Take a photo of a barcode or cover
25 reviews for:
Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child
S. Craig Zahler
4.0 AVERAGE
25 reviews for:
Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child
S. Craig Zahler
4.0 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The book started out promising and unusual, and got more cliche and sickly emotionally manipulative. An author with more color could have given texture and contrast, Zahler is good at dark ambiguity and noirish tension, he doesn't seem to do well with sentimentality.
This was an interesting book and a really quick read for me. It brought back memories of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Of all of Zahler's brutal and unrelenting work I've made my way through so far (2 books, 3 movies, and a podcast), I was not expecting his YA novel to be the most brutal and unrelenting
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At present I may be sniffling a little bit after having finished this beautiful story about a very special anomalous little boy named Hug Chickenpenny.
As the novel opened I was getting a Basket Case (1982 horror) vibe but the story took a very different turn and instead turned into a Tim Burton-esque fantasy. As we follow Hug from his entry into this world as a misshapen, terrifying newborn orphan (his mother dies in childbirth), and watch him through trials and tribulations, we grow ever closer to, and fonder of, him by the day.
Having read previous books by Zahler, and knowing nothing about it but the name, this book was totally unexpected. It was such a profoundly emotional portrait of the titular character that I'm still a little bit perplexed by its intimacy and the lack of sheer physical brutality that I kept expecting from my prior experiences.
Hug Chickenpenny is still a brutal book but in a very different way. It could quite easily be read as a parable about how society treats people who are different and it works seamlessly on that level. But for me, it was more personal; I felt genuinely close to Hug, and protective of him, and this book will stay with me for a very long time.
As the novel opened I was getting a Basket Case (1982 horror) vibe but the story took a very different turn and instead turned into a Tim Burton-esque fantasy. As we follow Hug from his entry into this world as a misshapen, terrifying newborn orphan (his mother dies in childbirth), and watch him through trials and tribulations, we grow ever closer to, and fonder of, him by the day.
Having read previous books by Zahler, and knowing nothing about it but the name, this book was totally unexpected. It was such a profoundly emotional portrait of the titular character that I'm still a little bit perplexed by its intimacy and the lack of sheer physical brutality that I kept expecting from my prior experiences.
Hug Chickenpenny is still a brutal book but in a very different way. It could quite easily be read as a parable about how society treats people who are different and it works seamlessly on that level. But for me, it was more personal; I felt genuinely close to Hug, and protective of him, and this book will stay with me for a very long time.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. It's weird and kind of sad. Other than that, I really don't know how to describe it. I'm glad I found this endearing little novel.
While Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child is not something I'd normally read and had me reaching for the dictionary more than once, it's one of those books that I know will stay with me for a long, long time. Zahler's work will do that. Like his damning westerns Wraiths of the Broken Land and A Congregation of Jackals (ironically enough, the western is another genre I've never read before those), Hug Chickenpenny is much more than literature. It's an experience.
You can read my entire review right here at Horror DNA.
You can read my entire review right here at Horror DNA.
Where to begin with this book? Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child is unlike anything that I've read before. It's a coming of age story, but with a fantasy bent that makes it completely unique. I can promise that whatever you think you're going to find in these pages you're, at most, only about half right. If you've seen Bone Tomahawk, you might have a general idea about the brilliant oddness that Zahler can create. Just go into this book with an open mind, and prepare yourself for an anomalous journey.
As a character, Hug Chickenpenny wins the award for the quickest I've ever grown attached to anyone. From the moment of Hug's unusual entry into the world, the reader is shown how much he has stacked against him. See, Hug isn't exactly a "normal" child. In the broadest sense of the word, he's quite different. Which of course then sets the stage for his rather rough, and equally intriguing, childhood. Hug's ability to see the good in people and situations, that I would be railing madly at, is really what endeared him to me. No matter how dark things became, Hug was always a ray of light and that is really the most beautiful part of this book.
