The 13.5 Lives Of Captain Bluebear
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4.8 • 6 Ratings
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- £8.99
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- £8.99
Publisher Description
A delightfully illustrated cult novel, literary satire and epic adventure.
'Within the first 15 pages I was carried away by the sheer craziness of it all. Some Minipirates find a baby bear with blue fur inside a walnut shell floating on the ocean towards a giant whirlpool. They rescue him and teach him about knots and waves, and that a good white lie is often considerably more exciting than the truth. Then, when he outgrows their ship to such an extent that he is in danger of sinking it, they abandon him on an island with a bottle of seaweed juice and a loaf of seaweed bread. Thus Bluebear comes to the end of his first life and embarks on his second. By the end of the book, he has expended exactly half of his 27 lives. Again and again, Moers confounds our expectations as the narrative twists and turns, travels backwards and forwards in time. Part science fiction, part fairy tale, part myth, part epic, the book is a satire on all these genres and so constantly satirises itself. Very amusing' - Daily Telegraph
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nine-lived cats have nothing on the "bluebear," who, according to German author and illustrator Moers, has a whopping 27 lives. In this inventive, zany, fun-for-all ages odyssey (a bestseller in Europe), an intrepid "seagoing bear" offers his "demibiography." A foundling floating in a nutshell on the Zamonian Sea, the azure-furred Bluebear is rescued by Minipirates, impish nautical geniuses, who raise him and then, after he gets too big, abandon him to live out 13 lifetimes of adventure populated by a dizzying array of eccentric characters. Among them, two argumentative waves known as the "Babbling Billows" teach Bluebear speech, sage dinosaur Mac (real name: Deus X. Machina) extends friendship and Professor Abdullah Nightingale at the Nocturnal Academy offers a particularly intense and wacky education. Even readers with short attention spans will find themselves captivated by the nonstop parade of madcap characters as treacherous predicaments resolve themselves with charming ease. Magnificent sugarstorms, tornadoes inhabited by old men and "dimensional hiatuses" propel the independent, indefatigable Bluebear to Atlantis, where he must demonstrate the relevance of his experiences in a psychological duel of sorts. Comparisons to Harry Potter aside, Moers's kaleidoscopic expedition is fanciful and endlessly entertaining. 136 b&w illus.
Customer Reviews
Very engaging and very interesting
I am 11 and I read this and I loved it so much.
Definitely recommend do read is definitely worth it.
Magical book that reminds me of the joys of reading
A book to delight young and old. Beautiful illustrations and an entertaining and original storyline with lots of humour. This is a book I've read many times over the years and each time it's read I notice something new in the story or in the illustrations. I look love each chapter is a mini story in itself and I have used this book as a creative writing stimulus with my Year 5 classes year after year. Just a shame more of his books aren't translated into English and available in electronic versions
The 13.5 lives of Captain Bluebear
Everything about this book is so magical and yet so real. This book will take you away to undiscovered lands with the best ever company, captain bluebear.