Official Review: 'Twas the Night by Marin

[Helen_Combe]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "'Twas the Night" by Marin.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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’Twas The Night by Marin Darmonkow is a remarkable book. It doesn’t tell a story; it shows a story. There is neither narrative nor dialogue as the tale is completely visual. A young boy in a wheelchair finds an injured dove in the street. He takes it home and nurses it back to health.

The whole book has a surreal quality to it. It’s nighttime on Christmas Eve and the streets are completely empty of cars and people. Although the shops and houses are ablaze with light, there is a feeling of solitude. The boy and the dove appear to be the only living things in the whole world. The surreal quality expands as the book moves on to a point where reality and dream are confused and the magic begins to unfold.

The lack of words is the strength of this book because every page elicits an emotional response. Loneliness, love, care, wonder and triumph jostle for room in this emotional yet gentle rollercoaster. I love the artwork from the cityscapes to the pictures on the walls of the little boy’s home. Most significant is the picture of Peter Pan’s shadow. The boy who never grew up; the boy who could fly. Yet this is his shadow. Parallels can be drawn between Peter Pan’s shadow and the wheelchair-bound boy.

There are lots of loose ends for the reader to ponder over. When the boy fell asleep, his glasses were on the pillow. When he awoke, they were on the bedside table. These are not errors, they indicate that dreams and reality are becoming confused and we are not able to judge when he is asleep and when he is awake.

Although this is ostensibly a children’s book, I think its appeal will span every age group from the very young to the very old. I loved this book. I loved everything about it and it is with great pleasure that I award it 4 out of 4 stars.

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'Twas the Night
View: on Bookshelves

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

Wow! What a beautiful description of the book; it truly sounds like it would be an amazing experience to read this. I like that you mentioned that even though the streets are lit up and bustling, it seems like the boy and the dove are alone. Thanks for the wonderful review!

[AntonelaMaria]

Sounds like a great book for the younger audience. Great review.

[Dee_218]

Sounds like an amazing book. The notion between dream world intertwining with the real world is becoming a popular topic amongst creatives. So very relatable. I would definitely enjoy it. Thank you

[Ekta Swarnkar]

Such an articulated review!
I'm more impressed with the quality of the review of yours than the book. Thank you for this beautiful representation.

[Kathleen Wolfe]

This sounds like a lovely book. Though meant for children, I would still like to take a look at it. Thank you for a wonderful review

[Cecilia_L]

Wow--I love the visual narrative you described. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Sheila_Jay]

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. I believe that the book tells a lot more than it would if the author chose words over visual narrative. I would love to read this book; many thanks for the great review.

[Meg98]

I like that the author has left most of the story up to the reader's imagination, which is important in younger minds. Thanks for this great review! Cheers:)

[Katherine1987]

It is a kids Christmas book, and it's pretty good.

[Kabui-nj]

This sounds like a wonderful children's book and everyone would enjoy reading it. Thanks for the comprehensive review.

[BookPower9]

I just remember the story of "The Good Samaritan." Where there is nobody cares the victim of the robbers but only the Samaritan. In line with the story the Boy in this book has a heart when he picked up the injured dove and were able to nurse it until the dove recovers. In reality it takes a human heart to make it. I like the way you review it. Thanks.

[Mbrooks2518]

I'm fascinated by your description of this picture book. I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for the great review!

[Bigwig1973]

That is a lovely review. It is very nicely written. I am curious as to the wheel chair bound boy and Peter Pan's shadow? To some, the shadow might mean the conscience. To another, it might be the science of conning. Either way, they are both privileges with which we are equipped. In the case that one needs to "con" someone in order to save their own life, then the "conscience" is certainly something we are better of having! Regarding the conscience, that is probably harder to argue in the defense of, which is almost backwards because society perceives that one with a conscience is a much better person than is one with the ability to con others. Losing or misplacing either of them would be awful. In this sense, I can see a correlation to the wheelchair. Is this what you mean? Your review, by the way, again is very nice to read.