The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories

‘’The final gasp of his short life
Was sickly with despair.
Whoever thought that you could die
From breathing outdoor air?’’

For most lovers of the 7th Art, Tim Burton is an incredible talent. For us Gothic aficionados, Tim Burton is a genius, a pioneer whose creations opened the audience's heart and mind to the contemporary Gothic style, aesthetics, and philosophy. He is the one who found the perfect balance between the satire of how most people perceive the Gothic wave, evident in Beetlejuice, and the sadness, isolation and blind persecution of the Different, the Other exceptionally depicted in his masterpiece Edward Scissorhands. The majority of his films is a hymn to the feelings of those who are isolated by a society that show more cannot understand or accept. Corpse Bride, Big Eyes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the violent, captivating Sweeney Todd, the exceptional Alice In Wonderland, the atmospheric Sleepy Hollow and his contribution to the classic The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The 20th-anniversary edition of The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy is a collection of poems dedicated to characters that would find themselves in the company of Edward Scissorhands. Little ones in all their sweet ‘’ugliness’’ and weirdness. Sadness, loneliness, children denied by their parents. The Stick Boy, the Staring Girl, the Robot Boy and the Boy With Nails in His Eyes. The Stain Boy, the Voodoo Girl, the Toxic Boy and the Mummy Boy and the unfortunate Oyster Boy of the title. Poems that may appear funny on the surface but hide a deep bitterness for choices that are not made by the unfortunate souls whose course leads to dark places. Beautiful, gothic and whimsical sketches, clever rhymes full of black humor and bitter truths.

I don’t think we expected anything less by Tim Burton, a true genius…

‘’You should count yourself lucky, for only last week,
I treated a girl with three eyes and beak.
That your son is half oyster
You cannot blame me.
....have you considered, by chance,
A small home by the sea?’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less

Any fan of Burton, or quite possibly even Gorey, will appreciate this collection of poems and illustrations. Imagine if you will a book by Shel Silverstein, only this time he's clinically depressed.

We meet all manner of ill-fated characters, some of whom get their own spin-offs (such as Stain Boy). Burton has written a short poetic tale for each character, and sometimes two or three, and included accompanying illustrations to drive the point home. This is a children's book not intended for emotionally stable children.

This book is chock full of Burton's dark and depressing sense of humor and style, and is sure to please fans of his work. Recommended for fans and those with a similar sense of humor.

Reseña de Fantasía Mágica

Este es un librito breve que se lee rapidísimo. La edición que me prestaron es en español, pero afortunadamente en las últimas páginas está escrito el texto original en inglés.
Si lo van a leer, les recomiendo que -si les es posible- no lean la traducción. Está bien hecha, pero se pierde gran parte de la magia de las pequeñas poesías-historia. Hay muchas rimas y juegos de palabras que si bien los traductores hicieron un buen trabajo, y se nota que lo pensaron mucho y le pusieron muchísimo esfuerzo, simplemente no es lo mismo.

En sus poquititas páginas el libro se divide entre las poesías y los dibujos.
Tim Burton tiene una habilidad maravillosa para hacer que lo que normalmente sería tétrico, show more resulte tierno y querible, como ocurre con muchas de las sencillas (pero lindas) ilustraciones.

Este libro rebalsa de ternura ¡es hermoso!... hay muchísimos personajes, y sus breves historias están llenas de inocencia. Son pequeñas viditas trágicas, que a pesar de esa tragedia te hacen reir a carcajadas (y no con maldad, aclaro por las dudas).
Los protagonistas son siempre niñitos, y como logra en las películas, Tim Burton te hace ver con amor a personajes que son considerados 'bichos raros' por todos. Es la inocencia y la dulzura más allá del aspecto o sus características extrañas.

Es difícil en una reseña captar la ternura de estas poesías con rimas tan simpáticas.

La melancólica muerte de Chico Ostra es la historia central por ser una de las más extensas, y es realmente melancólica. Pobrecito Chico Ostra, que destino tan cruel.
Algunas poesías simplemente se extienden durante cuatro renglones, pero no hace falta más. En pocas palabras está dicho todo, con unos dibujos horribles y hermosos a la vez.

Criaturas adorables como la niña con la nariz de pegamento (a la que se le pegan los pañuelos de papel cada vez que se suena), el Chico Ostra que se disfraza de humano para navidad, la niña que mira fijo a todo el mundo, Stain Boy que deja manchas por donde pasa, y tantos otros personajes absolutamente adorables.

Es ternura pura, si les gusta Tim Burton no dejen de leerlo. show less

A short collection of macabre poems, illustrated like a children's book, but aimed more at the YA market, and delightful for dark-thinking adults as well.

There are lots of gory things about eyes, stories of non-human children (toxic, half robot, half oyster etc) and a most inappropriate present from Santa.

Occasionally the rhythm doesn't quite work at the first attempt, but even so, it's great fun.

It is strongly reminiscent of Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Tales for Children (my review HERE), but VERY obviously the work of Tim Burton. His wiry, but colour, illustrations, perfectly complement his dark words.

Soy un fan del cine de Tim Burton, y siempre digo que me encantaría poder meterme un ratito en su cabeza. Debe ser un lugar increíble. La poesía no es lo mío, así que agarré este libro con bastante desconfianza. Y me sorprendió. Tiene todos los condimentos de algo "Burtoniano". Tiene esa cosa de hacer que algo sea a la vez entrañable y trágico, inocente y macabro. Lástima que sea tan cortito.

Ever since I knew of its existence, I’ve wanted to read Tim Burton’s The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories. Unfortunately, my library doesn't own a copy so I had to order it through Interlibrary Loan. Of course, after all of that effort it was a bit of a letdown to discover that it was only 115 pages long. But this short little book did deliver on the quirky, dark humor that we’ve all come to expect from Tim Burton. Organized into small rhymes and stories, these are creepy but hilarious (if morbid humor is your thing) vignettes. A/N: Parents beware if you take issue with your kids reading about death, patricide, suicide, etc.

This was a collection of poetry with illustration by Tim Burton. The poems are all very off the wall, some are slightly disturbing, and most are darkly humorous. I would recommend for older teen to adult because of the content (there are a few poems with explicit sexual themes). I am a huge Tim Burton fan and ended up enjoying this a lot.

The majority of poems talk about strange and troubled children and the weird ailments or situations that haunt them. All in all they were well done, occasionally made me laugh out loud, and were definitely unique. The sketches are very Burtonesque and their style matches the poems well.

While I did enjoy this, it might be something that’s better read bit by bit over time. I sat down and read it all show more in one sitting and the poems (despite their quirkiness) actually got to be a bit repetitive.

Overall this is a must for all you Tim Burton fans out there. It’s a beautifully put together book and is full of strange and quirky poetry and illustration by Burton. show less