The Mannequin Makers

by Craig Cliff

Playfully literate and strikingly original, an unforgettable debut novel about art, imitation, and obsession.

Excitement is rare in the small town of Marumaru, New Zealand. So when a young Maori man arrives on the morning train one day in 1903--announcing the imminent visit of a famous strongman--the entire town turns out to greet him, save one. Colton Kemp, a department store window-dresser, is at home, watching his beloved wife die in premature childbirth. Tormented by grief, he hatches a plan to make his name and thwart his rival, the silent and gifted Carpenter: over the next sixteen years he will raise his newborn twins in secrecy and isolation, to become human mannequins in the world's most lifelike window display.

The Mannequin Makers is an adventure-filled and thoroughly delightful yarn, introducing one of international literature's most promising young talents to American audiences.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Adult Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Craig Cliff’s debut collection of short stories, A MAN MELTING, was published in July 2010. It was named as one of the best books of 2010 by the New Zealand Listener and the Sunday Star Times, and went on to win the overall Best First Book in the 2011 Commonwealth Writers Prize. According to the judges, A MAN MELTING “is of the moment, and is rightly at home on a global platform. Cliff is a talent to watch and set to take the literary world by storm."

Craig wrote a column for the Dominion Post newspaper from 2010-2014 about his double life as a writer and a public servant (and, later, as a father).

THE MANNEQUIN MAKERS, a dark and wide-ranging historical novel, was published in August 2013. According to the New Zealand Listener, "it’s tremendous, darkly entertaining and original from start to finish." Editions have also been published in Romania (2016), the US (2017) and the UK (2019).

NAILING DOWN THE SAINT, a novel about Hollywood, fatherhood and levitation, was published in 2019.

Reviews

[Oana Gheorghiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting historiographic metafiction, four narrators of the same events (it reminds of the great Alexandria Quartet in this respect) - four ways of telling a story from the colonial age, an exercise in dehumanization for art, a literary dialogue with Shakespeare, Dickens, Shaw and others. I am currently translating it into Romanian, looking forward to seeing it done and published.

[Sara Head · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cliff comments in his acknowledgements that this book is the product of two separate ideas combined into one book. This rings very true, and unfortunately, I only liked one of them.

The first of the ideas, of mannequin makers that go down a dark and twisted road of obsession, was fascinating and page-turning. Unfortunately, my interest in that half of the web was the only thing that got me through the immense chunk in the middle of the book that was the Carpenter’s backstory (a story that was inherently quite boring and quite repetitive - the life of a castaway on an island with nothing on it...).

Overall, I enjoyed the book, as the parts I liked I REALLY liked. But I would say it could use a strong editing eye. We got more detail than we could ever want in the Carpenter’s history, and approximately ZERO detail on the relationship between him and Avis currently happening. I feel Cliff just honed in on all the wrong things.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I am unsure exactly why that is. It was definitely rather odd but extremely well-written. The cast of characters were a mixed bag of strangenesses, but they were fitting for a tale that oftentimes made no sense, or at least had little direction or endgame. For a time I was unsure if this was going to go full horror, or full mystery, or murder-y, or just some interesting historical fiction. You'll need to read it yourself to find out, but I can say I found the tale fully engaging and fun. The variety of timelines and PsOV were done well and gave the story an almost eerie feel. Overall, I loved it but it has been labeled a messy narrative by some readers, and I rightly agree, probably.

[Penguin Books NZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Harriet) At the novel’s beginning, Colton Kemp is working away, valiantly trying to turn hunks of wood into life-like mannequins. They are destined to be part of his display in the window of Donaldson’s Department Store. His workroom, though, is full of misshapen failures, but he continues to strive for perfection. This is a powerful image of an artist at work. When Colton’s wife gives birth to twins, he finds an alternative material from which to create convincing mannequins, setting up a chilling exploration of life verses art. Indeed this is Pygmalion of the Antipodes, The Winter’s Tale with a twist, a new look at the age-old search for perfection. While set in the early 1900s, it makes us consider afresh our contemporary obsession with outward appearance. The Mannequin Makers is clever; it is dark; it is unpredictable. It is full of intriguing elements from a strongman to a ship’s prow, from a shipwreck to a mute dwarf, with settings in New Zealand, Scotland and Sydney. It is fresh while also offering interesting new angles on diverse earlier works. And it is superbly written, each word hewn with precision and delicacy.

[Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Zealand is dark, disturbing and Gothic in its windswept isolation in this book. Written in four parts, it's a story of obsession turned horribly wrong, as two makers of department store mannequins on a small town duel for who can create the most convincing tableau. One loses his wife in childbirth, which takes him down a dark and unlikely path, a plan borne from a desire to acheive perfection, plotted over many years, without regard to the consequences.
The second piece of the novel goes deep into back story of the opponent, featuring the malevolent, superstitious crew of a ship dangerously navigating the southern ocean. A shipwreck on a remote island, and what the mind of a man descends into in isolation. With quite a description of eating raw penguins and albatross.
I enjoyed the picture painted of small town turn-of-the-century New Zealand, one modeled after the very town I grew up in. The barren cape, the muddy streets planted with hotels, theaters and department stores.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one. It was unpredictable and weird. It's super dark and there were times where I found it almost unbearable but the way it was written made the agonies less painful than they might have been and I couldn't put it down for the last third.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky. Very quirky. But delicious. The book interweaves four stories and produces a very readable, literary (in a good way) study of unusual people doing unusual things. Highly recommended.

[Gary Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written novel with a unique plot. It involves a turn-of-the (20th)-century New Zealand town, England, and department store advertising. Sound like an odd combination? It is. It's hard to summarize this book succinctly. The basic premise is this: a man named Colton Kemp who is employed to stage elaborate window scenes for a local department store engages in a strange experiment with his own children in which he trains them from a young age to pose as clothing models for the display window. His children become entangled with an additional protagonist, Gabriel Doig, who is determined to understand how the apparent "mannequins" can be so life-like. A full half of the novel is dedicated to him and his backstory.

Part of this book's appeal is the writing style of the author. He's a real wordsmith and his evocative prose flowed smoothly, pulling me along. The other part of its appeal is the central mystery of the children trained to be mannequins. Are they ordinary human characters? Is there an element of magical realism going on? I was honestly unclear about this until the book's final quarter. That's quite a feat for an author. He strings it out carefully.

My main problem with the plot is that the book feels like two novels joined at the hip. Doig's backstory of how he moved from wood carver to island castaway is very engaging...but I wasn't sure in the end that it was ultimately all that critical to the plot involving the children. It explained how he moved from Scotland to New Zealand, but... It would have made a fine stand-alone novel of its own. (Cliff's descriptions of being aboard a gritty sailing vessel are wonderful.) Lastly, I wasn't quite satisfied with how the story is wound up in the end. As with so many novels, I felt the author had a brilliant premise and then wasn't quite sure how to end it. But, these aren't criticisms that should prevent anyone from reading "The Mannequin Makers." It's well worth your time.

[Caroline Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Our nature lies in movement; complete calm is death...Nothing is so unsufferable to man as to be completely at rest, without passions, without business, without diversions, without study. He then feels his nothingness, his abandonment, his insufficiency, his dependence, his impotence, his emptiness."

Craig Cliff opens The Mannequin Makers with this dark quote; a window into the darkness of the story to follow. The novel is about family, deception and obsession in mid 1800s to 1920s provincial New Zealand. It briefly visits 1970s Sydney but that is in order to tie up a loose end, which is tied tighter than the string on Eugen's speedos.

Cliff's ability to create an intriguing narrative - a father so intent on perfecting his department store window displays that he spends sixteen years training his children to be mannequins - and to expertly weave present and past while presenting varying points of view, result in an riveting read.

And, inspiringly, Cliff fits his writing around a day job as a policy analyst and a new baby.

I will definitely be reading his short story collection 'A Man Melting' next.

