Customer Reviews

The Impulsive Imp

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My father, Howard O'Brien, wrote this novel when I was a small child living on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans. And I remember my father reading chapters of the book, as he wrote it, to my sister, Alice Borchardt, and me. Both of us grew up to be novelists, and when I pick up the Impulsive Imp today, I can see its undoubted influence on my own fictional style. It is a richly imagined and unforgettable story. Thanks to the efforts of Tamara Tinker, the Imp is now available to a wide readership, and I think it will delight children of all ages, just as it delighted the author's daughters so many years ago. An enchanting read. Highly recommended.

THE IMPULSIVE IMP is anything except impulsively written. It is nuanced fiction possessed of some of the darkness of J.K. Rowling's stories and some of the bright inanity of Dr. Seuss. It is, above all, an episodic work that can be read chapter by chapter, picked up and put down, without losing the thread of the narrative. I recommend it without hesitation as a fun and fascinating walkabout for nine to twelve year olds.

God help me, but I have impossibly fallen head over madness for the fairy story known as The Impulsive Imp. I am reminded of some of my favourite tales by George MacDonald, a pioneer in the realm of the child-based fantasy novel. There lingers a special appeal and honour of an innocence discovering it's place in the world and yet not forgetting itself. There is definitely an audience that needs to be awoken to this particular charm and styling.

This meticulously preserved and finitely edited tale is a sure fire medicine for the whimsical palate of the modern reader. Author Howard O'brien, shows his sincere moxie for story-telling and fans of his daughters..none other than the world renowned Anne Rice and Alice Borchardt...mistresses of the supernatural themselves, will be delighted to find the concentrated seeds of their inherited and parentally-promoted literary talent, and recognize the familial gift with a nifty immediacy.

Once immersed in the tale of the Imp, it is close to watching a Disney-Pixar film. Such a fine method for description is employed that the words define a magical visual essence. Definite food for a busy mind as we are led from the birthplace of The Imp, an animated wooden splinter come to life in a chimney crevice whose every movement and fancy elevate us to giddiness...through his adventures through a huge world comepletely oblivious to his wily existence.

Don't we all feel that way sometimes? We can learn a lot from this little Imp. From his technique for dealing with a monstrosity of a landscape and certainly from his exquisitely wrought character.

Do yourself a favour and fall in love with the Imp, and let the intrigue and charm carry you anon.

I would also advise encountering the amazing literary talents of his daughters Anne Rice and Alice Borchardt (who were actually entertained by their father's Imp tale as children), also his son-in-law, the poet/painter Stan Rice and grandson Christopher Rice. This is a family of writers, poets and painters to be reckoned with.

The Impulsive Imp is a highly imaginative and thoroughly entertaining fantasy abouta mischievous imp and the problems he encounters as he maneuvers his way through the house he inhabits. He isn't very happy about sharing the house with the familywho lives there either. Nor with their cat. From creating chaos through efforts such
as rifling the pantry and over seasoning soup, to befriending a small mouse and confronting a cat named Drip, the Imp proves resourceful and clever as he goes about his nocturnal jaunts. The family's housekeeper suspects its two children of being behind the shenanigans she has to clean up, but then the Imp escalates his efforts to
include hidden clothing, flooding the kitchen, and thwarting the housekeeper's attempts to catch the mouse who has become his friend. A very thought provoking children's novel which teaches the lesson of taking what's important as such, without coming off too heavy handed, The Impulsive Imp is really a fascinating read that adults will also find enthralling, entertaining, and ultimately a tale they will want their children to enjoy.

