A Wild Ride Through the Night [Hardcover]

Walter Moers (Author), John Brown (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2008

In the wake of the breakout successes of Walter Moers's The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear, Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, and The City of Dreaming Books, Moers is back with this fourth book, the tumultuous tale of a little boy and his encounter with Death. Moers bases his utterly delightful story on twenty-one woodcuts by the inimitable Gustave Doré, the most successful illustrator of the nineteenth century.

In a world between legend and dream, A Wild Ride through the Night describes the exhilarating and comic adventures of his twelve-year-old protagonist Gustave, a boy who aspires one day to be a great artist. When a disaster at sea puts Gustave in the uncompromising hands of Death, he has the choice to give up the ghost or take on a series of six impossible tasks. Gustave embarks on a strange and perilous journey during which he must save a princess from an angry dragon, pull a tooth from the Most Monstrous of All Monsters, fly over the moon, and even, somehow, meet his own self. Will Gustave's creativity and imagination be able to save him from his fate?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

German author Moers has constructed a surreal adventure story inspired by 21 woodcuts by 19th-century French illustrator Gustave Doré, which are interspersed throughout the novel. Readers follow the exploits of a boy named Gustave, the captain of a ship that's destroyed by a storm. After he's blown to high heaven, Gustave meets Death, but instead of going quietly into the arms of the Grim Reaper, Gustave opts to be sent on a quest to complete six impossible tasks. Soon the young adventurer is in the company of naked damsels who hunt dragons, a group of malevolent giants, a crocodile who seduces his prey before he eats them and a huge winged talking pig. Moers infuses his tale with humor and life lessons (the benefits of leading a full life, the necessity of focus and the importance of staying in touch with your imagination). Still, the narrative relies too much on the conceit of plot points being connected through the art, and the material seems like the stuff of children's adventure novels. The illustrations are beautiful, and worth the time to stop and consider. (Sept.)
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Review

“A picaresque tale of adventure and magic suitable for most adult and YA fantasy collections.” -- Library Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover (September 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585678732
• ISBN-13: 978-1585678730
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #599,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Walter Moers is a genius., February 14, 2011

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Ali - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Wild Ride Through the Night (Paperback)

This is not classic Walter Moers, but I really liked it. It is based around drawings by Gustave Dore. Moers has used his wild imagination to create a story to narrate the pictures. It is an early work, his later stuff; Captian Blue Bear, City of Dreaming Books, Rumo and Alchemasters Aprentice are 10/10. I would give this 9/10.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Death and Dementia, October 23, 2008

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E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Wild Ride Through the Night (Hardcover)

Most illustrations are built around the prose of a book. Trust Walter Moers to do the exact opposite.

In fact, Moers structures the entire story of "A Wild Ride Through the Night" around the classic, exquisite woodcuts of the late Gustave Doré (who also happens to be the book's protagonist). Most such stories would be clunky, but Moers' happily eccentric, mildly silly story fits the illustrations as if they were made for each other.

The twelve-year-old Gustave Doré barely survives a Siamese Twins Tornado, only to find himself facing Death and his sister Dementia, who decide to play dice for first dibs on Gustave. Desperate, he manages to secure a deal with Death -- if he can fulfill a series of seemingly impossible tasks, he can go ahead and live his life for a long time yet. Until 1883, anyway.

But Gustave is in for a rough ride, as a gryphon takes him to the island of (naked) damsels to slay a dragon, followed by a talking horse named Pancho Sansa who takes him to even worse places. Dealing with forest demons, drowning, dream crones, a valley full of monsters, giants, and other such creatures is only the beginning -- he must also go to Death's own house, which happens to not be on Earth.

Walter Moers specializes in the weirdest brand of fantasy out there, with endless wacky creatures and twisting storylines -- think Norman Juster on crack. "A Wild Ride Through The Night" is perhaps the simplest of these books, since it merely follows the increasingly bizarre adventures of Gustave, which get stranger and stranger as the book winds on.

Presumably these adventures are supposed to have inspired the woodcuts, which are sprinkled throughout the book -- naked girls attacked by dragons, the Grim Reaper watching a crazy-looking woman, a yawning monster attacking a knight, a falling winged figure (presumably Lucifer), a chariot with winged horses flying toward the moon, and so on.

Surprisingly they also nicely fit Moers' quirky, oddball prose ("Goethe!" "You mean... you're Goethe?" "No, the quotation from from Goethe. I'm Death...") which is sprinkled with some beautifully evocative moments ("... the entire plain looked as if it had been dusted with silver"). And he comes up with some kooky twists on the usual heroic obstacles -- such as figuring out anagrammatic giant names, or having a chat with demons about immortality.

Gustave himself is a likable little hero with a perfectly reasonable goal -- stay alive, and don't end up with his soul thrown into the sun (now I've given away one of the great mysteries of the universe!). The supporting characters provide plenty of quirk -- particularly the determinedly deadly Death ("Ever heard of an admirable Japanese custom called seppuku?") and the sarcastic horse Pancho.

"A Wild Ride Through the Night" is not as complex or long as Walter Moers' other books, but it's still a hilarious quirky, inventive little book -- and it's based on woodcuts.

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing., January 10, 2012

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Whowouldn't (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Wild Ride Through the Night (Hardcover)

I do not think I will ever read another book in my entire life as incredible as this. I've read almost all of Moers' books, this is by far my favorite. It is strikingly different than his other works, and surprisingly very dark for a children's story (another reason why I fell in love with this book). But, an unbelievably amazing, thrilling read, that actually carried a message throughout. It was, unfortunately, far too quick a read, I didn't want it to end. I will definitely reread it. I wish it was more popular.