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The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
 
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The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy (Hardcover)

by Tim Burton (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

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Paperback (New edition) £8.99 £5.39 65 used & new from £0.01

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (7 Dec 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0571195121
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571195121
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.4 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 219,531 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #55 in  Books > Fiction > Short Stories > Humour

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Product Description

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

Entertainment Weekly
'Burton's creepy stories conjure up the fantastical, even the slightly demented.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews
5 star:
 (27)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars If you don't love this little book..., 12 Jun 2000
By A Customer
...you deserve to have your head removed from your shoulders by the Headless Horseman of 'Sleepy Hollow'!

This little book is a real treasure, in some ways reminiscent of a book I had as a child called 'Blowing Raspberries' - the author's name escapes me now. Where 'Blowing Raspberries' told short rhymes of disgusting children (either growing up or meeting an untimely end) complemented by lovely little drawings, 'The Melancholy Death...' explores the bittersweet lives of a motley crew of young misanthropic outcasts - mini-Hamlets (I apologise to all cigar smokers for the terrible pun) as it were. Burton's rhyming is at times rather frail, but this reflects the beauty of his scratchy, childlike drawings. As with so much of his film work, Burton is constantly contrasting black and white with vivid colour in these little drawings - very often a coloured character appears in a black and white backdrop or a black and white one appears in a coloured backdrop - many of Burton's film characters have also followed this pattern (think Burton's Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Jack Skellington, even Beetlejuice) - thus emphasising the status of these unfortunate little outcasts.

A melancholy book indeed - but nonetheless, the most enchanting little book I've purchased since I was a child. Buy it now or regret it!

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An unusually enchanting and cherished read, 9 Jan 2004
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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Just go and read it a hundred times!, 27 Dec 2006
This review is from: The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: And Other Stories (Paperback)
"The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: And Other Stories" is a book for which you can say "I have read it more than a hundred times!".
And indeed you will.
Sometimes simple is more complicated, it also leads the art to be more everlasting in our minds.
The simplicity and harmony I find in Tim Burton's creations is one of that kind.
Every single word echoes in my mind.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Book
This book rocks !! Sinister yet touching with all the magic of everything you associate with Tim Burton. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Justin Malinguez

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor
I was brought up with Belloc, Gorey, Carroll, Lear, Nash et al and this really is pretty second rate stuff. Read more
Published 15 months ago by pkx166h

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing
Never thought a girl with far more then the usual two eyes could be charming?
And that kinkiness could have applicable consequences - not for children, full of antiheroes a... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Naddy

5.0 out of 5 stars woah!
dark,funny poems by tim burton the director of the nightmare before christmas (this is not for little children)
Published 22 months ago by fast review

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark, Quirky & Strange !
"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... Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2006 by cluricaune

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and macabre , just how we like Tim burton.
This book is genius. Great little poems with dark, yet hilarious illustrations. I buy this for all my warped friends so we can laugh together. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2006 by Spider Monkey

5.0 out of 5 stars Weird
I've always like Tim Burton, but never knew it, I had no idea he directed the first Batman films along with Sleepy Hollow; some of my favourite films. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2006 by Redfield

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY NOW
It's just a really nice thing to hold. The quality of the book itself, cool pictures and hilarious tales are awesome. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2006 by Wombat

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY NOW
It's just a really nice thing to hold. The quality of the book itself, cool pictures and hilarious tales are awesome. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2006 by Wombat

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastically hillarious
Just bought this book and had to review it. It's very short, takes about ten minutes to read but its absolutely hillarious! Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2005 by M. Todd

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