Chris' Fish Place

                This collection of stories written by one of the members of Monty Python is very clever, very funny, and very surprising.  They were written for his daughter and as the introduction points out, make good aloud reading

                Some of the stories end abruptly and the happy ending isn’t happy.  This is true of the first story, “The Corn Dolly”.  This isn’t to say that they lack warmth and understanding.  The story of a man who quests to save his friends is very powerful.  The story of the crazy king and his daughter who wishes to get married, moving and funny.

                The most frightening story isn’t about the beast with the thousand dreadful teeth.  It is the story of the bargain with the devil.  Absolutely more to the point than Faust ever was.

                I f you like Monty Python, you should read these.  If you enjoy Jones’ work in terms of history, you will enjoy these tales too because there are some comments about the state of the universe, in particular in the story about the magic cabinet.

                In some ways, the stories do remind one of Chaucer, a man whom Jones seems to deeply respect and whose work he no doubts enjoy.  This is true of the aforementioned cabinet story but also of the Tim O’Leary story as well as the Brave Molly.  There is a sly sense of humor that will tickle adults as well as children and is, unlike Chaucer, not bawdy in the least.  It is a more a creative sense and a sense of whimsy that Jones shares.