The title of this book is an indication of how wacky it is. I’ve read a few of Robert Rankin’s other books and they are all absurd. Luckily, this one doesn’t have a talking sprout as one of the characters. It’s the only one of his books I have re-read, along with its sequel, The Toyminator.
The story follows Jack, a teenage boy who goes to the city to make his fortune. It turns out to be Toy City, built of alphabet bricks. There’s a serial killer on the loose, targeting the nursery rhyme characters one by one. Jack is befriended by Eddie, a shabby drunken teddy bear. Together they try to solve the case. The content includes – to quote the blurb – ‘heavy drinking, bad behaviour, fast car chases, gratuitous sex and violence, bizarre toy fetishism and all-round grossness’. If you like dark humour, eccentric writing and weird twists, this is one to try.
The book is a lot of fun and I love the partnership of Jack and Eddie. It’s not a book to take seriously, but there are serious themes included, such as social inequality, religious belief and police brutality.
So what’s this got to do with chocolate bunnies? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
First published in 2002 by Gollancz. Winner of SFX Magazine’s Best Book of the Year.
That is a crazy title, all right! Now I feel as if I could eat a chocolate bunny myself, but we ate all of ours at Easter…
Oh well, you can eat chocolate Santas soon, it’s a long time to wait for the bunnies. Yes the title is what drew me in the first place, it’s a really unusual book, that’s for sure!
Chocolate Santas usually hit the supermarkets in Australia very early so they might already be available, but we’re in lockdown in Melbourne with one person per household per day allowed at the shops. I haven’t been in months, as Miss S is so desperate for outings that we send her! I’ll have to ask her to look out for them 🙂
Actually the Xmas food is already in shops here too. Sorry to hear you’re in lockdown still (or is it another one?) hope it will be lifted soon.
Haha, calling this absurd might be an understatement? It does sound rather fun though. Sometimes, it is nice to read something you know, you are not meant to take seriously (a talking sprout, really?! 🤣)
OK then… ‘very absurd’ 😀 I have read weirder books than that. Yes there is a character called Barry the Time Sprout in some of the other books.