The Woman, the Mink, the Cod and the Donkey

by Margerie Swash, Emmanuel Santos (Illustrator)

Come, dearest reader, and dive into this book. It's warm and safe in here, which you will have guessed already because it's about a human and three animals.

You might not be able to remember the animals or the order they fall within the title, but that doesn't matter. The pictures will remind you that the story is about a woman, a mink, a salmon and a donkey. COD, not salmon, sorry - it's a cod.

The woman is embarking on an important journey. She does not know her destination, but she knows what she'll find when she gets there: an open pub. It has been a long time since she has been in one due to a strange, sad region of yester-year called 'Lockdown'. On her travels she bumps into the mink, the cod and a donkey who inexplicably resembles Donald Trump, and together they discuss their most valued life lessons, such as the value of travel insurance, and why it's always important to wear breathable pants.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fiction, Poetry

96 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this!!! 🤣❤️ You really should read The boy the mole the fox and the horse first, as this is a parody of that, with more adult, realistic humor, with a woman who loves wine and is in search of an open pub after a lockdown 😂❤️🍷

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The black and white drawings depict a woman, who after lockdown, ventures out seeking an open pub. The woman, who provides love, is in search of wine. She is accompanied by a wise but maligned mink, a scared cod, and a noisy, foolish, and boring donkey. Unfortunately, this parody of “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse” is silly, abrupt, and annoying. However, I am in the minority.

[Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This parody had me howling! It captures pandemic lockdowns perfectly while adding some whimsy. I’m sure I’ll read it many times in coming years and think back on this strange time in our lives.

This unbiased review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

[Julie Lapp (bogfeber) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Købte den, læste den, elskede den. Det er helt samme stil som ‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’, som jeg virkelig, virkelig elskede. Den her er lidt mere ironisk, men stadig med fine streger og en morale. Jeg bliver bare glad af den slags bøger.

[Clayre Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what it says on the cover, "an affectionate parody". Another light-hearted, short and sweet book, with some amusing and cute sketches. It was written at, and for, a time of confusion and uncertainty.

[Cw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lived it. Again a nice sweet read . W a bit of humor and cute illustrations. Geniunely loved it!

[Jiska · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. I loved the cover and the premise and I adore The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, but beside the illustration style this book does not compare at all. Yes it is ment to be a parody, but I was hoping for a bit more humor. Instead it is abrupt, random and I had difficulties with reading because of the handwriting.

[Aline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of funny? It’s about lockdown, so I suppose I would have related more had I read it then.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I enjoyed this (and the source material) I was rather annoyed at the font. I wanted to yell "pick up your pen, or if you're not write bigger".
Other than that it made me laugh

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It really is a heartwarming, humorous little book.
Not the depth of other well know books in this style but it doesn't claim to be.
It is a perfect read for right now.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

[Graham Sillars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a clever and hilarious take on the Charlie Makesy book. Well worth a read and highly recommended by me!

[Julie Barham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is subtitled “An Affectionate Parody”, and it would be difficult to deny that it does take its inspiration from a certain bestseller which is generally labeled as a “book of hope”. There is hope, searching and more in this one, but it is also a bit more realistic as Emanuel Santos has captured the essence of the drawings from the original, and added a few spots of ink and wine glass stains for good measure. This book is about a woman who is in search of an open pub in a time of lockdown. It is funny in its own right, which I can definitely assert not having read the original, and I think has its own charm and points to make. Another comment is that “She was looking for wine. Instead she found friendship”, which I think is not a bad maxim for anytime, let alone the interesting times in which we live. I was pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this charming and somehow insightful book.

Set in the “strange, sad region of yesteryear called ‘lockdown”, the author hopes that it will “make you smile” whenever you read it, because it involves wine, and a certain amount of love. The humour is gentle - never criticising or poking fun at the original, but posing a parallel situation or two. The woman is after wine, but that is not her only quest - she welcomes the odd group of companions so much that even when she does get wine, courtesy of a talkative and otherwise rejected mink, she says “there is something missing”. The odd assortment of travellers include a donkey, who is the noisiest of creatures with his constant “he haws”, but who never actually says anything interesting or remotely useful: “The irony. We all know a donkey”. The party travels far, with many questions ranging from “would you rather be famous or rich?” to “Are we there yet?”. Unusual travelling requirements are met, and yet the search goes on.

This is undoubtedly a charming little book which gently suggests an alternative set of images in a now familiar style. I enjoyed its humour, and it certainly made me smile on a tricky day. I enjoyed its clever and knowing style, and the illustrations are gently funny (such as when three of them are pointing the way in unison). Yes, it is a parody, but it has much more going for it as a cheeky book in its own right. I recommend it as a cheerful book for tricky, and not so tricky, times.

[Bart Verdeyen (cafeaulivre on Youtube) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a sequel to the well-known and genius graphic novel The Boy, The Mole, The Fox & The Horse, but, as the artists put it themselves 'a loving parody'.

