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A review by pagesofpins
The Curse of the Blue Figurine by John Bellairs
4.0
John Bellairs' gothic adventures for kids featuring Johnny Dixon and Professor Roderick Random Childermass were part of my childhood, complete with Edward Gorey illustrations, but I don't think I ever read the first one until now. Johnny is trying to adjust to living with his dirt-poor grandparents after the death of his mother and deployment of his father, and the school bully is just making things worse. Then Johnny meets his future best friend, the weird, eminently educated, socially awkward professor who lives across the street. The professor tells him a ghost story about a mad priest, and the adventure begins.
No idea why Bellairs set his books in the 50's when they were being published in the 80's--the old fashioned setting isn't necessary to the story, with the exception of that joke about how in 30 years the country will probably be crawling with psychiatrists. It's hilarious, unevenly paced, choc a block with Catholicism, and as cliched and melodramatic as one would guess. I still loved it.
No idea why Bellairs set his books in the 50's when they were being published in the 80's--the old fashioned setting isn't necessary to the story, with the exception of that joke about how in 30 years the country will probably be crawling with psychiatrists. It's hilarious, unevenly paced, choc a block with Catholicism, and as cliched and melodramatic as one would guess. I still loved it.