13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear [Paperback]

Walter Moers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Nine-lived cats have nothing on the "bluebear," who, according to German author and illustrator Moers, has a whopping 27 lives. In this inventive, zany, fun-for-all ages odyssey (a bestseller in Europe), an intrepid "seagoing bear" offers his "demibiography." A foundling floating in a nutshell on the Zamonian Sea, the azure-furred Bluebear is rescued by Minipirates, impish nautical geniuses, who raise him and then, after he gets too big, abandon him to live out 13 lifetimes of adventure populated by a dizzying array of eccentric characters. Among them, two argumentative waves known as the "Babbling Billows" teach Bluebear speech, sage dinosaur Mac (real name: Deus X. Machina) extends friendship and Professor Abdullah Nightingale at the Nocturnal Academy offers a particularly intense and wacky education. Even readers with short attention spans will find themselves captivated by the nonstop parade of madcap characters as treacherous predicaments resolve themselves with charming ease. Magnificent sugarstorms, tornadoes inhabited by old men and "dimensional hiatuses" propel the independent, indefatigable Bluebear to Atlantis, where he must demonstrate the relevance of his experiences in a psychological duel of sorts. Comparisons to Harry Potter aside, Moers's kaleidoscopic expedition is fanciful and endlessly entertaining. 136 b&w illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–This novel opens with the title character's first memory: as a cub floating in the ocean with a nutshell for a life raft, he heads straight for a giant whirlpool threatening to suck him down. After he's rescued by a boatload of Lilliputian pirates, Bluebear enters into a life (or 13½ lifetimes) filled with humor and adventure. Each life has a different challenge to overcome, pitting him against the likes of headless giants and storytelling contests. The book is one part Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth and two parts Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Each adventure mixes fantasy, science fiction, and fables in a satirical cocktail that readers can't help but gulp down. The quirky writing is definitely strong enough to carry itself, but Moers includes several black-and-white illustrations that enhance the whimsy. With so many little side trips in Bluebear's narrative, the story might frustrate those who prefer straight-line plots. But this is the kind of tale that readers have to just sit back and enjoy, wherever it takes them. The ending does tie the loose threads together. A wild, fun-filled ride.–Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP; Tra edition (August 29, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585678449
• ISBN-13: 978-1585678440
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Imagination, October 11, 2002

By 

David Minchin (Southampton, UK.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear (Paperback)

I found this book on my bookshelf and read it while on holiday because it looked quite thick. It is tale of pure fantasy, the imagination in the writing and storyline makes this one of the best books ever. The writing is light-hearted and continuously upbeat, Captain Bluebear displays an amazing capacity for optimism which makes you love every second of his lives. The story twists bizare tales which defy prediction and keep you wondering what will happen next. It is witty and comical with many illustrations however the thing I love about this book is that it is a tall tale well told, a classic of creativity and story telling.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Night is knowledge!, May 23, 2007

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear (Paperback)

If Norman Juster had written "The Hobbit," it might have turned out something like "The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear."

It's also the best description of Walter Moers' debut novel, which is probably the best children's book ever written for adults. Set on the mythical continent of Zamonia, Moers sketches out hundreds of strange creatures and surreal adventures, all written in wryly colourful prose.

Bluebear was found floating in a walnut shell, raised by peg-legged hook-handed Minipirates, taught by the talking waves, and kept as entertainment by gruesome hobgoblins. But when he ends up on a giant carnivorous island disguised as a gourmet's paradise, Bluebear is rescued by Deus X. Machina, a Reptilian Rescuer who later brings him to the Nocturnal Academy, run by the seven-brained Professor Abdullah Nightingale.

But when he reaches the end of his education, Nightingale sends Bluebear onto a strange series of adventures -- he falls into a Dimensional Hiatus, is almost eaten by the Spiderwitch, travels through a Bollogg brain, gets swept up in an aging tornado, chases mirages with the Muggs, and finally becomes a Congladiator (lying/storytelling competitor) in Atlantis. But after a match gone bad, Bluebear must flee Atlantis -- and is abducted by the Moloch, a monstrous ship run by the most insidious substance in Zamonia...

Walter Moers should get some kind of award for cramming as many fantastical, bizarre creatures into one book -- carpet dimensions, tiny cyclops, hairy imps, metallic rock-eaters, killer sugar-skeletons, antlered dogs, and headless giants all turn up, and that's only the start. It's a good thing Bluebear gets an encyclopedia in his brain (from Nightingale), or else we would never keep them all straight.

And Moers brings this to life with writing that is straight-faced, detailed, colourful, but still slightly arch ("It should be explained that in the 2364th Dimension music is played on instruments made of milk"), and full of bustling cities and sandy deserts. There's even a city that flies to another planet. But the whimsical plot pulls itself together in his last few-and-a-half lives, where hints and subplots from his previous lives come together -- and we finally find out Bluebear's destiny.

Bluebear himself is a likable guy, as well as very adaptable -- and somehow no matter what bizarre things he does, he's always just as likable. The supporting characters are wildly numerous, but a few stand out -- Fredda, the Alpine Imp who writes bad poetry, a gelatinous prince 2364th Dimension, the grumpy Mac, and the gloriously eccentric Professor Nightingale.

Except for its length, you'd think "The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear" was a kids' book, with its whimsical drawings and colorfully imaginative little world. But it's full of humor, solid writing and bizarre twists -- definitely a good read.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, quirky book. Great summer read., April 7, 2006

By 

KH1 (Middle America) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear (Hardcover)

I just finished _the 13 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear_ and while it was very funny and sometimes thought provoking, I thought that this book would be the most fun to read out loud to an intelligent and quirky child of nine or ten. [In fact, I'm giving it as a gift as such.] Not that adults wouldn't enjoy it [I did immensely].

_13 1/2 lives_ begins when a ship of minipirates discover a baby bluebear floating in a walnut shell headed for The Malmstrom - a gigantic whirlpool whose nature scientists are still debating. The minipirates teach bluebear about sailing and launching attacks on ships, and about tying knots, but he soon grows to big for their boat and so they leave him on Hobgoblin island. [The end of his first life.]

From Hobgoblin Island [his second life] he escapes on a raft and floats off to sea [ his third life] and so the narrative travels on for 13 1/2 more lives, with no particular destination, and no particular plot, except maybe that Bluebear must survive each life to make it to the next. And, as bluebear himself says, "Some lives are short, others long, and many are middling." The book gets dull at times when the author goes too much into detail about any one life (Mr. Moers is at no loss for imagination), but the rest of the time, I couldn't wait to see what Mr. Moers would come up with next. He is a great satirist, and capably and subtly satirizes himself at many points in the narrative. [Such as the chapter in which Bluebear becomes the King of Lies.]

Highly recommended, and, as I said, would be really fun to read with a kid.