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The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian
When fourth fiddler Sebastian loses his place in the Baron's orchestra, he has to leave the only home he knows--which turns out to be the least of his troubles. He rescues a stray cat from a group of tormentors, who then smash his precious violin; and the troubled young boy he tries to help turns out to be the Crown Princess, on the run from an arranged marriage. Sebastian, Princess Isabel, and Presto the cat soon find themselves fleeing stuffy officials, hired assassins, furious guardsmen and sentries--and, in their journey, find out what is truly important in life. The action and humor never stop in Lloyd Alexander's classic novel, written on the heels of his famed Prydain Chronicles.
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
3 people are currently reading
546 people want to read
About the author
Lloyd Alexander
134 books2,109 followersLloyd Chudley Alexander was an influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books. His most famous contribution to the field of children's literature is the fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. The concluding book of the series,
The High King
, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1969. Alexander's other books have also won the National Book Award and the American Book Award. He was also one of the creators of Cricket Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
February 25, 2021
A young boy gets suddenly exiled from his trade and kicked onto the streets, meets a princess in disguise and a scoundrel of an ally or two, fights an evil greedy usurper... there's a lot of the same story beats here as in Westmark, but it's only one book and somewhat more rushed for that end. But there's enough different here too for me to enjoy it just the same.
May 16, 2018
The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian was a fun and ridiculous story to read. Lloyd Alexander's detailed descriptions of each character brings them comically to life, whether they're the enormously fat, Purse, or the flashy ringleader of the Gallimaufry-Theatricus, Quicksilver. Mr. Alexander in the most entertaining way tells a story of how music is both a delight and a curse, one which requires the musician to give of himself to produce the best music, even at the risk of his own well-being. The music Sebastian is able to produce from the accursed fiddle of Lelio makes princesses laugh, whole royal courts and servants dance until they collapse in exhaustion, and change the fate of a kingdom. In his beautiful fashion, Lloyd Alexander also makes it a condition that such powerful magic can only be used by those who truly search inside themselves for the skill and gifts that lie dormant inside even the most insignificant of people, even a Fourth Fiddle in Baron Purn-Hessel's orchestra.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian follows Baron Purn-Hessel's Fourth Fiddle, Sebastian, after he is unexpectedly dismissed for making The Purse think he ripped his pants from bending too low through a well-timed shriek from his fiddle. During his "misadventures", Sebastian finds that many people use names that are quite deceiving, such as the Merry Host, the Royal Road, the Captain, and even a cat that is called a witch. Along his travels, the goal of which are mostly to find something to eat, Sebastian finds himself teamed up with an innocent faced man named Nicholas with many trades, and a Princess who speaks in the third person, on a mission to stop the greedy and loveless Regent Grinssorg. With his faithful cat Presto, Sebastian finds himself falling into one misadventure after the other, including, but not limited to, the circus, prison, the Regent's court, and in love.
Although not one of the best Lloyd Alexander stories I've read, The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian was a fun adventure to take part in. The plot was straight-forward, the characters lovable. I constantly admire how Lloyd Alexander bleeds beautiful morals and thought-provoking commentaries on virtue, politics, man and boyhood, art and music, into every children's story he writes. Even this, which was an underwhelming story, was better than many other children's books released these days, and I think completely capable of entertaining a child just as well. 4/5 stars.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian follows Baron Purn-Hessel's Fourth Fiddle, Sebastian, after he is unexpectedly dismissed for making The Purse think he ripped his pants from bending too low through a well-timed shriek from his fiddle. During his "misadventures", Sebastian finds that many people use names that are quite deceiving, such as the Merry Host, the Royal Road, the Captain, and even a cat that is called a witch. Along his travels, the goal of which are mostly to find something to eat, Sebastian finds himself teamed up with an innocent faced man named Nicholas with many trades, and a Princess who speaks in the third person, on a mission to stop the greedy and loveless Regent Grinssorg. With his faithful cat Presto, Sebastian finds himself falling into one misadventure after the other, including, but not limited to, the circus, prison, the Regent's court, and in love.
