- Hardcover: 96 pages
- Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; 1st Edition, 1st Printing. edition (5 Oct 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0224061100
- ISBN-13: 978-0224061100
- Product Dimensions: 18.2 x 13.6 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 735,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Pobby And Dingan
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Unforgettable. . . . An enormously touching, imaginative and unexpected novel that just glows in your hands." -"The New York Times Book Review
""Glorious. . . . Ben Rice has crafted a charming, deceptively simple story, then given it color, richness and depth." -"New York Post
"
"By turns quirky, shocking, moving, funny, fantastical and all too real. . . . [Rice is] an almost astonishingly gifted writer." --"The Observer" (London)
"A gem. . . . odd, bewitching, and memorable." -"The Commercial Appeal"
"Packed with more winning details and full-blooded characters than many over-stuffed novels." --"Houston Chronicle
""At once delicate and down to earth . . . [Pobby and Dingan] has a quiet strength." "-The Washington Post"
"A disarmingly gentle yet disturbingly layered tale about buried truths." -"Los Angeles Times Book Review
""Wondrous and moving. . . . Downright charming. . . . A winner." -"The Arizona Republic
"
"Rice has fashioned a fable that will echo in reader's imaginations every time they catch themselves communicating with loved ones who are not strictly beside them." --"Boston Herald
""Rice has created an enchanting fictional world that lives and breathes . . . [and] beautifully articulates childhood's life-changing moments." -"Book Magazine
""Quirky, moving and completely unexpected. It will charm all but the most determined cynic." --"Daily Telegraph"
"Original, witty and entertaining." "-Rocky Mountain News
" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
""Glorious. . . . Ben Rice has crafted a charming, deceptively simple story, then given it color, richness and depth." -"New York Post
"
"By turns quirky, shocking, moving, funny, fantastical and all too real. . . . [Rice is] an almost astonishingly gifted writer." --"The Observer" (London)
"A gem. . . . odd, bewitching, and memorable." -"The Commercial Appeal"
"Packed with more winning details and full-blooded characters than many over-stuffed novels." --"Houston Chronicle
""At once delicate and down to earth . . . [Pobby and Dingan] has a quiet strength." "-The Washington Post"
"A disarmingly gentle yet disturbingly layered tale about buried truths." -"Los Angeles Times Book Review
""Wondrous and moving. . . . Downright charming. . . . A winner." -"The Arizona Republic
"
"Rice has fashioned a fable that will echo in reader's imaginations every time they catch themselves communicating with loved ones who are not strictly beside them." --"Boston Herald
""Rice has created an enchanting fictional world that lives and breathes . . . [and] beautifully articulates childhood's life-changing moments." -"Book Magazine
""Quirky, moving and completely unexpected. It will charm all but the most determined cynic." --"Daily Telegraph"
"Original, witty and entertaining." "-Rocky Mountain News
" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
The Times
‘...undeniably rich: a tale woven around the importance of faith, whether in imaginary friends or undiscovered treasures, and the strength of family’
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this in one sitting and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Ben Rice is a young writer who shows supreme confidence in his ability - most inexperienced writers Write "cleverly," pack their prose with unnecessary description and generally try to impress the reader with their skill as a writer. Rice does none of this. This is a simple tale, simply told, through a child's voice and he doesn't beat the reader over the head with subtext and metaphor. This is not to say that Pobby and Dingan is one-dimensional - far from it - it's just that Rice lets the story speak for itself. Ashmol, the young boy through whose eyes the story is told is superbly realised and his observations about the small mining town and its inhabitants are near perfect. With a very few changes to language this could have been marketed as a children's book - although suitable for adults also - and, given its short length I found myself wondering why it wasn't. I fully expect to see a movie based on this lovely novel in the not too distant future - hopefully it will be Australian/British low-budget and avoid Hollywood sentimentality. If you are looking for something that's simultaneously easy to read, thought-provoking and very moving I thoroughly recommend this.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have read this book several times and bought it for countless people as a present - I just love it. Heart-breakingly sad, genuinely moving, but not in a cringey way at all. The belief that fairy tales come true and that your imaginary friends are real is something we can all identify with. And the twist at the end is staggering.
Admittedly the second story in this book ('Parachutes') is disappointing, but don't let that put you off. 'Pobby And Dingham' may be short, but it's perfectly formed.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Superb! A beautiful story exploring the depths of a child's imagination and the effects of that on the rest of the family and the community they live in. A beautiful and evocotive ending. Well worth reading. It won't take you long but you'll savour every moment and you'll be left with the haunting vision of the little girl holding 2 lollipops in the vast, almost other- worldly Australian outback. Hope there's more in the pipeline from Ben Rice.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Better for Children
This is a well meaning novello, but it really is more suited to the younger reader. The characterisation of the main characters are a little patronising. Read more
Published on 30 May 2010 by JF
Pobby And Dingan Specks in the Sky
Not very impressed - not much meat in these stories. Just my opinion but I won't be reading any more by this author.
Published on 3 Feb 2009 by Sue M
Gorgeous little book
I love this little book, have read it more than once, lent it more than once and given it as a present more than once. Read more
Published on 31 July 2007 by Lucy Feather
lovely and amazing
heartbreakingly beautiful and moving, this book is one of my very favorites. filmic descriptions of down under coupled with truly original characterizations serve the reader well... Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2004 by Jill McIntyre
Magical
Don't let the length of this book put you off. It is short, very short, more of an extended short story, but it is beautifully written, ideal for reading over a cup of tea one... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2004 by Luanne
A Literary Landmark!
This book has already received considerable attention but by no means as much as it deserves. In just eighty or so pages Rice displays every hallmark of the sort of literary genius... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2002
A modern fairy tale, rich with meaning
As a subscriber to 'Granta' with too much to read, I've only just got around to the 'Australia' issue. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2002 by R. L. Smith
A Pocket Masterpiece
I first came across this novella in Granta 70 entitled 'Australia', and knowingly overlooked it. The title seemed silly, and having read the opening page, I thought, "I don't want... Read more
Published on 25 Sep 2001
Beautifully crafted
One of the most unusual books I have come across. I recently read it out loud to my wife; I found barely a sentence that is not in some way witty, surprising or moving.
Published on 27 Aug 2001 by R. H. Chandler
more please...
Ben Rice where are you... and get writing some more, a beautiful book that filled my heart and imagination. This book echoes the child within us all.
Published on 11 April 2001
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