Imagine if Dickens had been living in the mid-twentieth century...and was haunted by a mysterious nocturnal presence in his home...
Or perhaps if an unknown manuscript by Lewis Carroll had been discovered...
Or if Roald Dahl had transplanted to New Orleans sixty years ago and was the father of two special little girls...
Two little girls destined to be great writers...
And that the father decided to put to paper the fanciful tales he told his daughters. If so, the book could very well read like Howard O'Brien's children's book written for his girls who would grow up to become Anne Rice and Alice Borchardt, "The Impulsive Imp."
This is an utterly delightful and imaginative story of a chimney Imp wrecking havoc in the lives of a husband and wife and their two young children, Alice and Alan, along with their maid (who has one of the most incredible literary names ever given an irascible, put-upon house servant, Septuagesima--"Seppy" mercifully for short).
Someone, or something, is suddenly causing mischief in the household of brother and sister Alice and Alan and their increasingly dismayed parents. Each day the family wakes up and yet another disaster has mysteriously occurred during the night. Of course Alan and Alice get the blame at first, of course the family grows more and more frantic as havoc ensues unabated. Little are they aware that as they sleep an Imp born from a bit of wood in their chimney has come to life and is turning their household upside down as they sleep in blissful ignorance.
"The Impulsive Imp" feels like a children's classic waiting to be fully discovered. I was very impressed by this book and at first actually felt a bit sad that it is the only book by the late Howard O'Brien. Then I realized that readers should be grateful that we do have at least one book from this fine writer with an incredible imagination which he passed on to his daughters, both of whom have written many great volumes, a number of them classics. O'Brien has one of the most gifted descriptive abilities of any writer I've ever read. The cookie gorging Imp's stomach is "hugging the cookies," he observes that "the good smell of food is 'bragging,'" stove flames "tickle the bottom of a pot," and so forth.
It's easy to imagine an expanded life for "The Impulsive Imp." An audiobook, a stage play, an animated film perhaps. And while it would be nice for the book to be accompanied with pictures, they really aren't needed. O'Brien paints colorful pictures with his words, words first imagined and told to his beloved daughters at bedtime. And now, sixty years later, these tales are this delightful book which can be enjoyed by us all, and we the reading public are the richer for it, and there's another fine volume to take down from the shelf of great children's stories.

"The Impulsive Imp" is a delightful story and a pleasurable read. Howard O'Brien has a fantastic sense of humor and a wonderful way with words. Simply...DELIGHTFUL!

The late Alice Borchardt achieved success as a writer of historical fiction and fantasy; her better-known and very much alive sister Anne Rice revamped the iconography of the alienated otherworldly with The Vampire Chronicles, The Lives of the Mayfair Witches and other gems of popular fiction before turning her formidable talents to an engaging retelling of the life of Christ (Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana) and a series involving a hitman-turned-angel's assistant (Songs of the Seraphim, the first volume of which -- Angel Time -- was published in October 2009). Two sisters, two talents for translating atmosphere, emotion and every manner of sensory experience into words on paper. It should come as little surprise that their father -- Howard O'Brien -- was also a gifted writer and story-teller.

O'Brien wrote The Impulsive Imp when Anne and Alice were children and read them chapters as they emerged; one can only imagine what that was like -- while it's not unusual for a good parent to read to his or her children at night, it's not at all common for a seriously good bedtime story to be written by the parent himself.

The imp of the title is delightful -- with a grammar and syntax all his own and a decidedly unique way of viewing the world around him, he causes one incident after another, for all of which the two children of the house in which he's living take the blame. His word-foolery takes a little getting used to but is well worth any effort expended. I can easily imagine most of his puns bringing broad smiles to the faces of children; they certainly had that effect on this 51 year old.

It's a shame that The Impulsive Imp went relatively undiscovered for 60 years. Buy it today for the parents of any child you love so they can enjoy its magic. One never knows what effect it will have . . . the two children who grew up hearing it read to them by the author turned out pretty well.

My Uncle Howard was always ahead of his time. When he wrote this book, he knew what he was doing. He wrote such beautiful poems and told such wonderful stories. I first read the "Imp" when I was young, one of my cousins was making copies of the manuscript and asking for opinions. I was enchanted by this devilish imp. While reading, you were in that place and time. I always find myself in the pages of the book, and this was no different, it was special.

I always order books from amazon and one day while checking the mailbox, I received this book, I did not remember ordering any books at this particular time, but as I opened the box to my surprise were copies of the Implusive Imp. The first copies had the Imp on the cover, which I loved. Needless to say I was thrilled to have the book. I read it in maybe under an hour. I then got on Amazon and ordered several for friends and some other family members. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I recently received more copies with the new cover and a few minor changes. The book is still wonderful and I am sure all who read it will love the storyline. This is a personal thanks to T. Tinker for sending me this wonderful memory from your dad. I love it.

Kathleen

This is truly a delightful story from beginning to end. The adventures of a little imp, dangers around every corner, narrowly escaping certain destruction and dodging his enemies at every turn. And in the process making his first friend. Although my first read of this wonderful gem was for my own benefit I look forward to reading it to my neices and nephews who I know will love it as much as I do. Definitely a book to be read aloud and slowly in chapters one by one!

I love The Impulsive Imp. It has become one of my most favorite books. I read the entire thing while turning myself into a prune soaking in the tub.

One of my favorite lines:
"Maybe, if I am eating one of these pretty books it will be friendly in my stomach," he mused. "I'm seeming to remember that someone said a good book should be digested."