[Roxy Reno · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I was like cool, another book set in New Zealand. I don't know nearly enough about New Zealand. (what little I do came from Donna Tartt's novel The Goldfinch.) For instance, I never imagined that dueling department store windows would be a thing in New Zealand in the early 1900's. So, we get to meet the "mannequin makers" and the quaint town of Marumaru and the wife of one of the mannequin makers dies in childbirth an it's sad and a strong man comes to town, which is what I could imagine happening in New Zealand at the turn of the century.

Fast forward 16 years and we meet Avis and Eugen, siblings. They seem nice, they are nice. They're getting ready for their coming out to society ceremony. It sounds like a weird one but New Zealand right?

In the next 20 pages the following emotions happened.

That's weird but ok... Huh? Wait. What? Ohhhh no dude, you didn't do that did you? Oh no man. Oh my god are you fist fucking me right now!? I'm pretty sure you are, I can feel it. Ahhhhhhh!!

Then the book was half done.

Restrained yet Bat shit crazy. Loved it

[Catherine Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t even know what to make of this book. The only way for me to fully process it is to separate it into three parts.

1) Historical backdrop of turn-of-the-century small town New Zealand life, 5 stars.

2) Shipwreck/castaway epic, 3.5 stars.

3) Dark, twisted psychological abuse, physical abuse, and incest, 0 stars.

This book reminded me of The Miniaturist with its rich historical backdrop to a WEIRD plot. It’s clear this fledgling writer had a lot interesting ideas. Unfortunately he tried to combine them all.

I think 2 stars is actually generous.

[Merryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Craig Cliff very cleverly weaves two stories together in this novel of intrigue. A father's grief combined with his professional jealousy leads him to submit his children to a life of isolation and lies. Meanwhile his rival's story is told in a series of flashbacks and culminates in a meeting of the two families. A clever and well constructed story.

[Juliet Bookliterati · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mannequin Makers is a wonderfully original read with a touch of the gothic. Set in New Zealand and Scotland this book covers a the late nineteenth to late twentieth century. Two mannequin makers, one known only as The Carpenter and the other Colton Kemp go head to head with their displays in the towns two department stores. One night in 1902 Carlton Kemp’s life changes forever and puts a devious plan into place that will thwart his rival. Sixteen years later, on New Year’s Eve, Carlton Kemp unveils his latest mannequins, so life like and perfect that all who see marvel at them, especially The Carpenter but none knows the real dark truth. This book is part historical fiction, part gothic and completely original

The Mannequin Makers is a difficult book to review as I don’t want to give anything away and it is unlike any book I have read before. I picked up this book expecting one thing but getting something very different, in a good way. What I can say is that I absolutely loved this book. There is the historical part but it also has touches of mystery, thriller, and gothic tale that reminds me in part of a Grimm Fairytale at times. Craig Cliff has a beautiful writing style that seamlessly blends all these ingredients together to make such a wonderful and enjoyable book to read.

This book is full of colourful, quirky and memorable characters. The main narrators are The Carpenter, whose story we follow from being a maker of figure heads for ships in Scotland, to travelling half way around the world and finding himself in Marumaru, and his rival Colton Kemp suffers the tragic loss of his wife in childbirth and from that moment becomes obsessed with the perfect mannequin. I did have a degree of sympathy for his character but his selfish and shocking behaviour soon changed my mind; he became like a mannequin in his heartlessness and coldness. There are plenty of fantastic characters that brighten this book up, in personality and dress.

The Mannequin Makers a fabulous read that will hook you and take you wonderful and exciting adventure that you won’t forget in a hurry. Craig Cliff’s innovate plot line, eccentric characters and vivid detail come together perfectly in this tale of obsession, beauty and seeking perfection at any cost. There are twists and turns a plenty and a dark side to this rich and detailed book that compels you to read on. An unusual, unforgettable and utterly brilliant read.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so disappointed! I initially thought this novel was a fabulous historical fiction set in the Antipodes, à la Oscar and Lucinda or The Luminaries . But then the story began to lose momentum two-thirds of the way through before falling apart completely in the final act.

