Fables From The Mud

by Erik Quisling

At long last come the tales of perhaps the three greatest invertebrates who ever lived... Fables from the Mud compiles the triumphant accounts of three modern-day invertebrate heroes and their tireless quests for self-revelation: "The Angry Clam" reveals the trials and tribulations of a clam struggling with the absurd reality of his own impotence. "Adventures of Glen in My Stone Garden" is the story of a cynical ant whose view of the world is turned on its head by the discovery of a magical stone garden. "Grant's Tomb" is the tale of a great warrior worm who, despite having achieved everything he'd striven for in life, is still left feeling empty and alone.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of years ago a BookCrosser found a copy of The Angry Clam, by Erik Quisling. A couple pages were shared in the forum and we decided to do a bookring with the book. Book karma being a fickle thing, the book got lost somewhere down the line before it got to me. So, I put the book on my wishlist for future reading.

This year I was sent a copy of Fables from the Mud for review. It contains three oddly entertaining fables by Erik Quisling. The three tales are: "The Angry Clam", "The Adventures of Glen in my Stone Garden", and "Grant's Tomb." The heroes are a clam, an ant and a worm. Each one looks beyond its own insignificant existence for a bigger piece of the universe.

Fables from the Mud is not your average book. I've seen it compared to Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry or any of Richard Bach's books. Having read those books and Quisling's book, I can see why those books were chosen for comparison but I disagree. Exupéry and Bach's books are incredibly upbeat and Quisling's book is jaded and antisocial and that's part of its charm.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing. Dry, dark humor. Not much more than that for me, although I can certainly imagine others engaging with it more.