Spanish / Spain
Cómo tener ideas
(How to get ideas)
Rhei, Sofía
(text)
Gras Cots, Marc
(illus.)
[Madrid]: Narval, 2016. – 104 p.
ISBN 978-84-944642-4-9
Writer | Writing | Idea | Creativity | Fantasy fiction
Reading age: 8+
White Ravens issue: 2017
A gapingly blank page and a case of writer’s block. The writer featured in this story just can’t think of anything to set down. And on top of this she is being interrupted! One after the other, the most unusual creatures burst into her apartment. The uninvited guests are: a tiny, oil-drenched mermaid whom she fishes out of a sardine can, a jealous mail parcel who meticulously alerts everyone to his physical unblemishedness, a harmless, (literally) omnivorous crocodile who lives in the sewers, three crazed seagulls, a lively neighbour’s girl, and a few book-loving cockroaches. After these hefty turbulences, peace finally sets back in, but the author still can’t think of anything to write, because, she surmises, nothing ever happens in her life… At a furious clip, using wordplay, comedy, and a great feel for odd characters, nonsense, and trenchant dialogues, Sofía Rhei tells this gloriously nutty story from the life of an easily disgruntled wordsmith. The humorous black-and-white drawings ensure that this book offers complete reading pleasure.