Apt For The Goth Girl; or Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse

It has been an inordinately long time since I have updated either blog; that's not for lack of caring. I have not thrown this blogging lark to the winds, another forgotten past time left to fester in times gone by. No. I haven't updated because I have had anything to write about.

Haha, what? According to Goodreads, this time last year I had read nineteen books (hardly an admirable amount, I know, but it was third year of uni; I was busy!). This year? I've managed to read four. Two were Spider-Man comics at some point in March. One I started in April. The other I started last month.

Dear Lord, if I had known that undertaking an MSc would sap every minute of my free time I'm not entirely sure I'd have undertaken it. Until relatively recently I've honestly not had a great deal of time to sit down and do the things I enjoy; sure I've probably had the odd ten minutes here or there where I could probably catch a few pages of a book, but they come so far and few between that I lose track. I mean, I started A Call For Crusade on January 1st and I still haven't finished it (and really can't recall what was happening any more).

But, anyway. A few weeks ago I just sort of... Decided bollocks to my degree. I can waste away my life on it and get brilliant grades or... I can get a reasonable grade and actually continue to do the things I enjoy and not be down right miserable, lonely and frustrated with life. I mean, seriously, is a life without books really one worth living? From experience, I concede that it is not.

That, and my work load is tailing off somewhat. Despite the fact all of my third year friends (oh, to be young once again) are wrapping up their final exams/art pieces/assessments, I'm not going to be done with university until October. However, I have finished all of my modules, meaning only my dissertation is left. Which I have to hang about for a month waiting for it to, uhm, 'progress' by its own, natural biological devices (which should have started at the end of last month but, ah, uni. That is another story.)

Anyway. I went away for two weeks to Guatemala on a field trip; now, as tends to happen when you're the other side of the world, people tend to pine for your company (well, at least one person did), as much as I did theirs. Now, as tends to happen with my boyfriend, being himself, when I returned, he had bought me a 'welcome home' gift. He had intended to buy me a colour copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; we had been in Waterstones just before I left and they had a display dedicated to 150 years since its publication and I happened to mention that I'd love a fancy copy of my favourite children's classic. Unfortunately, when he went to buy it, he could no longer see it.

Fortunately, my boyfriend had recalled many, many weeks before hand (another trip in Waterstones; I don't know why I visit, given my significant lack of disposable funds; it's akin to the most depraved forms of masochism) I had pointed out a couple of children's books I hoped to buy in the distant future. This was the Goth Girl books by Chris Riddell.

How Ten Year Old Me, Wishes She Dressed

Now, there's two reasons I yearned for these books. One, because Chris Riddell is, without doubt, my all time favourite illustration. I love his work. It is truly beautiful in its (quite often) grotesqueness. It is so intricate and detailed; it doesn't just tell stories, it creates worlds. So any book filled with his wondrous delights is worth owning. In many ways, the prose was largely irrelevant.

Secondly, I adore attractive books. Long ago I gave up pretending that I don't sometimes buy books just to look at, to display like the finest gilt china upon my multitude of bookshelves. This is bibliophilia. I like pretty books, damn it, and I'll collect them if I want! And the Goth Girl books? They are stunning to behold. They are genuinely some of the most gorgeous modern books I have come across in a while. If you're a fan of pretty gothic style books, you need these in your collection.

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse is a hardback book with an appropriate violet and umbra colour scheme; most of the cover is a matt black with the title and illustrations highlighted with a shiny overlay. The page edges are gilt with metallic amethyst, with an onyx hued ribbon bookmark concealed with in. A pattern of shimmering silver skulls entwined with leaves adorn both the spine and the endpapers. Then, of course, there's the illustrations, which include maps, 'footnotes' (as provided by the amputated foot of a famous poet) and a splash page of a vampire engaged in a duel with a pirate using naught but an umbrella. It's such a delightfully absurd, yet epic, drawing that makes me giggle even more for its near irrelevance to the story (it illustrates one sentence that, had it been omitted, the plot, chapter, dialogue of that page, would still have made sense. I'm glad it was not.) The cover features an image of the titular character, dressed in a way every Victoriana baby bat can only aspire to.

