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Rating: 
Summary: Deception
Review: D'abord j'ai pensé à une guérilla entre maisons d'édition, Faber & Faber contre Harper Collins, en publiant chez l'un les aventures d'Eddie Dickens pour faire un pied de nez aux désastreuses aventures des orphelins Baudelaire. Pourtant je me suis un peu trompée, si l'on souhaite y retrouver l'ambiance glauque, grotesque et plombante de Snicket, on se retrouve un tantinet déçu. Philip Ardagh, l'auteur, a pris le parti d'emprunter une époque indéfinissable et des patronymes d'auteurs de littérature anglaise pour créer cette "Folle famille". Eddie Dickens est un petit garçon, futur gentleman, dont les parents, malades de jaunisse et d'autres symptômes incongrus, décident de l'isoler chez un grand-oncle, le Fol Oncle Jack et son épouse la Folle Tante Maud. Ces deux-là portent bien leurs noms, ils sont un peu toqués du cerveau. La grand-tante, par exemple, a pour animal de compagnie une fouine empaillée du nom de Malcolm, mais qu'elle préfère nommer Sally. Le Fol Oncle Jack, lui, paie ses factures à coup de poissons séchés. Bref, l'inventaire de leurs caprices risque d'être long. En chemin, ce trio va dormir à l'auberge, rencontrer un acteur-directeur, Mr. Pumblesnoock, offusquer un agent de la maréchaussée, délivrer une bande d'orphelins peu reconnaissants, etc etc...
"Une folle famille" donne dans la catégorie loufoque, déjantée, grotesque et ridicule. J'ai parfois trouvé l'ensemble un peu lourd, mais les jeunes lecteurs y percevront sans aucun doute une bonne dose d'humour et du caustique qui les ravira. Une série qui croise Dickens et les Monty Python - avis aux hurluberlus.
Rating: 
Summary: Happy And Sad At The Same Time.
Review: Eddie Dickens is a poor little boy who's parents catch a terrible disease,that makes them turn yellow,go a bit crinkly around the edges,and smell of old hot water bottles. Eddie's parents have made the decision to send Eddie to his realative's house. Eddie's realatives names are Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud. Eddie is horrified by what had just came out of his parents mouth. He was scared, not only because Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud were the most insane people in town, but thier house was called Awful End and ... Wait! instead of me telling you about this exciting book why don't you find out yourself!(Not to be mean or anything like that.) This is an excellent opportunity to read some awesome cliff hangers! Well, enjoy the book.
Rating: 
Summary: "AWFULLY FUNNY!"
Review: Firstly,lets cut through all the treacle....if this book suffers from one thing,it's the comparrisons,that not only the book jacket gives,but most ill-read reviewers. Comparrisons to Monty Python (because it's British,and eccentric in spots ),Lemony Snickett ( because it's bad things happening to a child antagonist ),and Charles Dickens ( because of the name ). Well folks,Roald Dahl was doing stories about bad things happening to children long before Lemony Snickett or Monty Python,and Charles Dickens was doing stories about bad things happening to Victorian children before him. So Who Sues Who?
( A question which here means: "Stop crying wolf.")HISTORY LESSON OVER....REVIEW BEGINS HERE: This is a fun little book. It's silly. It's definitely written more for children than the adventures of the Baudelaire Children. It's also quite British in it's humours,but that by no means,means Americans and other foreigners won't enjoy it and laugh along. Young Eddie Dickens is sent to live with his Loony Aunt & Uncle and a stuffed stoat,at Awful End. And this book is the tale of what happens when they encounter Insane Actors,Highwaymen,The Empress of China,A Nosey Peeler(or "copper" to you. ),A Suspect Orphanage,and an Amusing Cow Shaped Parade Float. This is a good read for children,and fun for those adults who aren't too grown up. I also enjoyed the artwork,which has that "Willy Wonka"/"Edward Gorey" appeal to it.
Rating:
Summary: Imitation the sincerest form of flattery...or so it seems...