Ooh, but the beginning is so, so good! It is New Year’s Eve, 1902, in the quiet town of Marumaru, New Zealand. Colton Kemp designs window displays for one of the two department stores in town. Although he dedicates himself to work on his mannequins, he is not very good at woodcarving and the results never match his imagination. His rival, a silent man known simply as The Carpenter, is, of course, more talented and works for the other, more successful store. To compound Kemp’s bad luck, his beloved wife suddenly collapses and dies after giving birth to twins.

Strangely, Kemp doesn’t alert anyone to the death of his wife or the birth of his children. Perhaps to distract himself, he wanders alone into town, where everyone is aflutter at the impending visit of the famous strongman Eugen Sandow. The next night, Kemp manages to catch Sandow’s performance – essentially a sales pitch for a workout system – and is struck with an idea that will finally see him triumph over the Carpenter. Let me just say that there are several references to Pygmalion and The Winter’s Tale.

I was really enjoying this book until Craig Cliff decided to delve into the Carpenter’s backstory. And I’m sorry, but I didn’t find the Carpenter very interesting! Other characters that seemed like they would be important – a young Maori man, Kemp’s best friend, a neighbor’s daughter – are just left fallen by the wayside. So my interest began to wane at this point. And then a trope I can’t stand cropped up in the last part and I was just done. It was twincest. I find incest squicky at the best of times, but I am especially tired of that particular variety.

I am actually kind of sad. I thought I would love this! I was loving this! Maybe I’ll pretend I only read the first third and conveniently forget the rest.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feats of extreme physical strengths and durability wends itself through all the narrative roads, and there are many roads, in Craig Cliff's The Mannequin Makers. Split up into four distinct sections, told in four distinct voices, and happening in four distinct times, Cliff keeps it clean, letting you know who you're with, when, and why, only disorienting the reader at the start of each section as you play catch up. It opens on New Year's Eve 1902 in the small New Zealand coastal town of Marumaru. Colton Kemp is one of two mannequin makers in this town of two competing department stores. While Kemp is the superior in his mise-en-scène, his rival, simply known as the Carpenter, is adept at making life-like figures from wood. In the first scene, Kemp's wife dies giving childbirth to twins, sending a grief-stricken Kemp into the New Year revelry, culminating in a show with living-mannequins and the strongman Eugen Sandow, providing Kemp with the germ of a terrible idea, that once revealed in the following section, is devastating in its totality. But to tell more, would rid the book of its dark underbelly. Cliff provides a strong sense of place and time, which involves more than New Zealand, but by dividing the narrative up, even with its well-told third section that fills in gaps you didn't know needed that much filling in, changes the story that is being told, before returning to it. And it's the longest, leaving the main story feeling that it has only been told in miniature. Or that there are two books in this one. Still, it's the ties that bind, which is applicable to the structure and to the characters, making it almost physical to disentangle from it.

[travelsalongmybookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mannequin Makers - Craig Cliff

I was sent this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations for Melville House Publishers. This was first published by MH in 2019

This is a tale in the true sense of the word taking us across the world from a small town in New Zealand to the River Clyde in Scotland. It is a piece of vivid, gothic storytelling. It is very original, gripping and compelling.

Colton Kemp is a mannequin maker, rocked by the sudden death of his wife in childbirth, he is driven by his new and silent rival, The Carpenter, to a selfishly dark plan to change his future and that of the twins his wife left him.
What follows is a darkly gothic tale told through the eyes of different characters, their lives and stories twisting together.

This felt different to many other books I have read, each part of the book felt self contained and I almost wanted each one to continue on longer at the end but the stories are so well intertwined that I then felt immediately drawn into the next.

I felt like I was looking through a window, watching these peoples lives. I was especially drawn to The Carpenter and his story, this was my favourite part of the book he was a kind and misunderstood man and his epic journey really held my interest. The castaway part of his life had me utterly gripped and I couldn’t put this down. There is sadness, cruelty, adventure and hope in a well woven tale.

Different, thought provoking, with adventure, murder and even penguins - read it to find out why!

✩✩✩✩

Thanks to Melville House for my copy of this book and a very Happy Anniversary to you!

