Book Review: Wishhobbler
A whimsical and darkly funny children’s fairy tale with a heartfelt message, from Francis O’Dowd.
I didn’t expect to blast through Wishhobbler in a single day, but from the first page I was hooked. It’s weird, darkly funny and a little sinister. It certainly put me in mind of some of the books my eldest has been bringing home from school, and it has some really fantastic stylised illustrations throughout to match!
Blurb
Somewhere in the damp, twisting alleyways of an alternate 19th Century slum there lives a hideous freak of nature.
Driven by poverty, Spin and her makeshift family move to the Songwynds in search of work. There they share a tiny, rat-infested tenement room with their adoptive Ma: a ferocious wishhobbler.
A monster of a mother, and the mother of all monsters, the wishhobbler’s viciousness has caused fear and mayhem among the slum dwellers. Unable to hit back at the wishhobbler, her victims turn their attention to Spin. An outsider wherever she goes - haunted by thugs and bullies - Spin finds a way to enter the carefully guarded and lethal world of Victorian Racing Televisions.
When the wishhobbler disrupts the carefully laid plans of the mysterious Racers, Spin finds herself at the centre of a deadly confrontation.
But it’s with the revelation of a centuries old Knight of the Implicate Order that things really take a turn for the worse ...
Featuring over 50 stunning illustrations, this dark urban fairy tale is a must for anyone who's ever been bored, bullied or lived with a monster.
Review
I honestly loved this book. Right from the off, the prose/writing style is a little odd, but instantly captivating. The plot is absurdist, funny, dark and has some excellent twists and turns. I honestly think this belongs among the ranks of the best dark children’s fiction, and it carries a message of solidarity for those who have suffered from bullying. It’s all handled very sensitively and sympathetically.
The characters all have super ridiculous names, and they fit right into their higgledy-piggledy world. The whole cast is brilliant, from the sympathetic Spin to the noble Fistache and the downright horrid wishhobbler, Ma. They go from calamity to calamity, incurring the wrath of the impoverished townsfolk who just want to race their televisions in peace. The character arcs are full of twists, turns and heart-wrenching moments, and it’s mostly told from Spin’s perspective as she deals with the horrendous bullying and shame piled on her on account of Ma. Ma herself is a thoroughly horrid monster, and an absolute force of nature. She makes for a great primary antagonist. Sometimes it could be a bit difficult to follow what she was saying, as her speech is extremely broken. I honestly loved all the characters in this book. And I have to take a minute to applaud the story’s masterful use of foreshadowing—getting further into that would bring us into spoiler territory, which I won’t do here, but it suffices to say there were so many moments where the twists hit like a truck and they were all so well earned.
There are many great scenes in Wishhobbler. it’s hard to pin down my exact favourite, but the main television race was really something. I love the inventiveness of it, and how it felt so well-incorporated in the culture of the little slice of the world we’re privy to. The humour was excellent, too. The pacing is outstanding. It’s not a particularly short book, but I started and finished it in a single day, which is unusual for me.
I’m delighted to say Wishhobbler is one of my new favourites, and it comes highly recommended. Bravo!
