Filmmaker Tim Burton has become known for his unique visual brilliance - witty and macabre at once. Now, he gives birth to a cast of gruesomely sympathetic children - misunderstood outcasts who struggle to find love and belonging in their cruel, cruel worlds.
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This unassuming hardcover in black buckram with a dark lavender title plate is the door into a world of twisted pleasures. Filmmaker Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas) tells 23 winsomely macabre stories about boys and girls who don't fit in. Their bodies are misshapen, their habits are odd and their parents are appalled by them. But they do try hard to be human, like poor unwanted Mummy Boy, who's "a bundle of gauze": he goes for a walk in the park with his mummy dog. Some kids who are having "a birthday party for a Mexican girl" mistakenly take Mummy Boy for a piñata: "They took a baseball bat and whacked open his head. Mummy Boy fell to the ground; he finally was dead. Inside of his head were no candy or prizes, just a few stray beetles of various sizes." For all its simple humour, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories is a peculiarly disturbing book about the violence that children suffer. It is illustrated in pen and ink, watercolours, and crayon. The themes and imagery are at a young-adult to adult level.
Book Description
The must-have quirky Christmas gift from cult film maker Tim Burton.
--This text refers to an alternate
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First Sentence
Stick Boy liked Match Girl, he liked her a lot. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Stick Boy liked Match Girl, he liked her a lot. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By S J Hamilton
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
By Craobh Rua
VINE™ VOICE
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!
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Tim Burton's book was a gift this christmas, and although I wouldn't have picked this myself I must say I am incredibly impressed with this little book! Tim Burton may be known for his original/twisted approach to his film-making, and his book is no exception. The short, illustrated collection of poems are appealing on so many levels. Essentially about the cruelty of other children and your own parents, the drawings are heart wrenching and very emotional, despite it's slight stance. In fact the more you read this book, the more you can find something to stir up memories of an adolesent era that was both painful and unjust, and yet appreciate and savour the survival into adulthood. Then, as Mr Burton likes to remind you, invariably you become a parent and start the whole cycle of love/desire/betrayal all over again. Enlightening and satisfying, I recommend this book to anyone who has been through their teenage years, or is currently suffering them!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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. The stories are tragic, sometimes cruel, but they all have a little humor thrown into them, so that the result is quite charming. My favourite story is the one that gives the book its name, the one featuring Oyster Boy.
This was an okay book for me. I preferred the illustrations over the poems, since I didn't find them all that special or brilliant (even though there were plenty of metaphors for real world situations). Still, this is a pretty little book that is worth having, specially if you like Tim Burton, though I'm not sure I'd recommend it to someone who isn't familiar with his work.
This was an okay book for me. I preferred the illustrations over the poems, since I didn't find them all that special or brilliant (even though there were plenty of metaphors for real world situations). Still, this is a pretty little book that is worth having, specially if you like Tim Burton, though I'm not sure I'd recommend it to someone who isn't familiar with his work.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This book was great, i couldn't put it down, I know that's what they all say but I really couldn't. I love Tim Burton's stuff he really has a vivd imagination, very abstract. Buy this book now.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: And Other Stories
Tim Burton is a genius in my opinion and I thoroughly enjoyed reading his works all packed neatly together in this nice little book with good illustrations
Published 21 days ago by Lisa Chamberlain
4.0 out of 5 stars
funny
if you like poetry its a good read light and funny (made me laugh) and tim burtons name to it works even better.
Published 1 month ago by Lilli Burley
5.0 out of 5 stars
I love this
I did buy this as a present, but *shamefully* i'm keeping it for myself! read most of it straight away. i just love Tim Burtons 'strangeness' !
Published 1 month ago by Abby
5.0 out of 5 stars
So funny
This is a great book with very funny poems in and brilliant drawings by the very talented Tim Burton. Read more
Published 2 months ago by karen brewin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very pleased!
The book is made out of very high quality paper, which feels great when reading the book. The drawings and artwork is amazing, if you are a Tm Burton fan and understand his dark... Read more
Published 3 months ago by JoelTheReader
5.0 out of 5 stars
Darker than Dahl
always found Tim Burton a bit hit and miss as a director- the brilliance of 'Edward Scissorhands' vs. Read more
Published 4 months ago by jimidimi
5.0 out of 5 stars
Typical Burton
This is a lovely book of Tim Burton's quirky little rhymes. Anyone who's a fan of the man should have this book. It doesn't take long to read but they're enjoyable and funny. Read more
Published 4 months ago by KME
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Have!
A collection of fun stories by Tim Burton. You will read them all in one day, but it's a great book to have in your collection.
Published 6 months ago by teo30
3.0 out of 5 stars
Quick short read
It is hard to really review such a wee short book like this. It is basically tiny short stories that are really poems about weird and wonderful characters. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Lainy
5.0 out of 5 stars
great poems
i like this book because of its intimate character; it shows a way how Tim Burton plays with little fantasy-ideas and thoughts that might serve for bigger projects such as his... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Steinberg
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