The Ocean in Minnesota
So we all know who Clive Barker is because of his Hellraiser series, but not only did he write that, he also wrote this, Abarat, and it's fully illustrated by him with oil paints. I know us art kids are all about illustrations so that should already be a nudge in the right direction for some of you.
Abarat follows the adventure of sixteen year old Candy Quackenbush in a rural town in Minnesota. Frustrated with her life for being seen as too imaginative and dealing with an abusive father to her family, she skips town one day in the middle of class before stumbling upon of all things, a light house. And we're not talking like the kind of rural town on the edge of a lake or anything. I mean, they are thousands of miles from the nearest ocean and this lighthouse is in a field in the middle of nowhere. She makes a friend in a horned creature with multiple heads and together they summon the ocean to Abarat and nearly drown since they don't actually have boats or anything and the waves are vicious.
Once actually within the borders of Abarat, we are introduced to thirteen archipelagos where each hour is a different island, the thirteenth of which is hidden and secretive. Of course there are villains that do actually have a reason for trying to hunt down Candy, even though she herself is not yet aware of them. Interestingly enough, a plot point is mentioned in how unusal it is for Candy to adapt so quickly to her surroundings whereas for immigrants from our world tend to take a much much longer time adjusting to the weirdness around them. That also ties into Candy's heterochromia and while not an unusal take on it, I like the way Clive Barker executed it. Although of course, I can't just be throwing out spoilers, but man do I love this story.
This probably sounds very cheesy, but my first time reading it always stuck with me, particularly the paintings, because you can see exactly how Clive Barker imagined his world to be. I found it at a really low point in my life and it made me long for the isles of Abarat and their different way of life, even the mundane became interesting and the feeling of newness was surprisingly comforting. It might not work for everyone, but if you feel like life is really getting you down, the bright imagery and message of the story might work wonders for you. Books 4 and 5 are still being completed so you have time to catch up with the series before it's over.
Abarat follows the adventure of sixteen year old Candy Quackenbush in a rural town in Minnesota. Frustrated with her life for being seen as too imaginative and dealing with an abusive father to her family, she skips town one day in the middle of class before stumbling upon of all things, a light house. And we're not talking like the kind of rural town on the edge of a lake or anything. I mean, they are thousands of miles from the nearest ocean and this lighthouse is in a field in the middle of nowhere. She makes a friend in a horned creature with multiple heads and together they summon the ocean to Abarat and nearly drown since they don't actually have boats or anything and the waves are vicious.
Once actually within the borders of Abarat, we are introduced to thirteen archipelagos where each hour is a different island, the thirteenth of which is hidden and secretive. Of course there are villains that do actually have a reason for trying to hunt down Candy, even though she herself is not yet aware of them. Interestingly enough, a plot point is mentioned in how unusal it is for Candy to adapt so quickly to her surroundings whereas for immigrants from our world tend to take a much much longer time adjusting to the weirdness around them. That also ties into Candy's heterochromia and while not an unusal take on it, I like the way Clive Barker executed it. Although of course, I can't just be throwing out spoilers, but man do I love this story.
This probably sounds very cheesy, but my first time reading it always stuck with me, particularly the paintings, because you can see exactly how Clive Barker imagined his world to be. I found it at a really low point in my life and it made me long for the isles of Abarat and their different way of life, even the mundane became interesting and the feeling of newness was surprisingly comforting. It might not work for everyone, but if you feel like life is really getting you down, the bright imagery and message of the story might work wonders for you. Books 4 and 5 are still being completed so you have time to catch up with the series before it's over.
Hellraiser is one of my favorite horror franchises and I actually own some of the comic adaptions. Just as gruesome as the movies if not worse. I also have read of a few of Barker's books and I agree some of the concepts he uses aren't the most original but he does create some amazing dark worlds.
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