jarichan's review against another edition
4.0
Dieses Buch war genau das, was ich in diesen hektischen Wochen gebraucht habe. Eine witzige Geschichte mit (mehr oder weniger) sympathischen Figuren und phantastischen Abenteuern.
Einerseits lässr sich das Ganze genau so lesen wie oben geschrieben, aber man kann es auch als Märchen darüber interpretieren, wie zwei Völker, die dazu erzogen wurden, sich abgrundtief zu hassen, dies trotz aller Widrigkeiten überwinden und zu Freunden werden.
Dem Autoren scheint das relativ gleich zu sein. Hauptsache, man hat Spass bei der Sache. Und den hatte ich auf jeden. Die Ideen sind frisch und unverbraucht; oft kicherte ich in aller Öffentlichkeit vor mich hin und es war mir egal, was die Passanten dachten. Die Szenen sind einfach zu herrlich.
Das liegt auch an der grossen Qualität des Hörbuches. Es ist eines der besten, die ich bisher gehört habe. Dies führte dazu, dass Spurges Geschichte zu einem der wenigen Hörbüchern wurde, die ich nicht auf 1.2facher-Geschwindigkeit hörte. Ich wollte jedes Wort geniessen.
Und trotzdem war viel zu schnell Schluss. Ich vermisse Spurge und Werfel bereits.
Einerseits lässr sich das Ganze genau so lesen wie oben geschrieben, aber man kann es auch als Märchen darüber interpretieren, wie zwei Völker, die dazu erzogen wurden, sich abgrundtief zu hassen, dies trotz aller Widrigkeiten überwinden und zu Freunden werden.
Dem Autoren scheint das relativ gleich zu sein. Hauptsache, man hat Spass bei der Sache. Und den hatte ich auf jeden. Die Ideen sind frisch und unverbraucht; oft kicherte ich in aller Öffentlichkeit vor mich hin und es war mir egal, was die Passanten dachten. Die Szenen sind einfach zu herrlich.
Das liegt auch an der grossen Qualität des Hörbuches. Es ist eines der besten, die ich bisher gehört habe. Dies führte dazu, dass Spurges Geschichte zu einem der wenigen Hörbüchern wurde, die ich nicht auf 1.2facher-Geschwindigkeit hörte. Ich wollte jedes Wort geniessen.
Und trotzdem war viel zu schnell Schluss. Ich vermisse Spurge und Werfel bereits.
youkirmv's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
heatherbermingham's review against another edition
5.0
For some reason, I couldn't wrap my brain around what this book was based on the descriptions I read so I kept picking it up and putting it down, but after it showed up on pretty much every best-of-the-year list I read, I decided I had to at least try it. Turns out that hey, sometimes people know what they're talking about because I loved it. On one hand, it's a silly elf-goblin buddy comedy. On the other hand, it says a lot of interesting (and true) things about how we often cling to our preconceptions or what we've been taught about others, even in the face of evidence that tells us otherwise. One of the characters mostly narrates the events while the other sends communications back to his land in visuals and the visuals he's sending back often don't match the story being told which is a great storytelling device that could start a lot of discussion if read with kids. I'd be really interested in reading and discussing this with a class or small reading group.
biblioemily's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! I loved the unique storytelling method that combines narrative and illustrations (that are at odds with one another). This will be tough for younger readers, but I can see this appealing to both middle schoolers & high schoolers. What an interesting way to examine prejudice, hatred, and systemic oppression.
grifen87's review against another edition
5.0
This was a very fun but thought-provoking read. Anderson himself describes it as, "a tragic meditation on how societies that have been trained to hate each other for generations can actually come to see eye to eye."
mat_tobin's review against another edition
4.0
If ever there was a book that used satire and the unreliable narrator with a deft, dry touch whilst still wholly appealing to children then this is that book. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge might be seen as the disgruntled older pubescent sibling of Zelnick’s wriiten narrative/wordless format but it is also far sharper, clever and deeply political for being so.
