Snotty Saves The Day

As a big fan of fairy tales, acdemic study of said fairy tales, and footnotes, I was already predisposed to like this creative fairy tale of an academic study of a fairy tale, and I was not disappointed. It is both more and less complicated than it sounds and gives you a lot to think about.

The detail in the book is excellent. There are nice illustrations and even fictional publication info and fictional bibliography to add to the immersive atmosphere of the book. The volume is pretty slim, but nothing feels rushed or left out. It has real depth from working at multiple levels. The story started off kind of cute (and more than a bit strange), but it didn't take too long to become unsettling and rather disturbing. But I think it shares show more this quality with other true time-honored fairy tales which often give you an ominous feeling in your stomach when you stop to think about them carefully.

I just finished it and I'd already like to reread it. I feel that there is even more hiding in here than I could get in a single reading. If I were still in English class, perhaps I'd write a paper on it... (oh the meta!) show less

Snotty Saves the Day, by Tod Davies, is a very difficult book to describe. It is framed as a scholarly retelling of one of the primal myths of the land of Arcadia, complete with footnotes in which the author cites other scholars with whom she profoundly disagrees. It also points out the significant differences between Arcadia and the land of Megalopolis, which appears to overlay Arcadia and to represent, in some ways, our own world. Arcadia, meanwhile, is the land where folk and fairy tales are true and, more than that, contain the laws of the universe, including rules of physics and biology. Our ostensible hero, Snotty, is an unpleasant - no, downright nasty - child from Megalopolis who is removed to Arcadia, where he is first seen as show more the Sun God of the Giant Garden Gnomes, a war-like race that plans to take over all of Arcadia and make sure everything in it is in its proper box. Later, he meets the Resistance, populated primarily by Teddy Bears, but also including giant dolls, a unicorn and other creatures. How Snotty reacts to and deals with all of these disparate parts of his ever-changing worlds takes up the bulk of the tale, with frequent philosophical input in the footnotes. I found this a very odd book and am not sure how I feel about it. The writing is good, the story is certainly original and intriguing, and some of the footnotes in particular are absolutely hilarious; yet, after finishing it, I'm just not quite sure what it was about. And for whom: certainly the intensity of the story and the density of academese in the footnotes would seem to preclude young children really enjoying it, but adults to whom it might be aimed would really need to be well up on folklore, fairy tales and the structures of myth in order to fully appreciate it. I'm giving it a positive rating because of its originality and thought-provoking philosophy, but I'm not sure to whom I would actually recommend it. A puzzler. show less

A not so subtle parable of how the weak can overcome the powerful and how we create our own reality by the beliefs we hold within and the stories we tell ourselves. This is a breezy read, quite fun, which challenges the citizen of the modern, capitalist, industrialized world to consider 1) what has been lost in exchange for power and modern goods/conveniences, and 2) how we might reconsider and retrieve some of what has been given up. “Snotty” combines the familiar and comfortable with the raw and disconcerting. You’ll find echoes of Homer, C.S. Lewis, the New Testament, Lewis Carroll, Descartes, L. Frank Baum, as well as quite familiar bits that you can’t quite put your finger on, but you know they are a part of you.

Among many show more points made sometimes too vociferously, Tod suggests that we give up real control when we pursue what our culture defines as power; we give up real happiness and contentedness when we pursue what our culture defines as wealth. Snotty Saves the Day suggests that the meek may well inherit the Earth, but until then, they must fight over and over again to hold on to a piece of it. There should not be anything new here for the critical thinker, but it is an enjoyable, somewhat un-threatening story form in which to make these points; certainly worth the relatively short investment of time to read.

Os. show less

This book *sounds* like something that would be perfect for me. I love fantasy in all forms, and elaborately made-up worlds, and fake footnotes, and fairy tales, and imperfect protagonists. But really, this was just disappointing. It was poorly thought out, and the "subtle" morals of the story are beaten over your head again and again and again. Not only that, but there is no proof for the morals, just the whining of the "author" of the footnotes. To cap it all off, I didn't even agree with some of the morals (such as that cities and city life are bad). The footnotes consisted entirely of the "author" discrediting his equivalent academics on the opposing side of their civil war, but only using statements such as "Professor Dumb-Dumb show more argues X, but everyone knows that Y is really true."

