Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Refreshingly Talented New Author Arrives on the Scene!, 18 Nov 2007
Meet Darren Pillsbury - and oh yes, his cadre of Imaginary Friends he introduces in this debut novel IMAGINARY FRIENDS. Pillsbury has managed to achieve that elusive ability to write a book for the entire family, whether that family is an intact family unit, an extended family, or for individuals who are eager to read uplifting, very funny, well written stories with a dash of the philosophical element that leaves the reader thinking. Pillsbury has a rich imagination and the ability to transfer that to the written page very successfully. He is a writer to watch.
Jeff Tanner works for WACK-O! TOYS INC. as a toy designer. He lives with his two small boys, Brian and Davey, and is a single parent since the death of his wife Susan three years ago, an event that left Jeff grieving and hollow but at the same time committed to raising his two sons to the best of his ability: Brian is the older and is withdrawn, spending his time sketching strange people and monsters; Davey is the clown with a rich imagination who was too young when his mother died to remember her. Susan's mother Granny Jobson lives with Jeff and the boys and is in her own somewhat detached world, spending her idle hours dancing with the memory of her deceased husband. Too near by for comfort live Jeff's parents - Grandmother and Grandfather Tanner - who disapprove of Jeff's meaningless occupation as a toy designer and are rigid in their response to the world and its occupants.
It is Christmas time and while this odd family gathers to celebrate (and remember the importance of Susan's impact), the household is somewhat disrupted by Davey's imaginary friends who create an ongoing ruckus. The atmosphere changes dramatically when Davey snaps the turkey wishbone and PRESTO! - Jeff can also see the hoards of imaginary friends Davey has been entertaining and those bizarre creatures turn Jeff's world upside down. Not only is his house and his relationship to his parents altered, his very job is at stake with some ludicrous toy proposals. A new face comes into the wild picture in the person of Elise, a neighbor whose presence begins to change Jeff's grief jaded eyes to open. How the new entry of Imaginary Friends, clearly visible to Jeff and Davey, affect the family Tanner is the roller coaster ride of the book.
There are sidebars of tenderness - Brian is placed in a boarding school at the insistence of Jeff's parents in hopes that Brian will learn to adjust to the 'real world', Granny Jobson's dancecapades offer sweet insights for Jeff and his ability to let go of his past and find promise in Elise, the family unit alters with mutual understanding and communication: 'imaginary' morphs from negative to positive. Without becoming banal or morose the story winds down with 'lessons' of growth and a bow to love that is simply irresistible. This is a book that can be read aloud in family gatherings by the fire over the course of a few evenings - especially (but not limited to) during the holidays. It is richly written, fully of wildly funny images and incidents, and gives us a family, bruised but not defeated, that we truly want to know. Darren Pillsbury has the gift, and it is one most worthy of sharing! Grady Harp, November 07
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic feel good experience!, 24 Oct 2007
This novel ticked all my boxes, it made me laugh, cry and gave me that warm fuzzy feel good factor!
It's a story about many things - loss, family, love, butt nekkid people (okay the last one plays a small but funny part) and the wonderful power of the imagination.
It's refreshing to find a book that's an easy going read, it's deep and moving in parts without being heavy and depressing, and there are parts that are laugh out loud funny without resorting to adult humour (even the butt nekkid stuff is wholesome)!
But, what I like the most is that it reminded me of the magical world of a childs imagination. Everybody needs IMAGINARY FRIENDS!
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