The Plucker: An Illustrated Novel by Brom

If you love Brom books or just want to read a beautiful thriller that keeps you on your toes pulls at your heart strings , get this book!! Brom has a gift of turning a classic fairy tale into a twisted suspenseful story that gets you trapped read from the 1st page. Krampus, The child thief and this book are some of my favorite reads👍

The first few days of owning this book I simply absorbed and enjoyed the amazing illustrations. Finally I turned my sights to the text...being pulled from one page to the next and the next, cover to cover in one sitting. The story was exciting...full of hope, heebie-jeebies, heroes and horror. Brom did a great job crafting this tale, with both his images and his words. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to those who aren't overly sensative to the dark nooks and crannies of make-believe. The only fluff to this story is that which has been torn out of the soft bellies of once-loved stuffed animals. The illustrations are masterful and show the true genius that is Brom. The story was an amazing first for Brom who has made it evident his talents are vast and ever-growing. Only one question...when is he going to hook up with Tim Burton and get this on the screen!?!

This is a rare example of an artist who can write as well as they paint. The Plucker is a 160 page large-format hardcover, lavishly illustrated with over 100 Brom paintings, published by Abrams (the big art book publisher). The book is a delightfully politically-incorrect and convoluted "children's book" of the sort that children really do need to evoke the kind of nightmares that fire their imaginations (instead of the sweet simplistic pap they are usually fed). Where would Gary Larson be today if it weren't for reading "Mr Bear Squash-You-All-Flat" as a child?! The jacket blurb for The Plucker says: "a world where fairy-tale tradition collides with vileness and depravity, love and heroism, suffering and sacrifice. A shadowy land of make-believe where happily ever after can cost you your very soul." (Sleep tight, kiddies!)

On a cold and rainy Saturday, after having a rather terrible couple of weeks, I took myself to a movie and then the bookstore. I bought this book on a whim, based on the lusciously gorgeous illustrations and the profoundly enticing writing - it fit the mood of the day perfectly. Only two other artists have such a rich and delightfully wicked combined creativity; Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, whose movie Mirrormask I had just seen! Brom has sewn together a magical tale that will send you longingly into the toy chest hoping to revive the life in those precious objects of youthful imagination. Just as you wonder if there are doors in the backs of wardrobes or if the white rabbit could lead you off into Wonderland, Brom sheds new dark on the goings on in the Underbed. Perhaps one way of looking at this story is to say that the Nutcracker is sugarplum and cotton candy, Plucker is a perfectly decedent rich dark hand dipped imported chocolate truffle. If I could I would give this book a Newbery Award! I would have devoured this story as a child and as an adult did it in one day. I would recommend it as a "read with" to those whose children liked Coriline (Neil Gaiman), Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), Keys to the Kingdom series (Garth Nix) and any good supernatural tale; basically a lover of Halloween. For adults it's a great read for fans of Ray Bradbury, Hideyuki Kikuchi, Neil Gaiman, & early Stephan King.

This book is amazing, exactly what I could expect from the mind of Brom. I love the strange creatures, dolls, monsters and other characters. Definitely a unique, dark story from the mind of one of the contemporary fantasy masters. Very cool and very Brom.

Visually the book is stunning, over a hundred full color paintings by Brom at the top of his game. If you enjoy Brom's paintings you'll love his prose - his sense of the macabre and the romantic, tinged with his dark sense of humor carry through into the story, making the Plucker a page turner. Very edgy stuff. Highly recommended!