Reviews

Actually listed to this audiobook version. So glad I did. Not only is the story laugh out loud funny, but having it read by the author, and the author's British accent made this an all-time favorite of my entire family. We've had the story for about a week now and we've listened to it at least five times. Phrases from the book are now cropping up in everyday conversations, "You're a trouser face" and "Truth is a lemon-meringue." We are anxiously looking forward to the other books in the series. Highly recommend this book to all!

lydiasmitht's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

chose to read this instead of poor things because i just could not hack it after having my teeth drilled into and feeling sore and sorry for myself.

read it in about three hours at work (whilst doing my job in between times). so worth it. actually as good as i remembered??

rubinia's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

elluetut's review against another edition

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3.0

Kolme tähteä, koska olo on ristiriitainen. Periaatteessa pidin kovasti kielestä ja kummallisista hahmoista ja jännistä käänteistä ja kirjailijan kommenteista lukijalle, mutta samalla toisiaan haukkuvat hahmot ja ryyppääminen lastenkirjassa (vaikkei kumpaakaan ollut kuin lyhyesti pari kertaa) tuntuu niin väärältä. Herra Gummi ei kuitenkaan menettänyt mahdollisuuksiaan ja aion lukea lisää.

violetbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

heyitsemz's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

katykelly's review against another edition

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4.0

Bonkers! One I shared with my son, as an audiobook.

He loved it, but I could see he wasn't used to such unusual narration or storytelling. It's a fairly straightforward tale - of a Twit-like Mr Gum who wants to be rid of the dog who keeps messing up his garden (because a fairy hits him with a frying pan when it's not kept neat - of course).

So he buys rancid meat... Can Lamonic Bibber resident Polly (real name too long to type here) save Jake the Dog?

Madcap, jumping about from strange resident to next strange resident, Stanton plays with language as fast as Kate Winslet plays with voices (and volume!!! got very loud on our audio).

It's very funny. My favourite part though was the whole of chapter 4 in which Mr Gum has a cup of tea... and I quote it in full here:
"Mr Gum has a cup of tea."

The look on my son's face was a picture.

Great for readers who may not be confident, who may want something easy to read, but who may just still pick up something useful from this book.

Mad, mad, mad. We are now regularly calling out "The truth is a lemon meringue" at odd times, to the very wary looks of my husband.

Fun. But absolutely potty.

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