Reviews

The Man by Raymond Briggs

moiramacfarlane's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Op een dag popt er ineens een miniatuur mannetje in Johns slaapkamer op. 'The man is half-pint size, hates healthy food, cannot stand 'soppy art'' en zo weet hij een lange lijst te creëren. Hij ziet er niet erg aaibaar uit, hij is knorrig, uitermate veeleisend, ondankbaar en hij vertrekt niet! 

Een heel erg Brits verhaal, dat in feite één lange dialoog is, met een hoop 'tongue in cheek'-humor en een onderlaag die stiekem toch tot denken aanzet. Ik heb zo moeten grinniken om dit boek!

En zoals altijd weer heel fijne tekeningen.

joeypajamas's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sean67's review

3.0

Strange story with a fairly simple message about a little geezer that appears at boy's house and then as he looks after him, makes increasing demands and is very moody, leading to the whole crux of the story, wearing out your welcome or as the proverb says about fish and visitors stinking after three days. Interesting, but a little on the weird side.

rachelcabbit's review

5.0

Description:A well-acted and comfortably paced audiobook version of the classic children's picture book by Raymond Briggs. Michael Palin voices The Man, a very tiny person of mysterious orgin who appears to young John one day. The Man asks the boy for help, and so John makes use of household materials to fashion a bedsit of sorts for The Man and the two develop a fracious friendship over the course of 3 days.

Oh my goodness! This was a favourite listen of mine and probably my first ever audiobook. I orginally listened to this on cassette tape, after receiving it from someone via a PG Tips promo. Not sure if it was a relative or neighbour, but, as a child, I remember getting this and listening many, many times while tidying my room. I had a lot of tapes back then.

What stuck with me was the expressive voice of The Man and the vivid imagery of food. The sound effects made me feel like I was there and though I have never read the original picture book, I could see the characters and events clearly in my mind. I remembered the snip snip of the scissors as John makes a sock into a smock for The Man and the seagulls echoed the ones outside my own bedroom window. It was the first time I had heard the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" and any mention of it reminded me once again of this cassette tape.

Today, I found this whole cassette tape on Youtube (and I am desperate to get a physical copy of the cassette as I do not know where my old copy is - probably in my parents' loft, worn out and damaged by damp)
I listened with glee, falling back to my childhood. I caught more of the jokes and began craving marmalade! Michael Palin was the voice of the man. This fact would have been lost on me as a child, but, as an adult, I can see how wonderful and talented the ex-Python is. He brought a warmth to the disgruntled old sponger that not many would have been able to conjour.

While I will forever wonder what happened to The Man, and what he was (and where my old copy went), I will at least always have the cosy memories of this audiobook.

emkoshka's review

3.0

Details the unlikely friendship between a demanding little man and a young boy while also reflecting on the dynamics that develop when guests overstay their welcome. I enjoyed the references to The Borrowers and Brigg's Snowman (check out the mug!).