The plot itself was just weak, and tended to contradict itself. At one point Snotty, who is stated to be about 12, has a tete-a-tete with the tempting bad guy during which they stop for a MARTINI BREAK. Like it's the usual thing they do, not as if it were a temptation Snotty had to overcome. Also, who names their main character Snotty? Who is this book for? Not me, that's for sure. I would discourage any child from reading it, and won't recommend it to anyone. show less

This quirky little book operates (quite overtly) on three levels. At the base level, it is a slightly bizarre fairy tale set in a parallel world in some ways much like ours and in other ways not; one level up, it purports to be an academic presentation and examination of that fairy tale (still within the alternate world), complete with preliminary discussion and copious footnotes; at the topmost level, it is of course a fiction aimed at a real readership in our world. And, as I say, all three levels are openly operating at all times.

The base fairy tale is written, as a fairy tale should be, in language and style apparently aimed at children. It opens, however, in a decidely non-idyllic world: Snotty, a disgusting prepubescent child, show more resides in a slum where broken glass litters the sidewalks, living with a gross mother whose life is limited to simultaneously drinking beer, watching tv, and scratching her butt till she passes out in a drunken stupor on the couch. Snotty, an enterprising child, has made himself into a drug lord, picking it up wholesale at the docks (supposedly acting for his non-existent father) and distributing it to retailers in bars around town (supposedly as just a courier). Snotty's idea of a friend is someone naive enough to be easily manipulated. All this is disclosed to the reader rather quickly; then--as befits a fairy tale--Snotty falls down a rabbit hole (more or less literally) to a sort of Wonderland.

Here, the reigning power is a band of gnomes, ugly inside and out, who worship power and conquest, and needless to say, Snotty admires and falls right in with them. After that comes the fairy-tale-traditional series of transformative events and adventures that ultimately change Snotthy in ways both expected and not. The transformation is doubly unsurprising: first, because that's how fairy tales operate; second, because the academic writer presenting the tale to us has made it plain from the outset (as indeed the very title of both the real book and the nominal fairy tale indicate will happen). Snotty meets the expected series of good-guy companions--animated teddy bears, a living rocking horse, the loyal dog--as well as representatives of the darker side, till we finally reach what Professor Tolkien has called the "eucatastrophe", the explosively wonderful sudden turn of events to a good outcome.

The base fairy tale, published just as itself, would be poor reading, because it is after all in children's language, and is ultimately somewhat saccharine. But that is where the author's wit intervenes, by placing the tale in the invented "academic commentary" framework, which allows us to see it as a parable with adult overtones. Considering it from the topmost level, us actually reading the package, we have what a good fantasy should be: a retelling of some important (if familiar) truths in a manner entertaining enough for us to mind them and absorb them anew. This book amy not make anyone's "All-Time Best 100" lists, but it is an engaging and rewarding read: recommended. show less

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, as I'd never head of the author or the publisher. It turns out the author founded the publishing company, so this book could be considered self-published, but don't let that discourage you. This is a thoughtful tale, a celebration of childhood innocence, and an ambitious transformational story.

I did struggle with the first half of the novel. The protagonist really is awful, with an awful name (and an awful title for the book). There's nothing really to endear him to the reader, but it's a pretty fast read so I never really felt like I was slogging through the story.

I wasn't too keen on the footnotes. I know they're supposed to be reminiscent of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, but I found them show more awkward and disruptive to the flow of the story. I can never ignore footnotes, so I couldn't just skip over them.

Loving fairy tales myself, and being the kind of person who still tries to hold onto childhood wonder, I felt a sense of kinship with the author as I read. It's nice to know that there are those of us who still try and see the wonder and joy in small things, even while the world around us seems to be determined to pave over, cut down, manufacture and control everything.

At various points I was reminded of Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, A Spell for Chameleon, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (and The Magician's Nephew), and Mister Monday, as well as the movies The Wizard of Oz (moreso than the book) and Labyrinth. I imagine there will be at least one more book (though I expect it will be a trilogy) and I look forward to reading it. show less

I don't quite know what to think of this book. It's a sort of fairytale, with pseudo-academic introduction, annotations, analysis and bibliography, and it's cleverly done and very well presented. The story, in which the eponymous Snotty, a youth of venal habit and unpleasant mien, is sucked into another world, falls in with gnomes and teddy bears, gains self-knowledge and, yes, saves the day. There's a bit of a Christian allegory feel to it as well, which is not normally something I'm fond of, but it was well enough written to balance that. Overall, I liked it.