Although not one of the best Lloyd Alexander stories I've read, The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian was a fun adventure to take part in. The plot was straight-forward, the characters lovable. I constantly admire how Lloyd Alexander bleeds beautiful morals and thought-provoking commentaries on virtue, politics, man and boyhood, art and music, into every children's story he writes. Even this, which was an underwhelming story, was better than many other children's books released these days, and I think completely capable of entertaining a child just as well. 4/5 stars.
December 5, 2020
Read as part of my ongoing shelf audit. Verdict: Not an Alexander book I'll be returning to.
This book was fun, of course, but having recently re-read both Westmark and The Arkadians, it just sort of felt like a Lite(tm) version of the two mixed together. The storyline is the same 'scrappy troublesome young lad falls in with colorful characters and also a princess', but I felt that Sebastian lacks some of the unique charm that the other books have. I still have a certain fondness for it as I do many books I read as a child, but I don't see myself rereading it again as an adult.
This book was fun, of course, but having recently re-read both Westmark and The Arkadians, it just sort of felt like a Lite(tm) version of the two mixed together. The storyline is the same 'scrappy troublesome young lad falls in with colorful characters and also a princess', but I felt that Sebastian lacks some of the unique charm that the other books have. I still have a certain fondness for it as I do many books I read as a child, but I don't see myself rereading it again as an adult.
March 21, 2023
Lloyd Alexander is probably my favorite author (it’s so hard to pick one!) so I was legitimately thrilled to find a book by him that I had not read. This read was a lot of fun. It was written in the 1970s before YA existed as an age range of reading, but it’s totally a YA novel in terms of plot and scope. Sebastian’s age is never mentioned but I would guess late teens or early twenties? I also loved that there was an Easter Egg (again, before that was a thing) for The Chronicles of Prydain. The characters were fun and interesting (I particularly loved the bear and the cat) and the story was fast paced and easy to read.
February 1, 2022
Such a charming little book! I first read it over ten years ago, and I have remembered it ever since. It is funny and lighthearted, and touches upon the human condition as well as the things that are worth fighting for. I really enjoyed Lloyd Alexander’s witty writing, especially in our humorous protagonist, Sebastian. I would highly recommend as an acclaimed children’s book!
August 15, 2025
Brings back memories of Joan Aiken. An entertaining adventure
May 17, 2016
***2016 Reading Challenge - A National Book Award winner***
Let's be honest, I had to read some other reviews of this book to understand it's place on the National Book Award winner's list. At the time Alexander's book won the award (pre-1980), candidates were chosen by publishers, and then the winner was picked by a team of five well-regarded authors. In my opinion, that gives this award some gravity. There is definitely a group of people that feel this book was a unique, deep, meaningful, and fun work of children's fiction. I think they understand the book's merit better than I. I agree that it was a fun tale, but I didn't read as much meaning in it as is usually attributed. My conclusion, however, is not that it doesn't have meaning, but that maybe my taste in books is a little unrefined. (Eclectic maybe!) So, this was a fun tale, but it didn't really stand out to me, which is my own fault.
Let's be honest, I had to read some other reviews of this book to understand it's place on the National Book Award winner's list. At the time Alexander's book won the award (pre-1980), candidates were chosen by publishers, and then the winner was picked by a team of five well-regarded authors. In my opinion, that gives this award some gravity. There is definitely a group of people that feel this book was a unique, deep, meaningful, and fun work of children's fiction. I think they understand the book's merit better than I. I agree that it was a fun tale, but I didn't read as much meaning in it as is usually attributed. My conclusion, however, is not that it doesn't have meaning, but that maybe my taste in books is a little unrefined. (Eclectic maybe!) So, this was a fun tale, but it didn't really stand out to me, which is my own fault.
April 3, 2014
This book falls under the category of fun romp. It's not profound; it doesn't try to be. It is fun. My two criticisms are that the book keeps up a rather dizzying pace and could benefit from a little breathing room, and perhaps related, there are several large chunks of dialogue without description, which I feel contribute to the sense of blur.
