The Ogre of Oglefort

What do you do when you have:
a) A fine and upstanding troll with a good heart.
b) A hag is who is kind and cheery in the tradition of the best old-fashioned grandmothers.
c) A mother-pecked wizard who brews nothing more that odious smells with dastardly results.
d) An orphan who prefers a madcap adventure with the aforementioned trio rather than facing one more monotonous day at the dreary orphanage.

You sit tight as they get sent on the much loved and severely clichéd quest of them all: *RESCUE A PRINCESS* ---- *FROM AN EVIL OGRE*

But.....

Continuing in the above rhetorical vein;
What DO you do when:
a) Said princess yells at her startled rescuers as she doesn’t want to be rescued.
b) Said Ogre just wants to die peacefully in his satin pyjamas and lie down beside his beloved late wife, the Ogress.

In true and tried Eva Ibbotson fashion, The Ogre of Oglefort humanizes the vilest of the after-life. The author has the endearing ability of banishing misgivings of *things-that-go-thump-in-the-dark*. In fact more often than not, her books are likely to make little sleepyheads peek under their beds, hoping that a kind-hearted (albeit severely misunderstood) ‘creature of the dark’ is hanging around, just waiting to banish their more prosaic troubles.

I have the greatest respect for the late Ibbotson. Her books for young readers are funny, quirky, unpredictable and choc-a-bloc with odd twists and turns. This book is no different. Steeped in fantasy, it has an odd anchor in reality. Yet again, the author displays how the biggest monsters we face are basic everyday issues.

Loved the quirky characters. Loved the bizarre plotline. Loved it.