[Ghilimei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Înțeleg foarte bine de ce unii cititori i-au dat 5 stele și alții abia dacă i-au dat 2. Unul dintre acești cititori spune în review "My main problem with the plot is that the book feels like two novels joined at the hip". Sunt complet de acord. În plus, unul dintre aceste două romane joined at the hip este scris cu mare atenție la detalii și e foarte bine documentat, iar celălalt omite exact tușele psihologice și aprofundarea personajelor care ar putea da senzația că povestea e rotundă și completă. Știu că e ușor să critici și mă simt vinovată când o fac, dar mă simt și trasă pe sfoară când prezentarea cărții îmi promite ceva și mi se livrează altceva. În plus, finalul mi se pare artificial și forțat, posibil din cauză că lipsește profunzimea personajelor. Petrecem foarte mult timp înțelegând ce simte și cum gândește Tâmplarul, care până la urmă este un personaj secundar, dar extrem de puțin timp cu Avis și Eugen, astfel că mie una mi-e greu să înțeleg ce le motivează acțiunile pe final. Rezultatul este un final care mie îmi pare de un dramatism artificial, mult prea evident motivat extern (de cheful scriitorului) și care nu are neapărat o logică narativă. Nu vreau să mi se bage pe gât un final, vreau să înțeleg de ce s-a ajuns acolo, vreau să curgă natural sau dacă e cu twist, să fie unul lucrat frumos și inteligent.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mannequin Makers is a story set in a bygone time, when family and survival were at the heart of everything. It's a narrative that spans generations, and countries. It's a haunting tale of love and power and the ties that bind. It's a story that you simply cannot put down, no matter how dark and unsettling it can be.

This is a highly creative book, as it blends genres to form a richly gothic, magical and other worldly book that simply hooks you in from the very dark beginning. Having said that, the characters and their actions are utterly believable. What's so clever about this book is that you can never be sure if you are reading reality or what the author wants you to believe is true, and you are left guessing until the end. 

The book revolves around Colton Kemp, the mannequin maker. His story is complex and we follow his journey , both past and present, in New Zealand and Scotland. A chunk of the book is dedicated to his past and this answers many questions that are formed in the earlier part of the book. 

I can't go into plot without giving anything away, as that would be a real shame. But, it is enough to say that Colton Kemp is an obsessive, and that he will go to any lengths to be the best and to survive. He is such an intriguing character, who I feel will stay with me for a very long time, as will this unique and quirky book. 

With thanks to Melville House for the paperback copy for review purposes. 

[Tracy Shephard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in four parts this is a dark and disturbing tale. 

Colton kemp  works in a department store, making the window displays the best on the street. That is until he spots the mannequins of a rival store!!  This sets him on an obsessive and strange journey in which he enlists his own children into becoming mannequins for his displays. 

Colton's wife dies in childbirth, and oddly he decides to tell no one of this tragic occurrence. Worried about how he will care for the children she has borne, he somehow comes up with an idea that will isolate the children and intrigue his rival, The Carpenter.

This is one clever tale, and did not end how I expected it to. In fact, from the beginning I was playing a guessing game and I was wrong at every turn.

A clever and absorbing read, I loved how the author made me thing and feel something different at every change in the plot. It is deliciously weird and brilliantly told. 

I am anxiously waiting for the follow up. 

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gloomy little book. Beautiful prose, but many of the characters' attitudes and the environments they found themselves in were a bit too "triumph of the will" for my taste. While I suspect this was an intentional choice, about halfway through the novel it turned a charming little story into something that left me feeling sick after each reading session. The novel is also extremely unbalanced, with about two thirds of it dedicated to a character with very little influence on the plot at all. I enjoyed his section most of all, however, as he was the only character who didn't give me those weird Aryan vibes, so the story remains a three star. Likeable, but not necessarily something I will keep on my shelves forever. Might be a rewarding second read, if you like that sick feeling. A lot of detail went into crafting this. Thanks Lukas, for the gift, and I'm sorry it took so long for me to read it.

