The Mennyms

The problem with this book is that it's hard to convince other readers that it's the real deal. The premise sounds like that of a fairly generic kid's book: the story of a family of live (human-size) rag dolls. But that's like saying that _The Metamorphosis_ is about a man who turns into a beetle. It's actually a shrewd & often disquieting study of the tensions & loves that bind together a family; it also offers an exceedingly ambivalent portrait of fantasy--the pathos of the dolls who engage in "pretends" (whether harmless--Joshua's comforting pretense that he's drinking from an empty mug of coffee--or much more harmful, such as the monstrous prank played by Appleby in this novel). & it has a curiously delicate approach to religious themes: on the one hand, each book in the series has a moment that quietly implies an act of divine benevolence-- & yet Soobie (the most philosophical of the dolls) is an agnostic who in any case doubts that God, if he exists, cares about dolls like he does abotu humans. So Soobie's an unbeliever quietly asking God to help him in his unbelief ( & yet his prayers _are_ answered). The book gives me a stsrong sense of how family life (however loving) can become a terrible burden in the absence of outside relationships (to friends, boyfriends, neighbours, & c). This is the dolls' real problem: that they are stuck with their own company, that their world is circumscribed by their own family. This is all to make the book sound terribly heavy--which it isn't, though if you're expecting whimsy & colourful fantasy this certainly isn't the book for you. It's great storytelling, though with more of an emphasis on the strangeness of daily routine ( & the little lies & deceptions that go into it--encapsulated in the habitual, thoughtlessly inconsiderate treatment of Miss Quigley, forced to wait in a closet for ages until it's time to "pretend" that she's visiting from a house on Trethewick St.) than on elaborate plot. This may be a "grown-up" book, but many young readers are very grown-up, of course. One final note: I was surprised to see that the mysterious doll in the attic is named "Nuova Pilbeam". She's the only doll with a first name, & there's a reason for this: it's an allusion to the teenage British actress Nova Pilbeam, who was the kidnapped daughter in Hitchcock's _The Man Who Knew Too Much_ (the 1934 version).

This is one of the most imaginative books I've ever read and also one of the most psychologically astute. On the surface it appears to be a highly original and well-planned fantasy--live dolls coping in a flesh and blood world--but the reader soon finds herself propelled beyond the fantasy into the day to day living of a complex and engaging family. All of the Mennyms, no matter how faintly drawn, have individual and sympathetic characters. Within the context of fantasy, the family deals with age old issues: autonomy versus connection, real versus pretend, mothers and daughters, self-protection versus risk and the need for, as well as the fear of, change. Sylvia Waugh illustrates the provocative theory that fantasy is often the true purveyor of difficult truths and hard realities. Recommendation: Buy it.

I am a fourth grader and The Mennyms was suggested to me by my librarian. I read it and thought it was marvelous! I reccomend it to anyone who is interested in this series of books about a family of life-sized rag dolls. The charecters are Sir Magnus and Tulip, who are the grandparents, Vinetta and Joshua, who are the parents, Soobie and Pilbeam, who are the older twins, Appleby, who is a teenage girl, Poopie and Wimpey, who are the younger twins, Googles the baby, and her nanny Miss Quigley, who is the only non-member of the Mennym family but also a rag doll. I found the plot interesting and the charecters well discribed. I hope you read this book because it is fantastic!

*The Mennyms* is a great book. And I highly recommend it. It's unlike any other book I have ever read; if you read one you must read the rest. It's a very unusual and original book, with wonderful characters you will fall in love with. The Mennyms is a family that live in an old house that they rent. But they are not an ordinary family, they are lifesize living dolls. One of the things this book is about is how they deal with being dolls. One of my faverate characters is Appleby, a sassy teenager who does not like being a doll. The book is all about them hiding from the outside and trying to keep their secret safe from their new landlord. If you like fantasy, (like *The Borrowers*) you will love *The Mennyms*. If I say anymore I may spoil it, so you must read it yourself.

I read this book a year ago and absolutely loved it. The Mennyms are a family of living rag dolls (It's not as silly as it sounds) with an array of characters in the family; from rebellious Appleby, to quiet Soobie, who thinks pretends are ridiculous, to Miss Quigly, who lives in the hall cupboard; the Mennym's had me hooked by page 3. When their secret is in danger of being discovered, the Mennym's must go to all extents to protect themselves. A great book.