Anderson and Yelchin’s world is one of goblins and elves who have spent much of their past at war with each other. But the elves now seek to renew their peace and send across the borders an elfin historian, Brangwain Spurge, with a gift for the goblins. Meanwhile, at the other end, Werfel, the goblin archivist, has been tasked with the job of entertaining his esteemed guest and giving him a tour of his city before the gift can be handed over to their supreme ruler: Ghogh – a nebulous, black creature from a wholly different dimension.
But all is not what it seems in this story for the elf’s mission is not quite honest and both his world and his hosts is being cunningly manipulated by outside forces. Can Brangwain see past his prejudices and acknowledge the greater truth before it is all too late?
A fantasy that is, perhaps, more real than the fake news we encounter daily today and certainly a satire on all political skewing of ‘outsiders’ and ‘others’, what Anderson offers in words and Yelchin in his Boschesque illustrations is a story from two different perspectives. Whose narrative can be trusted is another matter altogether but by the end of it, the reader will doubtless be in a place where they have the sense to question the propagandist images in their own world and reconsider what the truth is in their own lives.
Whatever the impact of the book on the reader, Anderson and Yelchin make for a wonderful partnership and beyond its ideological ramifications, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge is very, very funny.
Anderson and Yelchin’s world is one of goblins and elves who have spent much of their past at war with each other. But the elves now seek to renew their peace and send across the borders an elfin historian, Brangwain Spurge, with a gift for the goblins. Meanwhile, at the other end, Werfel, the goblin archivist, has been tasked with the job of entertaining his esteemed guest and giving him a tour of his city before the gift can be handed over to their supreme ruler: Ghogh – a nebulous, black creature from a wholly different dimension.
But all is not what it seems in this story for the elf’s mission is not quite honest and both his world and his hosts is being cunningly manipulated by outside forces. Can Brangwain see past his prejudices and acknowledge the greater truth before it is all too late?
A fantasy that is, perhaps, more real than the fake news we encounter daily today and certainly a satire on all political skewing of ‘outsiders’ and ‘others’, what Anderson offers in words and Yelchin in his Boschesque illustrations is a story from two different perspectives. Whose narrative can be trusted is another matter altogether but by the end of it, the reader will doubtless be in a place where they have the sense to question the propagandist images in their own world and reconsider what the truth is in their own lives.
Whatever the impact of the book on the reader, Anderson and Yelchin make for a wonderful partnership and beyond its ideological ramifications, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge is very, very funny.
schmilda's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
4.25
stephisbranded's review against another edition
4.0
What a goofy book. Here are a few lines from the book that I loved:
(After Werfel the goblin insults the lady next door)
"Then why did you mock her for the number of children?"
Werfel Chuckled. "Oh, that? It is an old goblin customer: The closer you are with someone, the more you make fun of them. It is a sign of how friendly you are."
(later on, Lady du Burgh trying to speak in broken Elvish)
"We give you fat greetings, sir! Sprayed all over!"
And then, in her best broken Eleven, she said to her guest, "Take part! I demanding you plant you face in meat and starts to bitie" She steered Magister Spurge forward. "Gnaw, new unhomely person--gnaw!"
Silly, weird, unique. Part graphic novel (with pictures somewhere between Brian Selznick and Monty Python and the Holy Grail), this book could be enjoyed by those who like the silly and fantastical.
(After Werfel the goblin insults the lady next door)
"Then why did you mock her for the number of children?"
Werfel Chuckled. "Oh, that? It is an old goblin customer: The closer you are with someone, the more you make fun of them. It is a sign of how friendly you are."
(later on, Lady du Burgh trying to speak in broken Elvish)
"We give you fat greetings, sir! Sprayed all over!"
And then, in her best broken Eleven, she said to her guest, "Take part! I demanding you plant you face in meat and starts to bitie" She steered Magister Spurge forward. "Gnaw, new unhomely person--gnaw!"
Silly, weird, unique. Part graphic novel (with pictures somewhere between Brian Selznick and Monty Python and the Holy Grail), this book could be enjoyed by those who like the silly and fantastical.