The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits (Penguin Classics) |
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Lewis Carroll
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Pages: 128 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0140434917
Pub: Penguin Classics
Pub date: 2006-05-25
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 101965
Reader Reviews:
A Celebratory Edition (0/0 people found this helpful)
This is the edition published by MacMillan to celebrate their 150th anniversary. It is a faithful photographic reproduction of the special edition limited to 430 volumes which were the only copies of "The Hunting of Snark ever - and ever will be, apparently - to have its illustrations printed staright from Henry Holiday's master woodblock.
It benefits then from having the best reproductions of Holiday's engraving ever. I bought this actually thinking it was just a facsimile of the first edition, but no. In many ways it is probably more sumptuous than a facsimile would have been. Fully guilt edges and clothbound board in glassline jacket and very high quality printing/art paper. Although I regret that it does not have Holiday's original designs for the front and back cover, the rest of the volume does not fail the vision of the book as put together by Carroll and Holiday. As great a masterpiece as "The Hunting of the Snark" deserves at least a luxurious presentation with plenty of breathing space for the text, but this one goes further. There are less elaborate editions out there, and not necessarily with Carroll's illustrator, but if you are looking for a copy to treasure this one is highly recommended.
Fantastic, but be not up to Peake. (0/0 people found this helpful)
The hunting of the Snark is a wonderful book, and with childrens poetry its right up there with Dr Suess. If i revealed the plot to you i would never forgive myself, but i am sure, if you, like me, love rhymes from the imagination, then Carroll is one of theose people who can never fail to please. To compare it to Alice's adventures in Wonderland would be unfair, as the dreamlike quality of the Alice books is missing, but not without good reason. Carroll makes you laugh, and he makes you cry, and, in the tradition of the best, this book can also offer soem moments of extreme tenderness. I strongly reccomend that if you like this book, you also take a look at Tim Burton's collection of poems entitled The Melancholy Death Of Oyster Boy. Dont eb put off by the gloomy title, its another masterpiece. I dont want to try to defend The Huntign Of The Snark, because it is a book that needs no defence. It is magnificent. The only advice i would give you is too try to get the copy with the illustrations done by the fabulous king of the gothis literature, Mervyn Peake, as with Carrols writing next to Peakes drawings, this book takes you to another world. And its much better than this one!
Excellent (3/5 people found this helpful)
Well worth spending a little of your money on. "Snark" is infinitely re-readable; and should be re-read on a regular basis--make it a little ritual for yourself. Keep all of the caricatures in your head. Soak in the wonderful drawings by Mervyn Peake (a genius in his own right--read his "Titus Groan", "Gormenghast", and "Titus Alone" and you'll see what I mean). What is a Snark, exactly? We'd best hope this one isn't a Boojum...
And you Brits are fortunate to have the "Snark" illustrated by Peake available--I had to order this over Amazon.co.uk. :-) Though as I've said, it was well worth the trouble.
An absolute classic in every sense of the word (3/3 people found this helpful)
My Wife bought me this as a present and I have to say, of all the things I have been given this is one of the most precious.
Although I read it to myself I am most looking forward to reading it to my Son. It's an ideal length for a short bedtime story but also long enough for you to be able to put some effort into it and create a bit of an atmosphere.
It's full of great little characters, each with their own peculiar personality and soul. The poem flows well with great rhythm and gives the reader a chance to disappear for a quarter of an hour or so into Carroll's bizarre little world.
I have a 1928 edition of the book and I hope it stays in print for another eighty odd years as well. The Snark contains something for everyone, no matter what the age, a subtle blend of humour, nonsense and poetry at its absolute best.
If my house were to catch fire and I had time to only snatch a few things from the flames it would be my Wife and Son, along with a very old, well used copy of a Book of a Thousand Poems and this.
Embark upon this fantastical, madcap expedition! (1/1 people found this helpful)
This weird and wonderful poem follows a journey only Lewis Carroll could have concocted. The elaborate drawings of Mervyn Peake serve to bring the whole strange event to life. It merits the five stars through the delicately depicted characters who appear on each page, loping and creeping from Peake's ink-pot. It is a creation from a unique collaboration never again to grace the printed page. Capture it before it disappears in to the mists of lost imaginations.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> C -> Carroll, Lewis
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> The Classics -> General AAS
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> World -> Irish
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> World -> Scottish
Books -> Subjects -> Poetry, Drama & Criticism -> Poetry -> By Period -> 19th Century
Books -> Subjects -> Poetry, Drama & Criticism -> Poetry -> General AAS
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Font Size (format_browse-bin) -> Regular Size