Snark: Being a True History of the Expedition That Discovered the Snark and the Jabberwock … and Its Tragic Aftermath

by David Elliot

Winner of the 2017 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults Margaret Mahy Book of the Year and Russell Clark Award for Illustration. Gabriel Clutch was a thief and a liar but he was right about one thing. He told me he had a great secret in his collection that would shake the literary world to its roots if it ever got out …' So begins the delightfully dark Snark, a tumultous romp through worlds created by Lewis Carroll and here brought to life through the vivid imaginings and fabulous art of award-winning author and illustrator David Elliot. What exactly did happen to the Snark expedition? Did his dagger-proof coat protect the Beaver from the Butcher? What befell the Boots in the Tulgey Wood? Who fell foul of the Jabberwock? The Bandersnatch? The Jub-Jub Bird? And, finally, the big question: what precisely is a SNARK …? David Elliot's hero, the Boots, here reveals the whole truth for the first time, from his recruitment to the Snark expedition, to his return from a journey of unimaginable, death-defying adventure ... In this charming book for grown-up children of all ages, David Elliot is at his spellbinding and artistic best. 

Genres: Fantasy

220 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

David Elliot is an award-winning illustrator and author who has achieved international success. After working as a zookeeper (Edinburgh Zoo), dishwasher (the Antarctic), interior designer and art teacher, in 1998 he became a full-time illustrator. David is a graduate of the Christchurch College of Education, and earned a Fine Arts Diploma from the University of Canterbury.

Reviews

[Carol, She's so Novel ꧁꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★

I started this one earlier in the year at my sister's place. I don't know why I couldn't finish this at the time - just needed my own space to give this book the attention it deserves.

And this timing was really fortuitous- we have a big Steampunk Festival in our town in November. I always do a Steampunk read, but the novel I selected - - was a dud. It didn't strike me first time round, but the illustrations in this book have a tinge of Steampunk.

Consider the cover;

And from the teapot races yesterday;

Pure Steampunk.

David Elliot has a great imagination & has created a really detailed back story. The drawings are just beautiful. This would be the perfect gift for an imaginative child.

Enjoy the website; http://www.davidelliot.org/snark/

[flajol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I enjoyed this much more than Carroll's original poems! There are three layers to this story: the narrator (Elliot) describes how he discovered a journal in an old hatbox after a rival book collector dies and his collection is auctioned off. Elliot talks about how he equivocated about making the controversial journals public, but in the end decided to go ahead and publish them. This framing device surrounds the Boot's journal, with a backstory of how the journals had been kept hidden away as the prologue, and pages of explanatory notes and scholarly insights at the end of the book.

The journal itself is a collection of beautiful watercolours and sketches accompanied by a prose description of a long, convoluted and bizarre nautical expedition in search of the Snark. The journals are kept by Boots, and he describes the captain and his crewmates on their ill-fated trip. Embedded within Boots' journal are Carroll's poems - The Hunting of the Snark and Jabberwocky. Boots' descriptions and story go a long way to explaining lots of Caroll's nonsense, and Elliot's notes at the end do the rest.

It's a clever and delightful exploration of Carroll's poems, and much more engaging than I ever found the original texts.

[Jayne Downes · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not the sort of book I normally read and I am not a fan of Lewis Carroll, I find his poems too weird. However I think David Elliot's illustrations are amazing and his extension of the story started in the poems made it more appealing and easier to understand.

[Philip Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully designed and utterly enrapturing. A wonderful journey into the writings of Lewis Caroll, namely the nonsense poems "Jabberwocky" which appeared in "Through the Looking-Glass", 1855 and "The Hunting of the Snark", 1876). Elliot merges the two poems into a fantastical adventure that maybe, just maybe, is based on an actual journey undertaken by a beleaguered crew wholly unprepared for what they are about to encounter.

There is loads to uncover, examine, conjecture, and ponder in this text. I will definitely be returning to this book again and again.

Snark won the Russell Clark Award for Illustration and the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year at the 2017 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. It was also awarded a White Raven by the International Youth Library in Munich. In 2018 it is the New Zealand nomination in the illustration category for the IBBY Honour List.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, clever, clever. And deliciously fun...

Excerpt from The White Ravens annotation:
(Elliot) has invented an elaborate and complex background story, complete with (pseudo-)scientific research findings, to convince readers that the poems were not nonsense at all but based on a real-life expedition carried out in the 1850s. Elliot’s “diary” assumingly written by one of the expedition party – the lowly Boots – lays before the readers an astonishing and frightening tale of a crazy captain, dangerous monsters, and a deadly voyage to unknown parts of the world. The stunning watercolour illustrations in subdued colours, the several parts of the book seamlessly woven together, and the appendix with an abundance of source material, show that this book is a true labour of love which Lewis Carroll fans young and old will devour.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really neat book. First, it's rather large (it could probably pass as a coffee-table book.) Second, the artwork in it is really good. The book has the Snark poem in it but it's sandwiched between various other sections which describe the characters, how the hunt came about, details about the ship itself, what the Boot saw when he was alone on the island along with what happened to each of the members of the crew.

The entire thing fits the 'atmosphere' of the original poem although it adds and actual ending to the story itself. It's kind of like a horror story in a way mixed with some science fiction. The story is very well done, entertaining and makes sense. A definite must for any Alice in Wonderland collector.

[Jonathan Natusch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daft as a brush, and entertaining as all hell! With beautiful illustrations...

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic illustrations and very interesting notes for the 42nd Edition. I thoroughly enjoyed this read having always enjoyed Lewis Carroll's "The Hunting of the Snark" and "Jabberwocky". The notes really make you question if Boot's journal is fact or fiction. I myself believe in fantasy and fiction and love writers imaginations that good they come alive.

[Kristy McRae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool illustrated "history" of Lewis Carroll's creations!

[Julia Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Felt compelled to buy this for our high school library as it is such a sumptious looking book. It will appeal to some of my students, no doubt, but it didn't work for me. Reading Snark reminded me that although Alice in Wonderland was ok, Through the Looking Glass completly did my head in.

I enjoyed the art work, and found the Notes at the end intriguing, the best part of the story. The illustrations added a depth to the story making it more accessible. However, Lewis Carroll's fantasy isn't for me, however beautifully it is dressed up.