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Amazon.co.uk Review
Occupying a similarly sinister and macabre world to the American artist Edward Gorey Tim Burton's work is similarly difficult to place. This is a beautifully produced book filled with fine line drawings--many in colour--illustrating 23 small verse stories which all centre on a surreal deformity--the eponymous Oyster Boy, Stain Boy, The Boy with Nails in his Eyes, Junk Girl, The Pin Cushion Queen...The tales are all quietly disturbing. As with Burton's cinematic work (Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas and Mars Attacks) the book seems aimed at children but the subtexts feel too disquieting. This however is where Burton's genius lies. Children are outcasts in the adult world and their own notion of what is important, grave, frightening and odd is different to ours. We each remember the child inside of us and so are each compelled to recognise the otherness within ourselves: the outcasts that Burton paints are somehow strangely well known to us. As dark and disturbing as the best fairy tales Burton shares a space with the Brothers Grimm--a place that all children know exists when the lights go out and the adults leave the room. --Mark Thwaite
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Entertainment Weekly
'Burton's creepy stories conjure up the fantastical, even the slightly demented.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This collection of poems are essentially short stories about misunderstood children, outcast from society and mentally tortured by their abnormalities. Such characters include “The Boy with Nails in His Eyes”, “The Pin Cushion Queen” and “Jimmy, the Hideous Penguin Boy”. Each short story portrays the loneliness and sadness, which consume these characters as they struggle to find compassion, love and acceptance in their lives.
Each story is simply, yet beautifully illustrated by Burton who designs the sets, costumes and mise-en-scene for his films in the same intricate manner. The illustrations are almost childish but provoke a feeling of deep sorrow in the reader. Each illustration is roughly coloured with faint watercolours enhancing the fragility and innocence of youth in these individuals. . In contrast to the saddening drawings, the poems are surprisingly funny in a twisted, typically Burton-esque way. The stories are a complex combination of humour and tragedy, disguising deep and serious subtexts with a light hearted mask.
Although this book has the appearance of an illustrated storybook for children, the macabre subjects of the stories and satirical humour can only be fully appreciated by adults. But it is the childlike and innocent nature of the book which makes it such an unusually enchanting and cherished read.
Each story is simply, yet beautifully illustrated by Burton who designs the sets, costumes and mise-en-scene for his films in the same intricate manner. The illustrations are almost childish but provoke a feeling of deep sorrow in the reader. Each illustration is roughly coloured with faint watercolours enhancing the fragility and innocence of youth in these individuals. . In contrast to the saddening drawings, the poems are surprisingly funny in a twisted, typically Burton-esque way. The stories are a complex combination of humour and tragedy, disguising deep and serious subtexts with a light hearted mask.
Although this book has the appearance of an illustrated storybook for children, the macabre subjects of the stories and satirical humour can only be fully appreciated by adults. But it is the childlike and innocent nature of the book which makes it such an unusually enchanting and cherished read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories" is a collection of 23 poems written and superbly illustrated by Tim Burton - the director of, amongst other things - "Sleepy Hollow", "Beetlejuice" and "The Corpse Bride". It features a number of characters such as Oyster Boy (obviously, I guess), The Girl With Many Eyes, Stain Boy and Anchor Baby. For the most part, the poems are very short - many are only a few lines long, while "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy" is pretty much the longest in the collection. There are a few others - like "Robot Boy", "Anchor Baby" and (my favourite) "Mummy Boy" - that make it past a couple of pages.
There's a pretty gruesome thread running though the book, plenty of strangeness and a smattering of sad and / or lonely characters. While I wouldn't describe it as scary, I wouldn't neceaasrily recommend reading it while eating cheese just before going to bed ! Fans of Burtom's films - especially "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - should enjoy this.
There's a pretty gruesome thread running though the book, plenty of strangeness and a smattering of sad and / or lonely characters. While I wouldn't describe it as scary, I wouldn't neceaasrily recommend reading it while eating cheese just before going to bed ! Fans of Burtom's films - especially "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - should enjoy this.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you're like me and have a morbid sense of humour then 'The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy' is something you really should have bought already. If not, and you don't share my passion for the wierd and darkly comic then you should still buy it!
Tim Burton is one of my favourite directors and this book shows a side that just concludes the theory of what a creative genius he is. The drawings are delicate and beautifully grusome and the stories/poems are funny and touching. It's just something you really cannot put into words. You have to see it for yourself.
I love this book enormously. It's like a little piece of treasure to me! If you are a fan of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' then you will love this book and you will be able to see some likenesses between the characters in this book and that film. I love it also because you feel like you're getting a look into the imagination of Tim Burton himself and how the hell he comes up with his ideas!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Melancholy death of oyster boy, and other stories
A collection of many rather dark, twisted but humourus poems and stories from Tim Burton. Each one is accompanied by an illustration, also by Mr. Burton. Read more
Published 4 months ago by IGotAJarOfDirt
Love it.
Fast delivery and if you love Tim Burton's work, you'll love this! Love the illustrations and the connection to the poems, this book is a must for any Tim Burton fan!
Published 6 months ago by Karen
The Day After Halloween...
I purchased this book in the hope of 'saving it' for a read on Halloween night! It didn't disappoint. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Murdo
Beautifully produced book, good fun, great illustrations
Firstly, and something that has irked me about some reviews, is that no, Tim Burton is certainly not a Blake, or a Kipling. He's a surrealist, not a poet. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Eric Blair
weird, wild, and wonderful!
This was probably the weirdest collection of drawings i've come across, and says Tim Burton all over (typical). Read more
Published 20 months ago by The Reader
Never received it
Unfortunately, I can not share my opinion because after ordering twice this book I never received it.
Regards
Naira
Regards
Naira
Published 21 months ago by Naira
Recommended for Tim Burton's fans
This is a collection of short stories in the form of poems and illustrations, and they all follow children who happened to be born different. Unnaturally different. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Sofia Romualdo
Lovvvely
Really funny little book with some cleverly written and nicely illustrated poems =] Something that someone else had shown me and happy to have got!
Published on 2 May 2010 by C. Luk
The world of Tim Burton
In this book you plunge in the world of the great Tim Burton. The stories make you laugh and sad at the same time. Melancholy in other words. I loved it. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2010 by Jane Austen
Must Have for Tim Burton Fans
These poems are in some cases quite short. Yet they are all beautifully written. However, if you are not a fan of Tim Burton's films or his book 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'... Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2010 by Ms. H. S. Midgley
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