Customer Reviews

The Man With The Dancing Eyes

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Either you love this book or you don't. All it takes to see if you'll like it is a look through it or even just at the cover. It is whimsical and strange and full of funny little inuendos. I liked the drawings so much and the text is very sweet and it shows huge promise for future stories by Sophie Dahl.
I love these kind of books and the reason why is ...they always give me ideas. For drawings, for story ideas and even for noteboook entries. They even inspire me to remember sweet little memories of my life and to try and illlustrate them in a simple way, whether it is in my journal or just in my head.
If you are in this frame of mind.....only a little more warped, try The Melancoly Death of Oyster Boy by Tim Burton.

This has got to be one of the most captivating, magical books I have read. Sophie Dahl does a wonderful job writing a beautiful, almost typical, love story. The fact that this is in almost such a classic love story format, would make it dull, however, she adds her own spin on everything, and it truly pulls you in. The pictures just add to the tale, making each page a delight to turn. This is one of those books that you want to read over and over again. I have read it to everyone in my family, my friends and my boyfriend, and they all agree that it is a gorgeous, simple story.

For all those negative reviewers: What did you think you were going to get? I mean, look at the cover! Not to mention the title.

Personally, I picked up this book when it came out. I immediately bought another copy for a good friend of mine, as both of us appreciate lighthearted, fantastical, rather girly stories involving tea (Lapsang Souchong is my favorite) and escapism. No, it's not going to burst out the back of your eye sockets with its depth or what have you, but it is a nice read for a rainy day when you're feeling low. So my advice is to go ahead, make a big ol' pot of tea (or a little hot toddy if you like), burrow a nest out of your bedclothes, open up the window and set your tray of snacks on your bedside table. That is what this book is good for. And I think it suits its purpose perfectly.

Those who don't need this kind of episode in their day-to-day can just go hike Kilimanjaro and call themselves deep. See how far it gets them. I suppose they never have a need for pretty things, anyway, so why bother reviewing something that is pretty much just that?

This book is most likely best-suited for those who take themselves a little less seriously, and take silliness and romance a little too seriously. And my only problem with the labels and name-dropping is that it tends to age a book, so in twenty or fifty years this book will seem dated, rather than intentionally old-fashioned.

Enjoy and cheers!

I very rarely give a 1star review. But this book was awful! I love Sophie Dahl and i LOVE her cookery show and will happily watch clips of it on youtube (now it is no longer on air). I really wanted to like this book, but i could not understand it and so, im thinking, it wasnt my sort of thing.

It made no sense to me. So maybe you either get it , or you don't. I, was among the 'don'ts'.

I know i'm being annoying in my review but i can't even describe what i didnt like about it! I mean, it wasn't even a book or a novel? It was sort of a ...nonsense poem? but not a poem?

Sadly, i returned it.

Of all my reviews, I've never given one star before. Surely, I've read bad books before, but I've been lucky in that all the badly written books I read strove for something; they all had earnest intentions at the core, their saving grace.

This book has no such thing. I found this on the shelf of my girlfriend, who received it as a gift, and attracted by the slim, stylish binding, started to read. And oh my...

This book purports to be a reworked fairy tale, set in an urban setting. 'Reworked' is a euphemism here, as Sophie Dahl just rehashes the same fairy tale formula without adding much of anything of original value. In fact, the only surprise of the book is that by the end of the story, you find that Dahl has actually succeeded in making all the predictable, formulaic steps a writer can make. An awe-inspiring feat. Her attempts at witticism fall flat; the repartees are lame at best.

The worst quality of this book is shameless name-dropping and product placement of all hip things and places in New York, meant as a valentine to the city. But Dahl doesn't have enough guile or narrative dexterity to disguise her consumer-targeting motive, and the book shows its plastic and fake heart: an exploitation of a post 9-11 New York swathed in a Sex-and-the-City aesthetic, aimed squarely at the Sex and the City demographic.

And the writing, I'm obliged to report, is spectacularly bad. Decent illustrations by Annie Morris serve only a lost cause.

This is a nasty book - a target audience seeking consumerism packaged as literature. Publishers (Bloomsbury) should be ashamed of themselves.

The beautiful cover and intriguing title made me pick up a copy of this book. I found myself captivated by the charming tale and immediately bought a copy for myself, and one for a friend.
The story was charming and the writing style was quite unlike what i am used to reading - perhaps this is why i liked it so much. in the tradition of her grandfather, this book is also illustrated, however with the most fanciful watercolors that made me smile. (i really needed something to take me away from all the academic philosophical rantings of my postmodernist art history texts).
this book would make a fabulous valentine's day present - and skip the roses - go for the sweet peas...
the cynical reviewer who gave this book a one-star rating really needs to lighten up - he/she must be living a dreary life.

I love Sophie Dahl grown up fairy tale and the illustrations by Anne Morris make the book a beautiful keep sake. It's a book I recommend to all my friends and this purchase was for my best friend as a gift. The service was good, I was a bit nervous because I was getting it posted to her place in secret but it arrived pretty much on time and she was very happy with it.

It amazes me that the granddaughter of a genius like Roald Dahl would be want to print such fluff. This book offers no originality- it has been told time and time again- the only difference is that this one is masked as being a story for grownups.

With all of the glowing reviews in major publications like Vogue and Tatler, one would think that this book was the next "Pride and Predjudice." After reading this book, I am certain never to read a book review again. I find them on my own.

The only reason I even bother recommend taking this out from the library is that the illustrations are really cute- not complex works of art, but pretty to look at.

The Man With The Dancing Eyes by Sophie Dahl was a fun story that I enjoyed a lot! The Illustrations were great too.

I got sucked in by the publicity around this book, including an article in "Antiquarian Book Review". The story was lightweight, insubstantial and certainly not a new idea.

The presentation was nicely done as far as the drawings and the page layouts. It took all of 30 minutes to read the story. When I finished I wondered what I was missing, that such a trivial piece of work should get so much publicity. One could get as much "enlightenment" into the human condition by watching an episode of Sex in the City.

If you really want to read this, save your money and find a copy at the local library, or at reduced price at a book sale.