In terms of plot, there's not a lot that I can say without spoiling things so I'll tread carefully. To say that Hug's story is interesting is actually somewhat of an understatement. Hug probably goes through more in the duration of this book than most of us do in a lifetime. Poor thing. I loved the characters that S. Craig Zahler brought into his path, and especially appreciated those who could see past Hug's outer "otherness". However the book started to lose me somewhere around the mid-point, when it strayed too far into the fantasy aspect of everything. I liken it to following a steady trail of breadcrumbs into a forest, only to find halfway through that it had been entirely eaten by birds. I was left wandering towards the ending, which then came rushing up too quickly. I almost felt a bit cheated overall. Especially because, in the vein of Lemony Snickett, so many sad things had happened so close together at the end. I lacked closure, and that wasn't something I enjoyed.
So, for a wholly unique plot and a character that I fell head over heels for, this book gets a solid three star rating. It's definitely outside of most of what I've read, and I adored it for that. I do warn you though, this isn't the happiest of stories. Make sure you have some tissues specifically for the ending, friends. You're going to need them.
As a character, Hug Chickenpenny wins the award for the quickest I've ever grown attached to anyone. From the moment of Hug's unusual entry into the world, the reader is shown how much he has stacked against him. See, Hug isn't exactly a "normal" child. In the broadest sense of the word, he's quite different. Which of course then sets the stage for his rather rough, and equally intriguing, childhood. Hug's ability to see the good in people and situations, that I would be railing madly at, is really what endeared him to me. No matter how dark things became, Hug was always a ray of light and that is really the most beautiful part of this book.
In terms of plot, there's not a lot that I can say without spoiling things so I'll tread carefully. To say that Hug's story is interesting is actually somewhat of an understatement. Hug probably goes through more in the duration of this book than most of us do in a lifetime. Poor thing. I loved the characters that S. Craig Zahler brought into his path, and especially appreciated those who could see past Hug's outer "otherness". However the book started to lose me somewhere around the mid-point, when it strayed too far into the fantasy aspect of everything. I liken it to following a steady trail of breadcrumbs into a forest, only to find halfway through that it had been entirely eaten by birds. I was left wandering towards the ending, which then came rushing up too quickly. I almost felt a bit cheated overall. Especially because, in the vein of Lemony Snickett, so many sad things had happened so close together at the end. I lacked closure, and that wasn't something I enjoyed.
So, for a wholly unique plot and a character that I fell head over heels for, this book gets a solid three star rating. It's definitely outside of most of what I've read, and I adored it for that. I do warn you though, this isn't the happiest of stories. Make sure you have some tissues specifically for the ending, friends. You're going to need them.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a very quick read, because I couldn't put it down once I started. The circumstances of Hug's birth and parentage are mysterious to say the least, and his life is filled with people who don't understand him. Born to a mother who died upon birthing him, Hug (as he is so named in his orphanage home) is small, malformed, and just plain different. There are some in his life that want the best for him, though, and Hug's story is told through these stages of his life where people cared for him.
Hug Chickenpenny is a boy who knows he's different, but doesn't ask why. He takes his lot in life and does the best he can with it. He's smart, kind, and always tries to see the best in people, even when these people don't see what's good in him.
I loved it best when Hug was able to interact with children his own age; he is not only different from these kids physically, but he is mentally and emotionally more mature and it's interesting to see how his presence affects others. Children, of course, are the most adaptable when finding something abnormal, and Hug can see himself through these children's eyes and realize why he might make others react the way they do.
The story is short, and doesn't give much in the way of background, so you have to be OK with this if you want to enjoy this tale. Hug Chickenpenny is a boy full of heart and wild imagination, and experiencing his story filled me with joy and sorrow both.
Hug Chickenpenny is a boy who knows he's different, but doesn't ask why. He takes his lot in life and does the best he can with it. He's smart, kind, and always tries to see the best in people, even when these people don't see what's good in him.
I loved it best when Hug was able to interact with children his own age; he is not only different from these kids physically, but he is mentally and emotionally more mature and it's interesting to see how his presence affects others. Children, of course, are the most adaptable when finding something abnormal, and Hug can see himself through these children's eyes and realize why he might make others react the way they do.
The story is short, and doesn't give much in the way of background, so you have to be OK with this if you want to enjoy this tale. Hug Chickenpenny is a boy full of heart and wild imagination, and experiencing his story filled me with joy and sorrow both.