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asherlock99's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kricketa's review
5.0
Revisiting a childhood favorite that my niece Pickle has recently discovered. I was trying to explain Mortimer to my husband and came up with "he is like an extremely destructive Curious George who eats everything and never feels bad about it." Plus a raven and not a monkey. And cuter. And funnier. And illustrated by Quentin Blake. I love that there are no morals to these stories.
feminaformosa's review against another edition
5.0
I can't say enough good things about the Mortimer books- I only hope all of them come back into print.
Mortimer the raven is a hysterical character, and what is even funnier is that when you learn a little bit about ravens, it becomes clear that Joan Aiken knows about raven behavior, which is what makes this series so funny. Selfish, ravenous (now you know where the word comes from), mischievous, and incredibly clever, Mortimer brings all sorts of adventures to his "owner" (ha), the sweet, loving Arabel, who is somewhat the enabling co-dependent in their relationship. But who doesn't love a raven? I hate birds in general, but who can hate Mortimer?
I howled with laughter when reading the stories. Added bonus: the books are illustrated by Quentin Blake.
As a side note, the PBS series Nature has an episode on ravens that is a perfect companion to these books. The best quote from Nature comes from an ornithologist who studies ravens- he says something like "Once you've studied ravens, you can't study other birds. You just look in a sparrow's eye, and there's nothing there."
Mortimer the raven is a hysterical character, and what is even funnier is that when you learn a little bit about ravens, it becomes clear that Joan Aiken knows about raven behavior, which is what makes this series so funny. Selfish, ravenous (now you know where the word comes from), mischievous, and incredibly clever, Mortimer brings all sorts of adventures to his "owner" (ha), the sweet, loving Arabel, who is somewhat the enabling co-dependent in their relationship. But who doesn't love a raven? I hate birds in general, but who can hate Mortimer?
I howled with laughter when reading the stories. Added bonus: the books are illustrated by Quentin Blake.
As a side note, the PBS series Nature has an episode on ravens that is a perfect companion to these books. The best quote from Nature comes from an ornithologist who studies ravens- he says something like "Once you've studied ravens, you can't study other birds. You just look in a sparrow's eye, and there's nothing there."
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