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The genre of this novel is fantasy. It is a comical story about a boy destined to pay for a crime he did not commit. Selwyn Roweson has been accused of killing his worst enemy, Farold, who is the type of person to have much more than one enemy. The town finds it highly probable that Selwyn is the killer due to the fact that they both had strong feelings towards Anora, the prettiest girl in Penryth, the imaginary village created by the author. Anora has chosen to marry Farold and when he turns up dead, with Selwyn�s knife deep in his back, the town automatically assumes that Selwyn is to blame. It is decided that Selwyn�s punishment should be to be buried along with his victim and the rest of the town�s deceased. What the town is not aware of is that Selwyn�s luck is about to change...kind of. Finding himself destined to die trapped in the burial cave, unable to find the exit and with nothing to eat, everything seems doomed. Suddenly, along comes a short-tempered witch who helps him, having first charged him a year�s worth of service, find his way out of the cave. Together they bring Farold back to life to help prove Selwyn�s innocence, a favor which costs Selwyn several other years of service. In the process, they accidentally revive him in the body of a bat, all of which results in hilarious situations and even more complexity to poor Selwyn�s situation. Farold and Selwyth, the witch, do little more than complicate things and make Selwyn feel like a dunce, but ultimately the comical trio stick together through thick and thin.
The three characters are very funny and pleasant to read about. The reader may find himself laughing out loud at times due to the comical situations that arise when Selwyn continues to find himself making unwise decisions and owing Selwyth more and more years of service in a wild attempt at proving his innocence. The author�s way of describing an unpleasant boy trapped in a bat�s body, who later becomes a bat trapped in a goldfinch�s body is simply outrageous! �Is there something wrong with that bird?...Farold was hanging upside down from the bar that Elswyth had provided as a swing.� The entire story is too uproarious and adventurous to put down. Easily a book to be read in one sitting.
Velde, Vivian Vande. 1999. Never trust a dead man. Harcourt Brace Children's Books.
ISBN: 0-152-01899-9. |
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