Synopsis: Lily is a very ordinary girl, with a very ordinary life, especially compared to her two best friends: Jasper, a plucky, if somewhat unfashionable, inventor who battles all things nefarious with the aid of science; and Katie, who confronts the monsters and undead fiends thronging her small neighbourhood armed only with her impeccable sense of style. So, when Lily discovers that her very ordinary father works for a company run by a man with blue, rubbery skin and a penchant for dousing himself in brine and supplying the world’s cetacean population with exciting new opportunities in pedestrian travel, she expects her friends to be able to deal with it. but when push comes to shove and an army of laser-eyed, elevated sea-mammals hits the shore, it may be down to Lily to thwart this evil plot.

Review: This is the third book I have read by author M.T. Anderson. Feed and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing were both serious, disturbing, deeply satirical and had plenty to say about a range of issues. Whales on Stilts has almost nothing to say about anything, except, of course, whales, stilts, and the hitherto ill-explored juxtaposition of the two and in many ways feels like something Anderson might have done, in part, just to stay sane between the heavy stuff. Don’t get me wrong; the book isn’t brainless and there is some gentle satirising of the teenage adventure genre – the adverts for Jasper and Katie’s own adventure book series are priceless – it’s just that its primary motivation is pure and unadulterated entertainment, probably for the author as much as anyone. Is it good? Well, it’s called Whales on Stilts, it does what it says on the tin. To a certain extent, that’s as much as you need to know. Do you like whales on stilts? Well, this is for you, buddy! Think it sounds silly and pointless? Better to move on. Read Feed instead; it’s serious and very pointy. It isn’t as funny, but then it isn’t supposed to be. It’s horses for courses; or indeed, whales for invasions. On the other hand, if you’ve just finished Feed and are feeling mildly suicidal, this could well be the perfect antidote.

2007-03-28