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Title: Abarat
ISBN: 8535903526
Author:
Publicate Date: 2003
Publish: 2003
List Price: Not Available
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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| Customer Review: |
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1: But there are oceans and oceans. Seas and seas.
_There must be magic in this book. When it first found its way into my hand I was quite frankly totally read out. I had read far too much recently and the last thing that I wanted to do was start a thick new novel- and the beginning of a series at that. Then I started to flip through it looking at the illustrations. There must have been at least a hundred of them (I've never seen a novel so well and lusciously illustrated)- and they were all so incredibly vibrant and... interesting. I still can't get that image of the lost lighthouse in the midst of the prairie out of my mind's eye. Then I started to read the first page, then the second, and the third.... I had finished by the second day- but I had placed an order for the next volume long before that.
_This story of Candy Quakenbush is a rare thing. It bridges the gap between worlds. It takes you from the hateful reality of a dysfunctional family in Chickentown, Minnesota to the indescribable wonders of the Islands of the Abarat. And yet Barker does describe them so well that they seem as familiar to you as they come to seem to Candy (or at least thy do to me.) But then again, the introductory verse tells us of the author's dream of a limitless book, of new heavens, new states, and of new souls- and how one of these souls used his hand to set them down. Perhaps that is why this book can seem like an experience in lucid dreaming. You never know if the Islands are a new plane of existence, a new dimension... or a dream. However the Abarat must have been gestating in the author's mind for quite some time, for in it I recognize the shoals of Quiddity and the dreaming sea of his earlier works.
_This is no more exclusively a "children's book" than is Harry Potter.
_If you are going to experience this book, then you really should read the hardcover edition. The powerful, bright illustrations are an integral part of the overall design. Plus I've seldom seen such a high quality modern publication: the typesetting, the illustrations, the covers, the endpapers, the dust jacket are all top drawer.
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2: Can you say TOTALLY AWESOME!?
I don't know what this other person's talking about! I bought this book as soon as I saw the very imaginative pictures inside. I have this one and the second book. I love them! I aspire to be a writer and it's books like this that get me excited. To me this book is a mix between The Wizard of Oz, The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, and Alice in wonderland. All of which are classics. I can imagin these book becoming classics as well. I've actually read on the website Disney's making a movie of it. So you'd think it would be pretty good. The main character is very likable and real. She goes on a crazy adventure and meets and see lots of crazy things in the land of ABARAT. There are 12 islands and each island is an hour in a day. I really grew to love the characters she meets. This book has great morals and makes you feel along side them. I totally recommend it to everyone! I can't wait till the next one comes! The movie is going to be amazing!!
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