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norrin2 's review for:
Pobby and Dingan
by Ben Rice
“Pobby and Dingan” is only 94 pages long, and it feels like it’s filled me with more than 100 pages of things I want to say about this amazing book. Let me start by saying it is easily the best book I’ve read this decade. Goodreads won’t let you rank something 6 stars so I guess I’m going to have to go back to all the previous books I gave five stars too and dock them at least one star. I want to buy every copy of this book I can find and give them out to people saying “You have to read this. Just trust me.” like I did with “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”
During these 94 pages I laughed, I cried, I thought a lot – and I’m still thinking – about what is real and what’s not, about how much the unseen – whether it’s imaginary friends, lost loved ones, or opals -- affects all of our lives, even – maybe especially – nonbelievers (AKA “froot loops who don’t know what it is to believe is something which is hard to see, or to keep looking for something which is totally hard to find.”). If that makes it sound like a religious work it’s not; it’s very down to earth. In fact a lot of it takes place underground in an Australian opal mine.
This book, Ben Rice’s first novel, was written in 2000 and he hasn’t written anything other than a couple of short stories since then. He’ll probably never write another novel because he knows it won’t be as good as his debut. Which reminds me of another author who only wrote one book – but what a book! – Harper Lee. It’s been a while since I’ve read “To Kill a Mockingbird” so I’ll override my instincts and refrain from saying “Pobby and Dingan” is better than “To Kill a Mockingbird” but it’s as good – and that is high praise indeed.
During these 94 pages I laughed, I cried, I thought a lot – and I’m still thinking – about what is real and what’s not, about how much the unseen – whether it’s imaginary friends, lost loved ones, or opals -- affects all of our lives, even – maybe especially – nonbelievers (AKA “froot loops who don’t know what it is to believe is something which is hard to see, or to keep looking for something which is totally hard to find.”). If that makes it sound like a religious work it’s not; it’s very down to earth. In fact a lot of it takes place underground in an Australian opal mine.
This book, Ben Rice’s first novel, was written in 2000 and he hasn’t written anything other than a couple of short stories since then. He’ll probably never write another novel because he knows it won’t be as good as his debut. Which reminds me of another author who only wrote one book – but what a book! – Harper Lee. It’s been a while since I’ve read “To Kill a Mockingbird” so I’ll override my instincts and refrain from saying “Pobby and Dingan” is better than “To Kill a Mockingbird” but it’s as good – and that is high praise indeed.