The Little Town of Marrowville

by John Robertson, Louis Ghibault (Illustrations)

In a town surrounded by deadly mist, and filled with oddities, two young siblings become orphans.

And that's the best thing that's happened to them all day.

Howard Howard was a Wrecker (a brute and bully by profession) who was brutal and bullish to his children - Aubrey and Aubrey's Sister. Howard Howard deserved to be turned into mince, and thanks to a mysterious duo called The Grinders, that's exactly what happened to Howard Howard.

Hunted by the police and their father's gang of Wreckers, the siblings find some new friends to help keep them safe: a talented burglar named Charlie (who has no bones, but a great moustache) and a sword-wielding assassin named Calo (who has a sword, duh.)

In a town already revelling in its own chaos and with new dangers around every corner, Aubrey's Sister and Aubrey stumble into a world of secrets, myths and monsters.

Genres: Middle Grade, Horror

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2019

About the author

There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads

See also:
John Robertson*, football
John Robertson, indie games
John Robertson*, business, investing
John Robertson*, author "the Wanderer Rises"
John Robertson, politician, 1787-1873
John Robertson, philosophy
John Robertson, music biographies
John Robertson, history

An asterisk (*) indicates that this is a Goodreads author

Reviews

[NotMrRobertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people will think I'm biased because I wrote it, but these people are fools! Fools, I say! Just because I typed it all out, why, that doesn't mean I ever read it! I opened it up after it had been published and was utterly astonished! What bizarre flight of feverish imagination is this? Who are all these characters? How many of my friends and family members did I sneak into this?

More to the point, here's a book for your whole family. There's scary bits, and funny bits, and bits falling off people, and a hero without a name, and another hero with a silly one.

I hope you like it.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Little Town of Marrowville is a dark quirky fantastical horror story which will appeal to readers of Roald Dahl. The first novel from John Robertson an award-winning stand-up comedian it is funny and shocking. It is the story of protagonists ten-year-old boy Aubrey, and his fourteen-year-old sister who doesn’t have a name as their dreadful father Howard Howard, a man with six fingers on each hand, refused to name her. The sentences are short and snappy but evocative and hilarious. Howard Howard meets his demise early on in the story thanks to the efforts of our protagonists and some equally shady local inhabitants. This is one strange town and its inhabitants are frightening and insane. Artwork from Louis Ghibault adds to the quirkiness of this story. It’s an excellent introduction to black Gothic humour for children. We are looking forward to reading the sequel.

Suitable for 10+ murder, mayhem, bodily functions, orphans, cruel parents, evil

[David Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Robertson is an odd duck.

I happen to like odd ducks.

I find myself here because I'm a fan of Robertson's stand up. I have no particular reason to buy a kid's book under normal circumstances - and I wasn't sure what to expect here - but I trusted that the storytelling, surrealism and imagination that makes one of his stand up or Dark Room performances so enjoyable would translate well. I think that generally my trust was rewarded.

This is a dark and twisted horror-adjacent story predominantly aimed at kids. It is often surreal, frequently funny, and occasionally pretty disgusting. Throughout it flows well and makes sense - there are a couple of places where the narrative seems to jump ahead a little too quickly, but it's well written, building an interesting world and delivering a coherent plot. The illustrations are a fun touch, and I'm pretty sure there's an intentional nod to The Nightmare Before Christmas with the One-Tree hill.

I am far too removed from any children (or indeed my own childhood) to get my head around how this would go down as a kid's book. There were times I imagined reading this to a hypothetical child as a bed time story and I flip-flopped between thinking it's too adult, too gross, or that it would be a fantastic discovery. I'm possibly just not giving kids enough credit and not only would they follow along fine and enjoy, but they'd revel in the gross/scary bits - I do think some of the jokes are just in there "for the da's" though.

Enjoyable overall, even as an adult. Robertson's flavour does come through so any fans of his comedy should find something to like here. Ultimately it IS a fairly short kids book and I'd hesitate to recommend it as essential reading to the average punter, but I did enjoy my time in Marrowville.

