But anyway.
The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear is one of those books I didn't want to see end. If Captain Bluebear had had fifty lives, I probably would have been enthralled by every single one.
Walter Moers novel follows a young blue bear's adventure. An "unborn" creature, Captain Bluebear found himself floating on a walnut shell, only to meet his first boisterous family: a bunch of mini pirates. As Blue bear grows older, he also grows smarter, using his seven-brained teacher, Professor Nightingale as a mental encyclopedia to help him through a myriad of sticky situations. Whether it's a giant bollog's brain, or a natural born liar, Blue bear is sure to make the acquaintance of these creatures throughout his journey through labyrinths and paradises.
Moers' writing style is both perceptive and playful. A kid's book for adults, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear is bound to please Harry Potter fans, as well as adults yearning for their relentlessly playful childhoods. Even the evil creatures often end up being quite personable and we care about each character that makes an appearance in Blue Bear's life. Even the obsessive liar, the Troglotrol, gains our sympathy when his lying skills seem far from impressive compared to other professional Congladiators (liars).
Mores' writing is not only fantastical and freeing, but it is highly perceptive of our own nature. As Blue Bear meets a group entitled "The Muggs," he observes "they didn't take a vote on the matter because a vote would have betokened a conflict; they compromised by adopting a zigzag course" (282). Having been to a Quaker school, I immediately see the resemblance to a hard-core democracy; Blue Bear's sentiments that "The Muggs had rules like every community; but they were so refreshingly different from traditional rules and regulations that it was almost a pleasure to obey them" (283) also resonate with the Quaker/ashram lifestyle. We all know that person that's "too peaceful" to defend himself against an attacker; Moers expresses that personality through play and wit.
Moers' societal commentary and frustration is subtle--as the reader becomes engrossed in the mythical creature, he may fail to see the parallels with our own planet--but as Blue Bear searches for employment in Atlantis, his frustrations about lack of qualification/privilege are akin to many post-grads in this generation: "I should have liked to do job that made the most of my comprehensive Nocturnal Academy education, but this was harder than I had thought.
To obtain a teaching post you had to have spent years working your way up through Atlantis's intricate educational system, and nearly every learned profession required hard-to-get permits from mysterious government departments. You could get nowhere without a Norselander rubber stamp, and that was available only to those who queued up for months on end, paid bribes to the competent authority, or had a Norselander in the family."
Sounds a bit like grad school, does it not?
This book makes you think about our society's ethical dilemma--but it doesn't force you to. This works a fun bedtime read, that whisks you away from your current world and takes you into 13.5 others.
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