A Beginning, A Muddle, and an End by Avi


Review by Becky Laney, frequent contributor.


Avon, the snail, and Edward, the ant, are back for their second book in Avi's newest: A Beginning, A Muddle, and An End. In our last adventure--their first adventure--Avon and Edward were out to have adventures. Adventures like they'd read about in books. What they found was that creating your own adventures--imagining your own adventures--was more enjoyable than seeking those adventures out. In other words, fiction tends to be more enjoyable than the truth. In this adventure, Avon is determined to write. He's a snail on a mission. Always a lover of books, now he seeks to write books for others to read. He's not quite certain WHERE to begin. Fortunately, or unfortunately as the case may be, Edward is always there to give his good friend advice.


The subtitle to this one is The Right Way to Write Writing. And writing is the focus of their twisted dialogue. Full of puns and twisted logic, it is an enjoyable, light-hearted read. Honestly, this one didn't charm me as much as the first. I don't know if it's because my mood has shifted from night to day. Or if what was charming the first time, loses a bit of its magic the second time around. Or perhaps it's just because I'm reading them back to back.


Still, I think the book is fun in its own little way.

4 comments:

  1. What's the first one called? This sounds like fun. I've always like Avi.

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  2. The End of the Beginning

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  3. This is definitely on my tbr-list. :D I love Avi anyway, and anything from a writing viewpoint by him has got to be good.

    Thanks for pointing it out to us! *puts on tbr-tally*

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  4. Hi from Barcelona, Spain! I love your blog and your book recommendations. I've read The End of the Beginning and A Beginning, a Muddle and an End. In fact, I translated the latter book into Spanish. I liked both books, I think Avi's writing is witty and nice, and the drawings are charming. Thank you for your suggestions and your good work!
    Marta
    http://www.englishinbarna.blogspot.com/

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