Official Review: A Mammoth Problem by Rob Dew

[RussetDivinity]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Mammoth Problem" by Rob Dew.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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An alien ship full of extinct animals and manned by robots. A mysterious foster child named Donnington Speen. A government agent who hates Morris dancers. All of these (and a fair bit more) are what Eric Patterson faces in Rob Dew’s A Mammoth Problem. The book is fast-paced, launching right into Eric’s confusion as his life is turned completely upside-down, and it’s a breeze to read, even if it moves a bit too quickly at the climax. While it would be a stretch to call the book hilarious, there were several points where I chuckled, and at times the humor put me in mind of Douglas Adams, though the jokes in this book are a fair bit cleaner than those found in Adams’s work. I’m happy to give this novel 3 out of 4 stars.

The book opens with Eric learning that his mother has accepted yet another foster child into their house. This is a regular occurrence for the two of them; Judith Patterson is a sweetheart who can’t bring herself to say no to anyone and even offers tea and biscuits to the mysterious armed men who break into her house. Donnington Speen, however, is not the sort of foster child that Eric is used to. He seems mildly bemused that people eat fish but not mice, and Eric hears him speaking to something in a strange language through the thin walls of his house. His attempt at spying on Donnington fail quite remarkably, thanks to a rusty drainpipe and a well-placed trampoline, but he doesn’t have much time to do anything beyond that failure before the British government breaks down the door to his house in an attempt to capture Donnington.

From there, the story races on and becomes a wild ride with plenty of laughs along the way. It’s irreverent and ridiculous, and that makes for a wonderfully fun read. The characters are rather flat, but that isn’t in any way a detraction from the story. If anything, it makes it more enjoyable, and I believe this is the one time I would applaud a writer for not trying to fit character development into a book. Though that may sound like I’m trying to give a back-handed compliment, I mean it sincerely. Trying to fill the book with deeply fleshed-out characters would only have taken away from the humor, and it provides an excellent contrast when there is a moment of growth in the epilogue.

The one reason I didn’t give the book four stars was that the writing at times felt rather stiff, which distracted a little from the story itself. This made it no less funny, though, and only made me enjoy the book a little less. I’d still gladly read it again, and I fully intend to.

As I mentioned before, this book is a light, fun read. I would recommend it mostly for younger teens, but I do think older teens and even college students would enjoy it as well if they needed something quick and amusing.

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A Mammoth Problem
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[zeldas_lullaby]

Great review! I kind of know what you mean, and don't worry--it didn't seem like too much of a backhanded compliment to me. I love the concept of breaking down literary walls--like, why does there have to always be character development?? Who made up that rule? I mean, sure, it's good in general, but why not bend the rules to fit the story?

What are Morris dancers?

[RussetDivinity]

What are Morris dancers?

I actually don't know, but that kind of makes it funnier in my opinion, just because it's something relatively obscure.

[zeldas_lullaby]

HA HA HA.

OK, I was seriously afraid that it would be something that everyone else knew of, but just not me. I'm glad that wasn't the case!!

[bookowlie]

I enjoyed reading your insightful review. I can see your point about this being a case where less character development is a good thing.