The characters bounce from one mishap to another, and there's not much in the way of plot or planning. But in this case I don't think that necessarily detracts from the story, which is less about the events and more how Sebastian rides them out.
I do continue to wonder why more of Alexander's book aren't films, as they lend themselves rather readily to that medium. Some good actors could add some wonderful subtext to many of the dialogue exchanges.
The characters bounce from one mishap to another, and there's not much in the way of plot or planning. But in this case I don't think that necessarily detracts from the story, which is less about the events and more how Sebastian rides them out.
I do continue to wonder why more of Alexander's book aren't films, as they lend themselves rather readily to that medium. Some good actors could add some wonderful subtext to many of the dialogue exchanges.
July 6, 2010
I found this at a library sell-off when I was a kid, and it was so cheap I had to buy it. Several years later when I got around to reading it, I loved this book! This stylistic, musical adventure set in an 18th century romanticized world follows the ambling adventures of a simple, young fiddler who has lost his place and must face a world he knows nothing about. It presents a light-hearted retelling of several global themes including: coming of age, false appearances, social justice, torment and escapism, and how music can conquer even the strongest evil. It is a brilliant piece of literature which will always hold a treasured place in my personal library.
December 16, 2021
Definitely not one of Alexander's best - it was lackluster and generally fell flat. The characters were heavily under-characterized, for the most part, and the plot wasn't especially invigorating. The first 50 pages left me wishing to drop it for something else, and certain plot points were incredibly predictable. It did improve as it went along, but overall, a bit of a dud, in my opinion.
October 27, 2019
Only in Alexander's world would a violinist be the hero, the heroine use 6 syllable words as freely as salt, and escape-mobile of choice be a balloon...
2nd review-- I don't think I could top the first one.
2nd review-- I don't think I could top the first one.
June 8, 2017
I think I would have enjoyed this more if I'd been reading it to or with someone.
April 1, 2024
The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian is a cute story about the wild adventures of a young fiddler named Sebastian. It's a classic Western fantasy with an evil regent, a noble princess, and a common-born hero in the form of Sebastian himself. Just knowing those elements may be enough to let you guess the general plot of this one because there's nothing in it that I haven't seen before. I could guess most of the twists before they happened, but this isn't trying to be something bold and new. It's just a fun, well-told story that's well formatted for reading to children because the chapters are quite short. Not a one of them was over ten pages.
If you enjoy tales of common-born heroes stumbling their ways into grand adventures, then this book is worth a look. I have no major criticisms of it, but I will note a few minor elements that may turn off readers:
1. This is a book that's more about the journey that Sebastian goes on than it is about setting up a grand finale, so you may find the ending a tad lackluster. I certainly did, but I also wasn't surprised by it given the way the story unfolded.
2. I occasionally found the Princess' dialogue to be distracting. She's written as overly formal with no idea how to talk casually. Most of the time, that's fine, but it can lead to sentences that feel like they belong in a legal document and not a children's story. For example: "Felony unpunished, as our Minister of Justice constantly emphasized to us, results in an inevitable laxity of general behavior, with unfortunate consequences not only for the transgressors but more so for the objects of the malefaction." Great use of vocabulary, but distracting none the less.
3. While Sebastian has a heart of gold, he's not particularly clever or observant. A good number of his misadventures will have you going, "really Sebastian?" But it is a kids book, so I'm trying not to judge this element too harshly as I could easily see a kid feeling clever for noticing things that Sebastian doesn't or even making the same mistakes because they haven't seen these types of plots play out as often as someone a little older.
4. The ending of the story sees
I feel like I should be doing more to praise the story because it is fun, but it's just so generic that discussing it at all feels like giving away the whole plot! If you know a kid who likes crazy adventures in fantasy settings, then give this a look as I do think that they'll have fun with it.
If you enjoy tales of common-born heroes stumbling their ways into grand adventures, then this book is worth a look. I have no major criticisms of it, but I will note a few minor elements that may turn off readers:
1. This is a book that's more about the journey that Sebastian goes on than it is about setting up a grand finale, so you may find the ending a tad lackluster. I certainly did, but I also wasn't surprised by it given the way the story unfolded.
