An early novel from the supremely talented Russell Hoban, this is a well-crafted slice of magic realism set in an unnamed country somewhere bordering the Black Sea in that part of the world so fascinating to outsiders, that is neither entirely European, Asian nor Arabic.

This is a novel about about fathers and sons. Jachin-Boaz makes maps in a small town: all kinds of maps, from the mundane to the more bizarre; for example, a map for voyeurs. He creates the ultimate map for his son, Boaz-Jachin, which will enable him to find everything, but Boaz-Jachin, the dreamer, rejects it because will not help him locate the long-extinct lions. Depressed and disatisfied, Jachin-Boaz leaves his wife and son for the city and makes a new life for himself.

Boaz-Jachin meanwhile conjures up a lion, neither entirely real nor entirely metaphysical, from ancient carvings, which stalks his father in the city. He also leaves his home and searches for his father, with only the map, a guitar and his good looks to keep him on track. But, not knowing where to start, he heads off into the unknown, and experiences a picaresque series of surreal encounters and events along the way.

The book is is full of humour as well as being quite a serious meditation on love, family relationships, and on what life lacks without mystery. It is also beautifully written, economical in style, concludes well and does not outstay its welcome. Read it, and you'll find yourself wanting to seek out Hoban's other novels too.

I purchased this book after reading his "Riddley Walker" masterpiece. I subsequently lost the book to a 'borrower' as so often happens. The book is short, but unforgettable - Hoban has a mythic imagination and is quite at home with metaphysics and storytelling. This reads like a New Age personal transformation book to the simple reader, but it is much more literary in it's contstruction than that genre. I hope that by reading this, others will be encouraged to track this book down and try it - with Hoban, perseverance to his style has a huge reward.

Charlie The Tramp is a terrific story about a beaver (Charlie) who wants to pursue his boyhood dream of becoming a tramp. He says that tramps just tramp around all day, enjoy the good life, and sleep in fields with daisies (or in a barn if it rains). His parents are haltingly indulgent of his dream, while his grandfather harrumphs around with "That's what it's like these days... little beavers want to be tramps..." comments. He eventually "comes of age" one night as a trickling stream keeps him awake and he spends the night building a dam. The next day as his parents are looking for him they find the dam/pond. They wonder who built it and comment that it looks like the sort of pond that Charlie's father would make... only he is certain that he didn't make it. Charlie wakes up and says that he made it and is heartily congratulated for a fine job of building a dam. Even grandfather admits "That's the way things are these days... more and more tramps become beavers." There is some gender stereotyping (mother races home to make flapjacks for all) but other than that, it is a quality children's book. There is a strong family message and asserts that children should be allowed to chase their dreams. For if they were given the proper guidance in their childhood, they will make good choices and do the proper thing. It was one of my favorites as a child and it is a shame that it is out of print.

Frances, who is obviously a four year-old badger with definite opinions about the way the world should work, sings her odes and laments in this delightful book. Our favorite is Egg Thoughts, none of them good, because Frances HATES eggs. Superceded only by The Goops.

With no US company willing to publish an adult book by Hoban, it has become increasingly difficult to follow the path of his creative wanderings. With each book he seems to proceed further, but as to the destination of that motion, who can say? After Hoban's 'The Medusa Frequency' it seems we have a long space of blackness before 'Fremder' turns up, only published in the UK. But before 'Fremder', he apparently wrote the children's book 'Trokeville' which along with Robert O'Brien's Silver Crown is probably one of the most disturbing books I have read in the genre. Of course, Hoban admits that children need to be challenged, and he really doesn't pull any punches with Trokeville. In a sense, this harkens back to 'Mouse and his Child' which he did not write for children, but became marketed as a children's book. To me at least, 'Trokeville' also reads like a book Hoban simply found in his head, and which subsequently was marketed for kids. People who do not understand Hoban (such as the review provided by Amazon that compares 'Trokeville' to 'The Princess Bride') will mistake 'Trokeville' as simply a very dingy fantasy with a lot of humor that doesn't work, but a reading of anything Hoban has written since (and including) Riddley Walker will give firm evidence that this is not the case. Hoban is once again writing about consciousness and the consciousness that lies outside of the realms of the limited consensus of reality. He is writing about fear, and the whole duality of beauty emerging out of fear that he described so wonderfully in the 'Medusa Frequency'. I do not know if this is really a very good book for kids, yet here is this danger of underestimating children (or teens). I have given the book a four star rating because that is where it stands with me, the feeling being one of an intermediate step between his serious books. If you are a Hoban fan this is definitley worth a read, especially at the cheap domestic price. For those who don't know anything about Hoban, find 'Mouse and his Child' if you can (for young readers--though I like it too) or any of his adult books which I prefer to 'Trokeville'.

I bought the cassette tape of the Frances stories for the car. My 3 year old son loves and I mean LOVES the stories. We bought the books after listening to the tape 200 times. The Frances stories are hilarious. Frances loves but sometimes is annoyed with her baby sister Gloria. Frances insists on eating only bread and jam, only to become utterly bored with this delicacy. Frances' friend Albert is a too the point, absolutely honest child, as most children this age are. Frances loves chompo bars which we now buy for our son. We call the Nestle Crunch bar a chompo and he is quite happy eating it. Frances does not like to go to bed and while it is no longer appropriate to spank a child, which is mentioned in this book, my son, who have never been spanked, does not dwell on this issue that book. Frances also makes up little songs in all of her books which are hilarious. My son whom I thought only loves trucks, cars and trains loves these books and adores the tape. Accordingly, this book comes highly highly recommended by one very satisfied 3 (almost 4) year old boy.

This book just brings home how a little child's mind works and it shows that constructive limitations always do a child some good. The idea of spanking is still one that exist today and used in the right manner can work wonders. Kudos to Russell Hoban. We need more books that handle strong willed children this way. My little girl loves these books about Frances. She honestly said after we read this book , "Mommy, this sounds familiar!" We have ordered all six Frances books and the cassettes and I can't wait until Christmas to see my childs delight at forever being the owner of such wonderful books.

This is the very best bedtime story ever! Frances uses every delicious, clever ploy that pops into that fuzzy little badger head of hers to try to stay up late with the older folks. Smart and creative kids are always reluctant to go to bed for fear they may miss something and she is no different. (Taking out the spanking scene would be akin to making Oliver Twist a boy scout.) Give kids some credit for recognizing humor when they hear it. If you don't want children who have a well-rounded sense of humor and an appreciation for literature and illustration, don't buy this book. If you do, buy this book and read it aloud everynight, with feeling. It's pure poetry. Then go get the others: Bread and Jam for Frances, etc. Hoban really makes you remember what it was to be a child and he has created one I am glad to know. My kids love this book and so will my grandchildren.