by Walter Moers
If you don't do this the program won't compile and can't be used. This can be slow and monotonous work but it also is a good way to idiot proof at least some programming work.
In other programming languages the coder doesn't have to do anything as old fashioned as all that tedious listing and defining. He just calls the variable and defines it on the fly. In short he makes it up as he goes along.
The book Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures would definitely fall into the 2nd category were it a programming language. It is a gloriously chaotic novel.
It's only near the middle of the novel that the reader starts to realize (well smarter readers than I likely saw this much earlier) that for all of the insane breakneck pacing, interminable asides, farcical and fanciful creatures that pop up for seemingly no reason, and unrelenting silliness, that the author has pretty methodically followed the steps from the classic Hero's Journey, as popularized by Joseph Campbell. So I don't want to discuss the plot too much.
In a world like and unlike our own or perhaps it is our own world long long ago, there is a continent named Zamonia, which contains a bewildering number of non-human creatures, along with a few humans.
A nameless puppy like creature who is the beloved pet of a kind family of dwarves discovers that he can walk on two legs and talk. Unfortunately, shortly after this discovery he and his entire family are captured by a nomadic group of mentally slow one eyed giants known as Demonocles, whose greatest pleasure involves eating other creatures alive, preferably kicking and screaming.
Rumo is a Wolpterting, a race of creatures renowned for their speed and unmatched skill with weapons. Smyke thinks that Rumo might, provided he survives, listens and grows, hold the key to helping everyone escape their predicament.
In the meantime Smyke tells the curious and occasionally credulous Rumo lots of stories. This happens in the first thirty pages of a five hundred page book. Although this is a long book it is the sort of story that will have you rapidly turning pages to see what happened next. I ignored some sports events and films in order to finish this book.
Moers created a fascinating story that was by turns sarcastic, tragic, funny, and silly. Although some people referenced J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, The Beatles' Yellow Submarine, or of course The Princess Bride, I think I also detected some Deathstalker, Lord of The Rings, The Phantom Tollbooth, and even Orpheus.
Though the silliness and self-conscious behavior of some characters will certainly appeal to children I wouldn't describe this as a children's book. Moers doesn't pull punches describing the bad guys or their motivations. But he writes in language that is by turns comic and later downright lyrical.
"For Rumo, each day began when the farmer's entire family, seven Hackonian dwarfs, formed a doting circle around the sleeping puppy's basket and woke him with a melodious Hackonian song...Whenever Rumo tottered on his four clumsy little legs, he instantly became the center of attention....He was even fondled and tickled for tripping over his own paws."
"Smyke outlined his plan. It was outrageous. It was totally insane. It sounded like a grisly fairy tale, a bloodthirsty dream of revenge-- and it had absolutely no prospect of success. 'Well,' he said, 'what do you think?' 'I'll try it,' Rumo replied."This is the best book I've read in a while. I only wish I had read it earlier. If you're in the mood for a fairy tale that is equally inventive, cynical, hopeful, funny, and traditional you could do worse than to read this book. The author also did the illustrations.