[Zach Vaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very silly book but dark and whimsical and childish, I didn’t really know what was going on but it did make me chuckle at points because of how stupid it was. Lots of fun and I would like to know what happens next

[Elif · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5//5

[wampor · Rating 4 out of 5]

kocham tych swirow wszystkich bawilam sie swietnie

[Poppamunz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely amazing book, full of humor and story and wonder. The book was written with children in mind, but I think it's great for all ages. I enjoyed it the whole way through, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a dose of grim, nonsensical humor.

[Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been going to John's stage shows for a few years now. He's a comedian who created this sort of text adventure stage show game filled with intense audience participation, adult/dark comedy (which is very much reflected in the book, but in a clever, subtle way) and just good fun. As soon as this book got announced, after hearing all his very adult comedy and style, I didn't believe this was a true children's book. And in a way, I was right.

This is written so well that it works perfectly for an innocent mind, but for an adult, the book takes on this whole different face. Character arcs are meaningful and great, the story is very well-paced, the language used is surprisingly complex as well.

The illustrations as well are beautiful and detailed. The twisting style fits with the twisted style of the writing. The time gone into working the ideas from the writing into visuals is clear, they are just great to look back over.

This is probably the best children's book I've read so far, and one of my most favourite books overall. Gave me many, MANY laughs and kept me hooked all the way through til the very end. I cannot wait for a sequel or for more books from John.

[MattBarnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an insane book. A David Wong crossed with Roald Dahl and Neil Gaimon, with a hint of Kafka sprinkled on top, served with a healthy dollop of John Robertson ladled on top. The story is of a couple of siblings who are thrown into a mad town they have never really seen due to their horrible father not letting them. I don't want to tell you anything more plotwise, the level of detail that has been thought out in this mad capped adventure even has me avoiding telling you the characters names.

My one complaint about this book (Though I should point out, this book wasn't necessarily written for 29 year old males stuck in lockdown, so my complaint is more a warning to people my age or older) is that the first four chapters are a bit TOO insane and fast paced. It has such an ubsurd beginning it gets right in your face, but at the same time you are trying to understand this whole world and get used to it all. Its suprisingly overwhelming. This is one of those complaints where I don't really have an alternative without adding more chapters or story. So I just think you have to get through it.
All in all I this is such an amazing book for kids, for every Dahl like horrible moment, the underlining ideas all come from a good heart and spread the correct messages.

My favourite bit is when a character beautifully says 'Oh I don't own her, we are just married' what a beautiful thing to explain to young children. More of this in childrens books please.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

this story is monstrous, in the best possible way. It's Dahl and Lovecraft and Snicket and Mieville and it's kinda dizzying. It's violent and gross, in the way of classic upper-primary books and there is a very specific type of child that will be thrilled by it. I hope a sequel comes around, because this is a rarity of type in this age bracket.

[Merle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is every bit as weird and chaotic as John Robertson is himself, and it's absolutely delightful!

I enjoyed the 4th wall breaks to explain his ridiculous concepts and difficult words in the footnotes. It felt like I was listening to his comedy show all over again. His voice and manner of speaking really comes back in this book.

I loved it

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A weirdly funny & horrifying story that's for kids?! Yes please!

Such a funny book, made so much more funnier after seeing the author at a festival where he read the first 2 chapters (so I have now read the book in his enthusiastic voice!)

[Elvira Montulet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 * Sometimes I had noooo friggin clue what was going on, but other times I laughed out loud and felt soooo curious and excited about the story!

[Oscar Silverstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books i have ever read, happy to have been stripy Darren

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightfully creepy, weird, violent, funny book!!

[Tiff Franks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved every single word of this book. It was a complete joy to read. 50 year old me loved it as much as 12 year old me would have. There really needs to be a second book though. I hope that happens soon!

[Gas_cowgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book aloud to our son over the past months. It is a brilliant mix of Gaiman, Dahl and just plain genius from John Robertson himself. Go read this and tell all slightly sinister kids they should too…