much enjoyed the witty writing and hilarious dialogue. For example a conversation about "Smogging" in the book nearly had me laughing out loud. However, it really was quite chilling at points as well and had some pretty terrifying messages about humanity as commodity and what really defines 'rubbish.' Very good, though I can't imagine it fitting in with the Hunger Games crowd, but for Teens that are themselves a bit odd, maybe not quite fitting in, this might be their cup of tea.
Clod Iremonger has lived in Heap House all his life. In fact, he never expects he'll leave, though he hungers to know of places far beyond the bizarre architecture that makes up his home. He catches glimpses through that architecture, as the Heaps are known for lumping discarded buildings together and added them to their home, meaning that houses and businesses, street corners and advertisements are inter strewn in the parlors, kitchens and bedrooms that make up the palatial Heap House.
Meanwhile, Lucy Pennant grew up in Filching, on the edge of the Heaps. She expected to be 'married' to the Heaps eventually, but fate lands her at Heap House instead. Just in time for everything to start going south. Lucy, a curious and stubborn girl has a tough time adapting to the facelessness of servitude in Heap House. She refuses to let her past be forgotten and future all too familiar.
When the two meet it could mean the end to the Iremonger's reign over the Heaps, or it could mean an end to everything all together?
I won't spoil anything here, but to say the ending was unexpected is to say that the Great Pyramid is a tomb. I would highly recommend this to fans of British Humor (should that be 'humour'),Lemony Snicket, or just books that are original and quite odd.
I very much enjoyed the witty writing and hilarious dialogue. For example a conversation about "Smogging" in the book nearly had me laughing out loud. However, it really was quite chilling at points as well and had some pretty terrifying messages about humanity as commodity and what really defines 'rubbish.' Very good, though I can't imagine it fitting in with the Hunger Games crowd, but for Teens that are themselves a bit odd, maybe not quite fitting in, this might be their cup of tea.
J’ai beaucoup aimé. L’ambiance et les personnages. J’ai vu beaucoup de personnes rassembler l’univers de Carey à celui de Burton et je ne suis pas d’accord: ils ont en commun le sombre et l’étrange mais Carey a vraiment son ambiance propre et unique! J’aime beaucoup le fait que l’auteur soit aussi l’illustrateur parce que personne ne peut mieux cerner le style graphique de l’oeuvre que son créateur lui-même!
On sent une vraie connaissance et même une passion pour l’Histoire du vieux Londres, remaniée avec brio vers un AU où la ville serait devenue un dépotoir et les habitants ne vivraient que pour la décharge.
L’histoire est intéressante, pendant la première moitié du livre beaucoup de choses étrange pour nous mais apparemment tout à fait normales pour les protagonistes sont inexpliquées, on apprécie l’histoire mais sans vraiment savoir où l’on va ni comment certaines choses sont possible (les freaking objets qui parlent par exemple!); mais au milieu du livre, on apprend le pourquoi du comment et ça devient fascinant!... Continuer de lire
On sent une vraie connaissance et même une passion pour l’Histoire du vieux Londres, remaniée avec brio vers un AU où la ville serait devenue un dépotoir et les habitants ne vivraient que pour la décharge.
L’histoire est intéressante, pendant la première moitié du livre beaucoup de choses étrange pour nous mais apparemment tout à fait normales pour les protagonistes sont inexpliquées, on apprécie l’histoire mais sans vraiment savoir où l’on va ni comment certaines choses sont possible (les freaking objets qui parlent par exemple!); mais au milieu du livre, on apprend le pourquoi du comment et ça devient fascinant!... Continuer de lire
I don't know how I feel. Honestly, I'm lost. This is a very weird, creepy and morbid book in the best way, it was even funny at times! The illustrations at the beginning of each chapter were a highlight I looked forward to and helped me imagine everything that's happening and relate to the characters more. The characters and the house were like a puzzle that you wanted to decipher as quickly as possible, you always wanted to know more. I also loved how the actual house was a very big subject, well the house is the story intertwining the lives of the main characters whom I loved however flawed they were. There were so many complex characters and I loved how I got to know each and everyone of them in detail that other books wouldn't usually provide. Again very, very weird! What makes me so unsure of how I feel about it is the HUGE cliffhanger, I mean..what?? Despite that I loved it, it was peculiarly fun.
When I read the description of this book, I couldn't wait to read it. The combination of interesting illustrations and an off-beat story were irresistible. However, after finishing the book, I think I only want to give it 3.5 stars.
The book starts off rather slowly, introducing the reader to Heap House, the Iremonger family (and servants), and the Heaps. I found the author's writing style a bit difficult at first, and had a hard time getting the rhythm of the writing. It made me think that if I had read this when I was much younger, I may have just given up on it. I stayed with the book because the concept was interesting, and I wasn't sure where the story was leading.
The cast of characters was interesting, but they did seem to be some lacking depth. The story picked up about midway through, with a rather exciting finish. But after I was done, I didn't feel excited about the fact that this is a series, nor did I feel very strongly about what happens to Lucy and Clod.
I would recommend this book to older kids who are interested in things that are odd or against the mainstream, and that have an excellent vocabulary. Although this book is classified juvenile fiction in my library, I think that elementary and some younger middle school kids might find this book beyond their interest.
The book starts off rather slowly, introducing the reader to Heap House, the Iremonger family (and servants), and the Heaps. I found the author's writing style a bit difficult at first, and had a hard time getting the rhythm of the writing. It made me think that if I had read this when I was much younger, I may have just given up on it. I stayed with the book because the concept was interesting, and I wasn't sure where the story was leading.
The cast of characters was interesting, but they did seem to be some lacking depth. The story picked up about midway through, with a rather exciting finish. But after I was done, I didn't feel excited about the fact that this is a series, nor did I feel very strongly about what happens to Lucy and Clod.
I would recommend this book to older kids who are interested in things that are odd or against the mainstream, and that have an excellent vocabulary. Although this book is classified juvenile fiction in my library, I think that elementary and some younger middle school kids might find this book beyond their interest.