This graphic novel takes everything you loved about the original and applies it to the everyday hopes, fears, annoyances and elements of all of our lives. From that feeling of wanting to go the the pub in the middle of a lockdown, to the loud-mouthed idiocy of politicians on our screens, this clever parody is not about the larger questions of life, but simply needing a pint to cope with everyday life.

And it does that ever so well...

A huge fan of the original, I was charmed by this parody as it indeed shows the love it has for the original graphic novel. It is all that you know and love, just that little less important.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a lovely book to read. It’s a parody of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. I’m a big fan of Mackesy’s book so I was excited to read this one.

It was a quick read and although it wasn’t the funniest book I’ve ever read, it did put a smile on my face. The story is set during lockdown and obviously makes a few references to Covid so it was definitely relatable. There were a few hard to read words, but it wasn’t too distracting. The illustrations were really good.

Overall, it was a great book to read.


*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨ "Isn't it funny that sometimes we think we're running away from something — but in the end, we're always running towards something."

A funny and delightful take on The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. It's not as heartwarming as the original but I adored it still. This parody also talks about the Covid-19 lockdown, making it that much more bittersweet and relatable.

[Kelly Paradis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse which is the book that this one is parodying. Unfortunately the book just didn't land for me, maybe because I'm already so invested in the other one and expected something different. The pictures are cute and parts of the story are funny, but I think the women loving wine trope is a little bit overdone, and some of the text is hard to read.

[Zakri · Rating 2 out of 5]

NetGalley ARC Review:

"The Woman, the Mink, the Cod, and the Donkey" by Margerie Swash is a parody that will not stand the test of time. Since it was written during COVID lockdowns, it carries the weight of the times, and will be forgotten long before it is ever read by a wider audience. The art was great, the story was easy to follow, and there were moments where its humor shined through, but all in all, its pub-crawl fell flat even before the wine was found.

[Brenten Gilbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING 2.675 STARS

I read this prior to reading the inspiration, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. Thus, I didn't quite understand the stylistic nods or what not.

It's a fine simplistic way to describe how life was disrupted by the lockdowns during the pandemic response across the globe.

Didn't do much for me though and I'm pretty sure there were cheap political barbs throughout. Whatever.

[Ashiish V Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A parody in the tone of Chicken Poop for the Soul of the much loved, possibly overrated original The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse although it had great visual as did Apple's animation.

This one pulls a couple of sweet zingers,
"Isn't it funny that sometimes we think we're running away from something but in the end, we're always running towards something."

It's a silly, harmless, easy read.

[Morten Holst · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5 (day 3928 of asking Goodreads for half stars!)
Sure, this isn’t a masterpiece. But it’s a fun parody regarding the 2020 lockdown (🚬🚬🚬 i still remember back then…) Also let’s be real, give some extra points for the Danish Mink, I mean come ONNN!!! DENMARK MENTIONED IN THE MEDIA 🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰

Either way, it’s a fun, unserious book I’ll probably reread a few times because it’s short and it makes me laugh, period! 🥰

[Plainqoma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this affectionate parody of “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse”. It was funny, sarcastic with a hint of reality.

As a memento to a “lockdown” while we are dealing and still is with coronavirus this one just hit home. On their quest, they discussed random life lessons and random importances that we might miss out in life.

[Reagan Ruisseau · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t not enjoy this but there are a few parodies of the original and this one isn’t the best - the others are simply just better - my biggest pet peeve though, is the writing is biro - it makes some of the pages basically illegible and although it’s done on purpose for comedic affect, it made this a more difficult and less smooth read for me personally

[Leah Unger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life is not always about one's self. We all have destinations in life and times have been difficult. But with the help of others we survive...and learn from each other. Then, in the end, what we originally set out to do is not not necessarily where we end up. It is clear that we are right where we need to be...with friends and family.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

#TheWomanTheMinkTheCodandTheDonkey #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher of this novel for the E-Arc copy. I am rating this book based on my own personal opinion and was not given anything in return. I am not leaving a entire review because I read so many at a time that I physically cannot right now.

[Denise Forrest · Rating 2 out of 5]

A parody of The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse, but nowhere near as good. The “wisdom” in this book is somewhat tongue in cheek which makes it neither funny nor particularly inspiring. I was tempted not to finish reading but as it only took about 10 mins from beginning to end, that’s saying something!

[Servane · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not the destination that counts, it is the journey ... Well Swash and Santos offer an interesting variation on this.
Some of us who coach people will be familiar with the core of this, the topic you are coming up with is not necessarily the true goal... And it takes listening, partnering, discovering, accepting, to get to this point. 🤗

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a feel good , funny / parodic book. Gave a couple of chuckles . When I see other reviews on good reads. I see a mention of a Charles M book . Will look for it .

The book is perfect for the read in a single sitting

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Swash’s parody is faithful to the original, both in art style, emotion-provoking dialogue and a wacky arsenal of characters. Through a topical and jovial lens, effects of a life in lockdown are depicted for readers to remember, reflect and ponder upon.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

Let's do The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, but we're going to be snarky about it. Let's ask the same philosophical questions and then answer them crudely. To me, this is the kind of humour that works over a beer, spontaneously. In a book, it's not half as funny.