I could go on. Visually, this book really does fill me with joy. Aesthetics alone would get this book an easy 10/10.

It's So Shiny...

But appearance is only part of what makes a good book (and there are many who would argue it has zero value); a good book also requires substance. I was going to say it needed to be stimulating, too, but I'll confess that I've read some brilliant trash in the past, which has had less stimulation than a dead goat. Not everyone can be a Tolkien or a Peake (or a Danielewski).

The story begins with Ada Goth being awoken by the ghost of a mouse. From this (and the title), you expect a spooky romp through this incredulous manor house with our little Goth girl and her new friend, the ghost of the mouse.

Well, names can be misleading. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Ishmael, the titular mouse, is actually barely in the prose. He is such a minor character; which is a little bit of a shame, as it would have been fun to have had more time with the ghosty himself. (It's a bit like the Akira film which, bizarrely, cuts Akira's primary role in the manga to five minutes on screen.) Still, there's a whole host of characters who turn up in the book, many of who are entertaining and quirky enough to make you forget about the mouse who should have been. That said, it does feel that there are quite the number of characters so, with the exception of Ada, none of them are really fleshed out to the extent I would quite have liked. Perhaps the sequel will improve on this, by adding further depth to already established characters.

I do question just who the intended audience for this novel is; certainly, it is written is a style that suggests it is for children (and I know that a younger me would have adored this series). However, there are literary jokes aplenty that I doubt many a youngster would appreciate. Characters such as Mary Shellfish (who steals the story of a naval monster), and even the manor being called Ghastly-Gorm. As a well read person, these sly little references cause more than the odd giggle. It would be tempted to suggest that, much like children's films, these jests have been put in place to appease the adult; however, I feel this book is aimed at children old enough to be reading to themselves, meaning many a quip would go undiscovered. This can only really lead me to conclude that Riddell is firmly aware that, post-Edge, he has quite strong adult fan base (that is, these books are written as much for me as for kids).

The word play and punnery are a delight. The plot, a little lacking in substance. I feel too much time has been spent creating a world and a slew of comical characters, that there's not really much space left for, you know, the story. I feel like the book itself could have been a little longer and dedicated more page time to its literary devices rather than it's flamboyant creations.

Overall, although I did find the prose somewhat lacking in substance, the visuals and the humour made up for it. In truth, I had not entirely expected a great deal (for although I am a dedicate fan of the Edge, I was aware that, being a children's book, it was never going to be as astounding as some of the more adult orientated books I have read; that, and I truly believe that Paul Stewart makes a better author), but all I really wanted was pretty, Riddell art. Which I got, with the added bonus of literary geekery (it felt a little like appraisal; 'your book smarts are rewarded with in jokes'). The book not only lived up to its expectations, it exceeded them wondrously.

Mouse Sized

Oh, and did I mention that the book contains a miniature bonus book, 'written' by Ishmael? It's a tiny little booklet, squirrelled away in a little pocket on the back endpaper. It details, in full rhyme, the adventures of the ghostly mouse, from birth right up until he settles at Ghastly-Gorm. It's cute and, too, made me smile. Once again, it is overflowing with literary references, although this time they are a little more discernible. It reminded me of my (very young) childhood days, reading many a Jolly Postman book.

I have recently acquired the sequel, Goth Girl and the Fête Worse Than Death (and the story of how is adorable in its own right), which I hope to begin in the not too distant future. Hopefully, this second novel will rectify some of the problems of the first; no longer do I need to be introduced to the quirky population of Ghastly-Gorm Hall, nor do I need long explanations of the world they live in. I certainly have high hopes for and excitedly anticipate its reading.

In short, if you are a fan of pretty books, books that are an easy but entertaining read, or jokes that only a book lover will appreciate, then you need Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse in your library yesterday. Oh, and any Edge fan will probably find comfort in the illustrations and writing style, too.

This book in facts and figures;
My rating: 8/10
Pages: 224
My Format: Hardback
Published: 2013