What do you do with a baboon who speaks, and what is more, speaks English with elegance and fluency? To find out read Mr Thundermug by Cornelius Medvei.Mr Thundermug is witty and beautifully written and in order to enjoy it you have to enter into its fantasy world where a baboon goes into a post office to buy some first class stamps, takes himself off to hospital when he is not well (firstly calling an ambulance) and takes his children to school to learn to read and write. Suspension of disbelief is made very easy here by the sheer pleasure of reading this economical and fluent prose, not a dot or a comma wasted. Ultimately, of course, Mr Thundermug suffers. He is a freak, he does not fit it, he does not follow the regulations or rules, so, therefore, the human element of this story behave badly towards him.
This is a simply wonderful little book. It is short, only just over 100 pages, it will not take you long to read and is best read straight through at one sitting which will not be difficult. Then when you have finished your initial reaction of sheer delight, go back and read it again and this time, take longer to savour it. I am going to.
This is a simply wonderful little book. It is short, only just over 100 pages, it will not take you long to read and is best read straight through at one sitting which will not be difficult. Then when you have finished your initial reaction of sheer delight, go back and read it again and this time, take longer to savour it. I am going to.