[Hyperliteratura · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Creatorii de manechine" alcătuiesc o poveste gotică înălțată însă pe două plăci tectonice care fireşte că se vor ciocni la un moment dat: prima, cea a cioplitorului în lemn din Marumaru şi a naufragiului său interior, cealaltă, a Tâmplarului din aceeaşi micuță aşezare, mai exact teribila aventură a vieții lui Gabriel Doig, un biet cioplitor şi el, dar unul de galioane, plecat din tărâmurile Scoției pe unul dintre ultimele vase cu pânze ale istoriei şi pierdut în insulele Pacificului.

O experiență meta-robinsoniană ascunde această carte, o poveste de-a lungul căreia omul pătrunde cu adevărat taina singurătății şi a dialogului, a sacrificiului şi a sacrificării, dar mai ales pe cea a apropierii de celălalt.

Citește continuarea aici https://hyperliteratura.ro/creatorii-...

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kemp's shaky hands and rough temperament were ill suited to life as a carver, but it is curious the paths a life can take, the dead ends to which ambition and rivalry can lead a man.

A turn-of-the-century story about department stores and sailing set in New Zealand? Yes please. Cliff's debut novel is about strength and survival, performance and isolation, and art and creation.
His writing is absolutely beautiful, and I was transported in a way that I haven't been in a long time, forgetting about my chair, my house, and the 21st century. The tone is atmospheric and dark, and the slightly-fractured timeline in the third section was absolutely perfect for me. I highly recommend this for fans of Cloud Atlas, which it reminded me of a little--it combines very different stories and interweaves them beautifully. One of my new all-time favorites.

[Donia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Mannequin Makers is usually the type of read I enjoy. The setting is historic and filled with potential but midway through the story fell apart because of the insertion of unrelated (to me) side stories that detracted from the flow. As others have mentioned, I can do without the currently popular insertion of brutality and incest episodes that don't need to be part of the story but seem contrived and added simply to attract more readership. Do Grimms Fairy tales seem to influence current literature?

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this messed up, warped story of feuds and obsessions turned dark and cult-like. This book takes place around the turn of the 18-19c and through the early/mid 1900s in Marumaru, NZ. A silent challenge in artistic talent between two local residents turns dark and disturbing, but so fun to read! Maybe I will sound as messed up as this book for the fun i had reading it. The story did jump around a bit, but it was not hard to follow. I wonder what on earth is in the mind of a writer who thinks of things like this? Very creative and disturbingly enjoyable.

[grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that this book could have done so much more because the premise is so good and i would've loved to have read a psychological horror about two twins being told they were mannequins as a result of their fathers rivalry with another carpenter and him not being over his wife's death / piranesi-like instead of a long book without direction and gratuitous sibling incest

[Tim Mathis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both really good and super weird, which seems to be the consensus. It was odd enough that I was wondering if there was some kind of magical realism thing happening at times, but in the end, no I don't think so. Super dark, bizarre, haunting, and constantly has you thinking about what it all means. Like an episode of "Black Mirror" set in early 1900s New Zealand. It really feels like there is a great movie in here.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky take on the historical novel with some postmodern touches from a fellow Palmerston Northian. It strains credulity, but that's fine. The different narrative voices intersect well and the structure is clever. This is the second work I've read by Cliff, after his Commonwealth Prize-winning collection of short stories, A Man Melting, and I look forward to reading his next work as well.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in early 20th century New Zealand this is a story of a rivalry between 2 men who carve mannequins for local department stores. One raises two children to be human mannequins with terrible results. The beginning of the book makes no sense to a modern reader but if you stick with it the story and characters and settings are so unusual it becomes a can't put down read.

[Susan Wilson]

I didn’t finish because it needed to go back to the library and I just kept not being able to pick it up. The style is of it’s time, if jarring at times, and then drops us 18 years later and it got weird(er). I didn’t mind reading once I had it open but I had a sense the weirdness was just gonna get weirder.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting concept however the actual story was quite different to what I expected. I thought I was going to get a gothic style thriller about two warring mannequin makers, what I got was a “Robinson Crusoe”-style story of one man’s journey/shipwreck/survival, bookended by a tale about a shop window dresser and a carpenter with some odd children thrown in. The descriptive writing was evocative although not to my taste.