Sylvie’s dog has lost his bark, the birds have stopped singing, and Sylvie’s dad has disappeared. Sylvie joins forces with tone-deaf George in order to find him, battling against the Songman and the Woodpecker Man to save the world from a voiceless fate.

This is beautifully-written, with effortless prose as musical as its subject-matter. It’s original, surreal, evocative – but I didn’t find it a compelling read, although I felt I ought to. Sylvie has lost her mother in ambiguous circumstances, and lives with her father who composes music and invents musical instruments on which to play it. But he’s discovered something by accident, and there are those who want it…

 When Sylvie’s dad doesn’t come home, and leaves her a message in toothpaste on the bathroom mirror, things start to get weird. Trying to piece together the different events into some sort of sense isn’t easy, although they’re all clearly and lyrically narrated. Before long suspending disbelief gets difficult – after a very odd train journey, which usually takes her to school, Sylvie finds herself able to understand fox and dog thoughts. A balloon drawn across the sky by geese is carrying a man infested with woodpeckers, her mother turns up fleetingly as a mermaid, and by the end Sylvie and George are riding a tiger who is all too real, and provides an unexpected bit of violence.

 I think this book will appeal to those with unfettered imaginations, but I found getting to grips with it hard. This was a pity, as I love the way Tim Binding writes, and I’ll be interested to see what he does next.

Angela Barrett’s illustrations are a total delight, both in the beautifully-designed way they are placed on the page, to the well-thought-out content, which never gives too much away. They’re all monochromatic (apart from the cover), and have a misty, whimsical feel to them that suits the oddball nature of the book. The picture of George on page 42, showing his complete absorption in his kite, is utterly convincing.

2009-02-01