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The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, by Walter Moers, is a riveting romp through the continent of Zamonia, whose capital is Atlantis (it's set at some point in the distant past, when there were more continents). The hero - Bluebear - is, rather surprisingly, a blue bear, who adapts quickly to whatever surroundings he finds himself in, from learning to sail with the minipirates to traipsing through the head of a megabollogg.

Moers creates a surreal and fantastic landscape filled with unlikely characters, riotous escapades and smile-inducing wordplay - no mean feat for a book translated from the original German. A superb piece of story-telling, it should keep any imaginative child (or adult) on tenterhooks for some weeks (it's a bit on the heavy side, weighing in at around 700 pages. But it does have pictures.)

I recommend Bluebear heartily to anyone who takes the slightest delight in the absurd. A trip to Zamonia provides escapism of the highest order - comical, silly and utterly readable.

Learn more about this author, Colin Beveridge.
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