Thank you to Spinifex for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

Aesop’s fables are brought to life by the timely intervention of Sprite from the future, who prods Aesop into debate about the meaning of stories: are they for fun, or do they have the chance to change the world? This book offers a virtuoso display into how the building blocks of fables can enchant, enrage, enlighten and educate us all.

Very little is known about Aesop who was supposed to have been a slave on the island of Samos in the sixth century BC. It is his fables (and those attributed to him) that have come down to us through the centuries. In these tales, a fabulist from the future, referred to as Sprite, hoicks herself back to his century. “Why didn’t you save the world?” That’s the Sprite’s cry. Aesop, meanwhile, is trying to save his skin, make up his fables and live his life. Given the pitfalls of human nature, are the fables an Instruction Manual for staying out of trouble? What about morals, what about reform, what about the castigation of social evils? Sprite nags and cajoles and begins to wonder how much power a writer really has. The book offers a virtuoso display of how the building blocks of a fable can be used in a variety of ways. It’s witty, it’s satirical and the Sprite herself is a comical figure. But at the end, when she has to return to her own time, that is to our own time and to our broken world, her central question suddenly seems less absurd, and far more urgent.

Review:

I had heard great things about this book, so when I received it from Spinifex I was beyond ready to be blown away. Though the Namjoshi’s writing is fantastic, unfortunately this book didn’t captivate me as much as I hoped it would.

It took me a little while to wrap my head around the book and where things were going and I felt like I was rereading Animal Farm by George Orwell again, with the animals talking and the humans. This may be a little odd and confusing but still with it for at least a few more pages and you will get drawn in.

This story is about Aesop, a famous Greek story teller who is visited by a spirit from our time. The sprit named Spite share with the readers more about Aesop’s life, from his time as a slave to the storyteller that we all know him for today. I should also mention that the characters in this book are charming and delightful.

This short book was extremely well written, I actually cannot get over this or possible rave about it enough. Namjoshi is unique and has a charismatic way with words. The story line wasn’t enough to get me hooked but it was still interesting all the same, which includes the cute illustrations that are throughout the book. I will be keeping an eye out for Namjoshi’s work in the future, like I said before such a captivating writer!

Rating: 3.5/5

ISBN: 9781925581515

Publisher: Spinifex