The Animal House

Calling this book "surreal" would be too obvious and to under-describe it. It's very slight, but has a spooky charm - partly because Ivor Cutler leaves out a lot of the "sensible" strings that would hold a more earthbound story together. There are mad leaps in the narrative that keep you hooked, waiting for the next one - quite apart from the joy of the central, inspired idea. A family wake up one morning to find their house blown away, except for the electrical points, the milk on the doorstep, and the eggs for their breakfast. Naturally enough, since Mr Diamond is a zookeeper, the solution is to bring animals from the zoo to form a new house - elephants and camels for walls, snakes for roof beams, birds for roof covering. Fireflies make light and heat, and their pillows that night are warm, furry, and breathing. Then their old house turns up ....... This book has enough tiny delights in it to bring you back time after time - our 9-year-old daughter still takes huge pleasure in it 5 years after we first got a copy. Now we want more - to give as presents! Somebody please reprint!