In 1889, JKJ and two friends ("to say nothing of the dog"), suffering a mild hypochondria, decide it would be bracing to row up the Thames in a skiff, from Kingston to Oxford. This, then, is the very funny account of said trip (drawn from actual exploits on the river), as well as frequent side-tracking into whatever other topic occurs to him. The chapters are prefaced with teasers such as "I forget that I am steering", "George buys a banjo", "The steam launch - useful recipes for annoying and hindering it" or "Strange disappearance of Harris and a pie". It's a short book (only 169 pages) and a good read - I shall certainly look out for the sequel, Three Men on the Bummel (about a cycling tour in Germany), which I'd never heard of before.
"...the Universe is not solid. The Universe is energy and information. Solid objects are only representations and manifestations of information and energy. Master that and you have mastered everything."
JW's first book for children, and thoroughly vetted by her goddaughters, this is a marvellous quest through space and time with goodly chunks of philosophy thrown in for good measure. At times reminiscent of Phillip Pullman, and at others Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, Tanglewreck is however very much its own book.
The young heroine Silver is pitted agaist sinister guardians and scientists in her quest for the Timekeeper, a mysterious alchemist's watch that has the power to quell the time tornados the world is experiencing, as it runs out of time in the same manner as oil or coal. Tanglewreck has popes, pirates, incompetent henchmen, Schrodinger's cat and even Stephen Hawking makes an appearance or two. Loved it, definitely recommend it, and will certainly be reading it again.
