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amalipulan's review against another edition
5.0
Middle-aged love; nothing can get any cuter.
Esio Trot is actually the word tortoise spelled backwards. This book supplied me with the knowledge that there was a time when a tortoise can easily be found in any pet shop and bought at a cheap price.
The story is set at that time. Mr. Hoppy, a retired mechanic lives in a flat and below him lives a middle-aged woman; Mrs Silver, a widow. Secretly, Mr. Hoppy has a huge crush on Mrs. Silver, who gives all her love to a tortoise, resulting in Mr. Hoppy feeling jealous towards Alfie (the tortoise).
Everyday, when Mr Hoppy looked over his balcony and saw Mrs Silver whispering endearments to Alfie and stroking his shell, he felt absurdly jealous.
Mrs Silver wishes for Alfie to grow bigger and for Mr Hoppy, this is a huge chance for him to impress Mrs Silver.
"As he looked down at Mrs Silver's smiling face gazing up to his own, he thought for the thousandth time how pretty she was, how sweet and gentle and full of kindness, and his heart ached with love."
My, my, Mr Dahl. I never knew you were such a romantic.
Esio Trot is actually the word tortoise spelled backwards. This book supplied me with the knowledge that there was a time when a tortoise can easily be found in any pet shop and bought at a cheap price.
The story is set at that time. Mr. Hoppy, a retired mechanic lives in a flat and below him lives a middle-aged woman; Mrs Silver, a widow. Secretly, Mr. Hoppy has a huge crush on Mrs. Silver, who gives all her love to a tortoise, resulting in Mr. Hoppy feeling jealous towards Alfie (the tortoise).
Everyday, when Mr Hoppy looked over his balcony and saw Mrs Silver whispering endearments to Alfie and stroking his shell, he felt absurdly jealous.
Mrs Silver wishes for Alfie to grow bigger and for Mr Hoppy, this is a huge chance for him to impress Mrs Silver.
"As he looked down at Mrs Silver's smiling face gazing up to his own, he thought for the thousandth time how pretty she was, how sweet and gentle and full of kindness, and his heart ached with love."
My, my, Mr Dahl. I never knew you were such a romantic.
echo_mike's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
booksinthedark's review
3.0
This is about Mr. Hoppy who is secretly in love with Mrs. Silver but she is only in love with her pet turtle Alfie. Mr. Hoppy comes up with a plan to win over Mrs. Silvers heart and it involves Alfie. As an adult I only see deceit but as a child I would've seen it as super sweet and thoughtful.
mrgongjin's review
funny
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
very very creative. The Mr Hoppy is so bad, so clever I mean.
breakfastgrey's review against another edition
3.0
Is this book deeply problematic? Yes. The man steals his love interest's pet, tricks her to make her fall in love with him, and gets away with it. It's also kind of cute, though? In a super creepy kind of way?
saltydogreads's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
sraev19's review against another edition
1.5
A quick read, Esio Trot is a simple story with lovely illustrations but harmful lessons for children.
I’ll start with the good. First, the book is about two older adults finding love. Older people and particularly their experiences of new love are underrepresented in the romance genre, so it’s refreshing to see these two characters fall for each other. I also appreciate that Dahl makes a story about older adults accessible to children, demonstrating that they too have needs and wants and aren’t automatically villains or doting grandparents.
Second, Quentin Blake’s illustrations really shine in this novel. Because the story is so short, literally almost every page features an illustration. The pictures are fun and quirky and bring the characters to life, capturing important moments in the story with wonderful details. I particularly enjoyed the lush garden on Mr. Hoppy’s balcony.
Unfortunately, the story itself is every kind of wrong and horrible. SpoilerMr. Hoppy has secretly pined after his downstairs neighbour, Mrs. Silver, for many years from afar. Though the harbouring-a-secret-love trope is popular in romance, it’s a creepy one. Worse yet, Mr. Hoppy deceives Mrs. Silver in order to gain her gratitude and love, and their entire relationship is based on his trickery. Fooling someone into love is not love—it’s abuse and manipulation.
The crown on Mr. Hoppy’s deceit is that he steals Mrs. Silver’s beloved pet, Alfie, and replaces him with another who is the “right” size. Pets are family. They are not disposable. That poor Alfie is stolen as a pawn in Mr. Hoppy’s plot because the tortoise is too small for his owner is atrocious. And to insult Alfie further, Mrs. Silver doesn’t even notice he’s been replaced. What kind of pet owner is she?
The whole premise of this story makes me angry, and I don’t understand why Esio Trot is often included in lists of Dahl’s must-read works. Though I’m glad to see a romance about older adults, this story is not a healthy or positive representation of such, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
I’ll start with the good. First, the book is about two older adults finding love. Older people and particularly their experiences of new love are underrepresented in the romance genre, so it’s refreshing to see these two characters fall for each other. I also appreciate that Dahl makes a story about older adults accessible to children, demonstrating that they too have needs and wants and aren’t automatically villains or doting grandparents.
Second, Quentin Blake’s illustrations really shine in this novel. Because the story is so short, literally almost every page features an illustration. The pictures are fun and quirky and bring the characters to life, capturing important moments in the story with wonderful details. I particularly enjoyed the lush garden on Mr. Hoppy’s balcony.
Unfortunately, the story itself is every kind of wrong and horrible. SpoilerMr. Hoppy has secretly pined after his downstairs neighbour, Mrs. Silver, for many years from afar. Though the harbouring-a-secret-love trope is popular in romance, it’s a creepy one. Worse yet, Mr. Hoppy deceives Mrs. Silver in order to gain her gratitude and love, and their entire relationship is based on his trickery. Fooling someone into love is not love—it’s abuse and manipulation.
The crown on Mr. Hoppy’s deceit is that he steals Mrs. Silver’s beloved pet, Alfie, and replaces him with another who is the “right” size. Pets are family. They are not disposable. That poor Alfie is stolen as a pawn in Mr. Hoppy’s plot because the tortoise is too small for his owner is atrocious. And to insult Alfie further, Mrs. Silver doesn’t even notice he’s been replaced. What kind of pet owner is she?
The whole premise of this story makes me angry, and I don’t understand why Esio Trot is often included in lists of Dahl’s must-read works. Though I’m glad to see a romance about older adults, this story is not a healthy or positive representation of such, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
draackje's review against another edition
1.0
One of the few Roald Dahl children's books I didn't like. The hero lies to women, mistreats animals and is eventually praised for it. Children will probably read the story differently and focus on the nicer things, but I couldn't see through it.
carlyg123's review
Good little read for one night I awoke and couldn't get back to sleep.
I can't decide how to rate it, though.
I can't decide how to rate it, though.
ansl's review against another edition
2.0
Ehm... Wat is de moraal van dit verhaal? Bedrieg uw crush met 100en schildpadden, zodat ze uiteindelijk voor u valt en met u wilt trouwen? Dat is een goede basis voor een relatie zeg!
Eerste keer gelezen, maar ik denk niet dat ik het ooit nog eens opnieuw ga lezen..
Eerste keer gelezen, maar ik denk niet dat ik het ooit nog eens opnieuw ga lezen..