- Hardcover: 736 pages
- Publisher: Tor (21 Jun 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0333908619
- ISBN-13: 978-0333908617
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 14.8 x 5.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 276,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
This volume contains a trilogy on the Borribles, a tale of several street-wise Peter Pan types, setting out on three very different but related missions across the darker side of London. A fantasy adventure set against the backdrop of a weirdly different urban landscape.
Book Description
A small group of feral, street-wise Peter-Pan-type beings set out on three very different but related missions across the darker side of London. They are missions combining excitement, violence, low cunning, betrayal, loyalty, greed, generosity, cowardice and insane bravery. This is an epic fantasy adventure that is both thought-provoking and thrilling until the very last second, set against the backdrop of an all too familiar yet weirdly different urban landscape. For the first time, Michael de Larrabeiti's much-loved, classic novels THE BORRIBLES, THE BORRIBLES GO FOR BROKE and ACROSS THE DARK METROPOLIS are brought together in one volume. 'A strong and vivid fantasy, much recommended' Observer 'There are books we like, and books we love, and books we need. And then there are books that mean so much to us that they embed themselves in us, irresistibly, and become permanent parts of our mental landscape. Ever since I first read it, THE BORRIBLES has been such a book for me.' China Mieville
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Yes, classic childrens books - in that they are dark, violent and designed to annoy and upset parents and adults. This is the first time I have felt the need to post a review here but I was so excited to find these books I thought I just had to.
I would disagree with one reviewer who said they weren't on any school reading list - we read them at school! But then we had an English teacher who took pleasure in trying to get us to think for ourselves. And for years I have had a half remembered picture of gangs of rat like kids in sewers and how much fun I had reading about them. So now I have managed to find the name of the books and that they are available here I am going to buy the set and trace the path of the characters through the dirty backstreets of London.
I would receommend these books wholeheartedly for kids of any age. Like the best childrens literature, they are dark, violent and anti-authoritarian, yet at the same time immensely moral and preach the value of loyalty and honesty ( or at least honesty of a type! ) I'm amazed these stories aren't considered classics. But at least they are considered classics among the relatively small number of people who got the chance to read them - google 'borribles' and see the affection and respect they are afforded.
How many books have you read that stick with you so vividly over fifteen years later? Exactly. I say do yourself a big favour and buy and read these books.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I first read this book when I was 8 years old and grew up rereading it and its follow ups over and over again. What to an adult at first would seem a very juvenile story line is so full of delightful depictions of friendship, loyalty , triumph & loss plus a healthy disrespect of authority that I believe this book shaped my world view and I still adore this book as an adult today. With its early 70s London setting it may have a very limited appeal I suppose, but this book reminds me what it was like growing up before the teenage pressures of girls & my paper round came along . Unless your a wombles fan (a story that includes evil giant scavenger rats living under Wimbledon common probably wont appeal to you much) I strongly recommend this book to you and your older children.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mike De Larrabeiti was brought up in the London of the Borribles and paints a picture of London that is fast disappearing with the proliferation of luxury flats and starbuck cafes sprouting up everywhere. I first read the Borribles when i was 9 or so and for an advanced reader who devoured Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickelby etc, the immediacy and power of the fantastical yet realistic word that MDL conjures was amazing. The books themselves have as a continual theme running across them the band of Borribles that go on the first Borrible adventure, but the themes examined by the books change. Superficially they are just an epic romp, fighting suspiciously superior womble like creatures and caricatured evil adults. However, much like the Pullman novels which have recently been so popular, there is much in these books to hold the attention of the older reader. The confrontation between the state/unions and the individual, the increase in police power, the struggle of the underdog, the meaning and importance of friendship and loyalty, the unacceptable face of capitalism are all themes dealt with in these books, but always in a way that is gripping, enjoyable and thought provoking. MDL casts a nod at other literary influences, Oliver Twist, Peter Pan, the Wombles, but creates a genuinely amazing piece of work that is darker than your average kid's book, but also in the time of movie remakes would make an awesome set of films. As a 9 year old, I was inspired to try and tape my ears into points and wear a hat pulled down over my ears in the hope I would become a Borrible. I know live in Battersea, where much of the action from the Borribles is set and everytime I pass Lavender Hill Police Station, Feather's Wharf, signs to the Wandle and Wix's Lane (where MDL went to school), I always say to myself "Don't get caught"...
Buy these books and enjoy them.
Buy these books and enjoy them.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An unknown classic
I read the first book when I was 13, not long after reading LotR. I thought no book again could be better and I was wrong. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Margaret Kelleher
awesome
the book was in excellent condition, very prompt delivery. an entertaining read based on the lives of runaway children, who become a different species entirely..Borribles. Read more
Published 8 months ago by aeonminx
put jk rowling aside & read this
This deserves to be better known than JK Rowling's books. Sure, it's also a sort of fairy tale for kids of all ages up to 100 or over, but it's at once more imaginative and more... Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2010 by S. M. Balfour
Don't Get Caught!
No matter how old you are if you have an adventurous spirit then you have to read the Borrible Trilogy. It will have you hooked from start to finish. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2010 by Badger's Book Club
Rich darning
Anyone who wants to see how a master storyteller works should read The Borribles. MdL tackles the big themes of injustice, friendship, loyalty, compassion and anarchy. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2010 by A keen reader.
Go for broke with the Borribles
'Try the BORRIBLES, warts and all, before the become a legend' wrote the Times Educational Supplement some years ago. The TES was absolutely right. The Trilogy IS a legend. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2010 by L. A. Howes
This is the next 'Harry Potter'!
OK, this is supposed to be a kid's book. Well,I read it from cover to cover over the first weekend at home after a major operation when I was expecting to be too ill to read. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by Zinfandel
Wonderful read
I first read this trilogy as a kid, and just bought it to re-read. As a kid I loved the adventure and suspense, and as an adult I enjoyed it just as much. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by T. Turnbull
Work of genius
I read these when they first appeared and have re-read them on a regular basis ever since. And the reason is simple. They are works of genius. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by Pilgrim
As brilliant as ever.
I read the Borribles as a very young child and was thrilled, they were funny, violent, dark and astonishing. Read more
Published on 3 Jan 2010 by Jo PerryDenton
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