I noticed this book in the “12 Days of Kindle” sale that Amazon were having for the 2018 winter hols and it made me think of a friend named Hannah who spends most of her work days in a rather feasibly mundane looking cupboard (yes, actually in a cupboard), and the title of this book instantly made me think of her.   And so, with me being hooked on the title, and also suitably impressed by the cover art, i had a quick look at the reviews and they seemed rather positive as well — and at £1.49 one can’t really go wrong.   And so, with all four check boxes (cover, title, reviews and price) ticked, i went ahead and bought the book.

Of course, i had to go and tell Hannah about my fiendishly brilliant book purchase, while she was at work, sat in her cupboard.   I know, i’m bad, but it got a smile and a giggle out of Hannah, which is always a nice thing to do for someone when they’re at work.

So, you’re probably wondering, when’s he gonna get onto talking about the actual story and doing an actual review?   Like, was it any good?   Was it worth £1.49?   Did it come up to the standard of the cover and the title?   Was Hannah’s existence really, “unfeasibly mundane”?

The answer to all the above, is yes.   More than yes, actually.

It was brilliant, it was worth more than £1.49, it surpassed its cover and certainly matched its title, as while Hannah starts out with quite a feasibly mundane existence — of which she wasn’t too impressed although she did enjoy some of it — it soon begins to spiral rapidly into complete unfeasibility of mundaneness when Hannah’s parents split up and she goes to stay with her granddad for a couple of weeks and the devil himself turns up at granddad’s house with an accident imp in tow because, well, you’ll just have to read it and find out for yourself.

I know what you’re thinking.   You’re thinking it all sounds incredibly silly — grandad, the devil himself and an accident imp — but it isn’t at all silly, there’s actually a genuine underlying serious side to this book: it’s about the stories of our lives, who gets to write them, who we’re in them with and who we write them with.   This, of course, would be incredibly dull and tedious if you just wrote a philosophy PHD thesis on the topic, but Michael manages to make the points he wants to make while packaging it all up in an a story that is quite giggle-icious.

I would also add that i think it’s very suitable for both adults (especially parents) and teens alike and, IMHO, speaks incredibly well to each about the other — something for us all to learn.

So yes, at the end of the tale, i can honestly say that it’s a really wonderful book that i’m very glad to have discovered (thank you Hannah and your cupboard ), with a nice easy flowing style that just lets you fall inside the book and enjoy a story about the stories of our lives.

Michael’s Page

#fantasy #michaelmarshallsmith