Review: Let me first say, that as I read Mr. Ardagh's work, I couldn't help but think that he was the British version of Lemony Snicket-similar topic and writing style, complete with asides explaining the origins of certain words and phrases.
Even the pencil illustrations by David Roberts look like the drawings in the Snicket book. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. In the preface of A House Called Awful End it is explained that the story came about as a series of letters written to cheer up Mr. Ardagh's nephew Ben while away at boarding school. Eddie Dickens, 11 years old, has a mom and dad with a strange illness that makes them go yellow and all crinkly around the edges and smell like hot water bottles. Until they are well, he is sent to live with his mad uncle Jack and mad Aunt Maud (who, by chance, carries around a stuffed stoat). Eddie travels to an inn where Uncle Jack pays the people w/ dried fish, meets some traveling theatre people and eventually ends up being sent to an orphanage, which he leads in liberation. This book is rather an enjoyable read. Fans of Lemony Snicket will love it
Rating: 
Summary: And that's for the book designer!
Review: Ok, I guess amazon has this thing that if it's a REALLY nasty review, they won't post it. This is my 3rd time, and I will NOT stop until it's been posted. This is a terrible book. Lemony should sue. They should be ashamed. The ONLY, and I mean, ONLY reason this was posted because they think the Lemony-copiers are gonna sell. It's so stupid. I can't express how much i hated this book. I stopped reading on the last chapter. There was NO suspension, or meaning for me to read. The reason I was reading after the first chapter was cause I needed some school points and I paided with my own money! Don't buy this book! It has no plot and it is NOT funny!
Rating:
Summary: Funny, Funny, Funny
Review: Philip Ardagh's short novel is his first in what is billed as a trillogy of novels concerning Eddie Dickens, a young boy living in England, and the silly things that befall him. Eddie's parents fall ill with an "awful disease that made them turn yellow, go a bit crinkly around the edges, and smell of old hot water bottles." During their illness, his parents wish him to go live with Mad Uncle Jack at Uncle Jack's house, Awful End. While Mad Uncle Jack is strange, Mad Aunt Maud is truly insane. She carries around a stuffed stoat (presumably once living, but that is never made clear) she calls Malcolm, and is not above hitting people with it. Through a series of crazy events Eddie winds up in St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans. Escaping from St. Horrid's is Eddie's next obstacle. Ardagh informs the reader that this story about Eddie was originally written as a series of letters to entertain his nephew in boarding school. Since Ardagh is British, he has used some terms that are common in British English, but rare or unheard-of in American English. Fortunately Ardagh also includes a Glossary, explaining these terms to his American audience. Many adults and older children will find Awful End to be tedious foolishness. However, as is illustrated by the popularity of Lemony Snicket's absurd stories, silliness is popular with children. Adults who enjoy goofiness will giggle over the implications of such things as Eddie's last name being Dickens (conjuring images of Charles Dickens and his orphans). Fans of ridiculous nonsense are in for a treat; those that find such wackiness annoying should steer clear.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff!
Review: This book, along with the other two books in the trilogy and the two books in the Unlikely Exploits series, are really something special, as is Mr. Ardagh, who goes out of his way to connect with his fans. The stories and characters are unusual and extremely funny -- I laugh out loud quite often. Ardagh even manages to make his glossaries hilarious. I would even call this series educational, as it is historical fiction -- I certainly learned a lot about the time period depicted (including its slang!).
Regarding the oft-made comparison to A Series of Unfortunate Events, those books are a quite a bit more gloomy than these, and in fact the Dickens trilogy was written first (and not initially intended for publication). I would recommend Ardagh's books not just to fans of that series, but truly to anyone who enjoys a good chuckle and a great story!
Rating:
Summary: A House Called Awful End
Review: When Eddie's parents get an awful disease, that you wouldn't believe, he is forced to live with his great aunt and uncle.They aren't normal they are completly crazy.His Great Aunt Maud has a stuffed stoat that she treats like a person.His Great Uncle Jack puts his horse in a room and puts Eddie in a trunk in the stable. I thought this was a very funny book that is unlike any other book that I have ever read.Hope you like it!
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