The Hole Story of Kirby the Sneak and Arlo the True

by Greg Williamson

Kirkus Indie Book of the Month Selection.

In this narrative poem, Kirby the sneaky, dog-genius steals the hole Arlo dug in the yard and the social order begins to break down. Kirby faces grave, injurious peril in restoring cosmic harmony. In rhyming couplets he reflects on the hole's eerie influence, he contemplates spider webs, Newton, The Old West, Scottish history, Templars, the Roundtable Knights, the existence of dragons, and the nature of time, itself. This nimbly written, playful poem will delight children of all ages even the adult ones.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2015

Reviews

[Wyatt Gwyon]

On the surface, yes, we encounter a superficially whimsical tale of canine antics and purloined excavations. But to characterize the poem as mere "nonsense verse" or "gibberish", as some reviewers glibly put it, bespeaks a disappointing failure to grapple with Williamson's undercurrents of history, philosophy and metaphysics. From sly Newtonian intimations to ruminations on the protean nature of time itself, Williamson's polymathic erudition buoys the kinetic propulsion of his meter, infusing each line with a luminous density of meaning.

The use of the hole as a central unifying conceit is no pictorial gimmick, but as John Hollander says, "itself a fecund" symbol. Simultaneously serving as a literal macguffin, an allegory for the ontological void at the heart of existence, and a metaphor for the excavatory project of the poetic enterprise itself, the hole functions as a kind of singularity, warping the weft of the poem's reality around itself. One may go so far as to contend that Kirby's larcenous appropriation of Arlo's handiwork becomes emblematic of the poet's own audacious seizure of agency from the entropic forces of impersonal spacetime.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit I am probably not the audience for this book, so take my review with a whole wad of salt, and go on from there.

First, let me say that this whole book is written in verse, nonsense verse at that. I like me my nonsense verse. I like the Hunting of the Snark (though it does get tedious at times), and I love the Edward Lear poems, so it isn't like I don't get nonsense verse.

But this nonsense verse, I found dreadfully boring. I did not care about anyone. I did not care about the hole. I did not care about Kirby the Sneak or Arlo the True.

Second, though the title and the pictures make one think that this is meant for children, it is far to long and too few pictures to be a picture book. So, it is an adult book with pictures.

And even though it was only 128 pages long, and only five stanzas per page, I could not finish this. I just didn't care.

Thanks to Netgalley for supplying this book for an honest review.

[Herta Feely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such fun to read! Lighthearted and smart, a great book to chew on a bit at a time. If you're looking for some quirky poetry, I'd definitely suggest this! It opens with the lines, "Kirby the Sneak and Arlo the True/ lived with the Burbles at house 42." My favorite character, of course, was Arlo the True, a lovably loyal dog: "He watched over everything just to be sure/ that the wherearetheys all were still there where they were."

It's amazing to me that Greg Williamson (an award-winning poet who teaches poetry at Johns Hopkins) was able to write 100 pages of rhyming verse that sometimes had the whimsical feel of Dr. Seuss and at others the weightiness of a Steven Hawking lecture. I'm buying it for every friend who loves poetry, for every friend who needs an uplifting read, and most certainly for every well-educated dog lover!

[Trudie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received from NetGalley for honest review.

While the whole plot to the book seems rather good and interesting, I found it hard to keep on reading after a while. I also found it difficult to determine the targeted age of this book. I can see what children would take away from the book, but it seems a little long for younger children with too few marvellous illustrations. With the whole book story in rhyme it does seem fun for children, but there are nonsense words and vocabulary that many would need to use a dictionary to understand. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

In all honesty, I am still on the fence with this book. I can see the greatness of this book, but I can also find drawbacks in recommending it. I feel there is a need to allow people to decide for themselves.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate what this book is trying to do and I really liked the author's rhythmic style in the poetry, but I think it misses the mark. Mainly, I couldn't figure out who is the intended audience. It's a children's story, but written entirely in prose with some complicated vocabulary. It's also over 100 pages long with very few pictures. So I can't see a child reading this. But it's a children's story, so I can't really see an adult reading it either. I think it would work better chopped down into shorter pieces with more illustrations.

[Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am still in awe of this book! I have never read anything like it before in my life. A full length book in narrative poem form, wow, just wow. I feel like this is the type of read that both kids and adults will adore. It is witty and fun, whimsical and deep at times. A treat for sure! I really cannot articulate my thoughts to well, so you must check it out for yourself! 5 stars

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this very long winded and although I enjoyed each individual line have no idea what they meant as a whole! The first was about a hole being stolen as a trick? The second was something about ancestry and time travel?
The rhythm and pace were just right and I appreciated the pictures.
I was given this book by Netgalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary review.

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know it's short, but I just had to give up on this children's-book-for-adults. It started fine with a proud dog finding a rival had stolen his hole, but it just turned into gibberish. Very disappointed.