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The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip (thing)
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(
thing
)
by
junkpile
Fri Oct 27 2000 at 1:34:46
copyright
George Saunders
, August 2000. Illustrated by
Lane Smith
.
Villard Books
.
96
pages. Children's book, sort of.
This is another one of those damn parable things that appeal equally to children AND adults. And guess what? IT'S GREAT!
The story is hencelike: Gappers are these freaky little burr-like sea creatures that crawl up out of the brine and fasten themselves to the hides of their true love, goats.
"When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off
a continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it impossible for the goat to sleep
, and the goats get skinny and stop giving milk."
The village children have to brush the gappers off the goats eight times a day and dump em in the ocean. It's a pain in the ass for our poor hero
Capable
, who suffers often but never complains. Plus,
the kids up the street are assholes
, and her dad's well-meaning but kind of a dork, and she doesn't get much sleep cause the gappers keep hollering.
It ends happily, of course, not a big surprise, but the way it's told is excellent - funny little details you won't see coming - and the illustrations are what really make the book a winner. Lane Smith is
my hero
. He illustrated
The Stinky Cheese Man
, and this is more of the same nutty collage-style brilliance. It's clever. You'll like it.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales
Lane Smith
Creation: Life and how to make it
Cheddar Cheese Man
King Crimson
George Saunders
panic attack
The camel book
Kool-Aid Man