2. I occasionally found the Princess' dialogue to be distracting. She's written as overly formal with no idea how to talk casually. Most of the time, that's fine, but it can lead to sentences that feel like they belong in a legal document and not a children's story. For example: "Felony unpunished, as our Minister of Justice constantly emphasized to us, results in an inevitable laxity of general behavior, with unfortunate consequences not only for the transgressors but more so for the objects of the malefaction." Great use of vocabulary, but distracting none the less.
3. While Sebastian has a heart of gold, he's not particularly clever or observant. A good number of his misadventures will have you going, "really Sebastian?" But it is a kids book, so I'm trying not to judge this element too harshly as I could easily see a kid feeling clever for noticing things that Sebastian doesn't or even making the same mistakes because they haven't seen these types of plots play out as often as someone a little older.
4. The ending of the story sees
I feel like I should be doing more to praise the story because it is fun, but it's just so generic that discussing it at all feels like giving away the whole plot! If you know a kid who likes crazy adventures in fantasy settings, then give this a look as I do think that they'll have fun with it.
November 2, 2020
I feel so mean (not that 3 stars makes it a bad book) because I know I would have given this 4 or 5 stars had I read it as a child shortly after it was written. It's actually quite remarkable: a 1970 book that reads as if it were written yesterday. It's firmly in that breathless fantasy action-adventure vein so thoroughly mined by Rick Riordan and others ... and that's the problem. After years of (I hesitate to call them imitators ... more like other authors who stumbled into the same mode) similar books, it just doesn't seem that special.
But it would have been in 1970. Very much so. But now, reading it, I just think "not nearly so good as the Prydain series," and "the character's aren't all that exciting or fleshed out," and "Presto's certainly no Gurgi," and "oh, it's over."
Reminds me a bit of those TV series where one or two (usually one--but sometimes more) characters wander (usually 'trying to get home') and meet new characters each episode who don't really persist. It's very episodic. So you don't get attached to anyone. Granted, at the end, a few return, but for the most part they don't do much. And it's not especially fantastic (in the not-much-fantasy sense of the word).
Bottom line: if you have it sitting around, by all means read it. It's pleasant and goes quickly. Would I seek it out? No, unfortunately.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
But it would have been in 1970. Very much so. But now, reading it, I just think "not nearly so good as the Prydain series," and "the character's aren't all that exciting or fleshed out," and "Presto's certainly no Gurgi," and "oh, it's over."
Reminds me a bit of those TV series where one or two (usually one--but sometimes more) characters wander (usually 'trying to get home') and meet new characters each episode who don't really persist. It's very episodic. So you don't get attached to anyone. Granted, at the end, a few return, but for the most part they don't do much. And it's not especially fantastic (in the not-much-fantasy sense of the word).
Bottom line: if you have it sitting around, by all means read it. It's pleasant and goes quickly. Would I seek it out? No, unfortunately.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
September 25, 2018
I started reading this when I had sufficient amount of sleep and then took a few days' break and resumed reading it when I was exhausted, so I may not be entirely fair to say there were parts of the story that dragged a bit. Overall, though it was an enjoyable read with humor and adventure. I did not care for the princess, but Sebastian and the other supporting characters were likable. The story involves music, which is always a plus. I think fans of Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain would enjoy this one.
December 7, 2020
I love Lloyd Alexander as a writer. His stories are always so fun and adventurous. Filled with good character development. This was read for my 2020 Reading Challenge at Pioneer Book. It was a fun quick read. It would be a great read aloud. The chapters are short and the adventures keep coming! However, it can never compare to the Prydian Chronicles. But still has the same magic and fun!
November 22, 2017
I have very little memory of this book except that I LOVED it as a child, along with almost everything by Lloyd Alexander. They don't make books like this anymore. Also, the aqua cover is simply best one -- and the hardest to find.
October 14, 2019
Delightful! Why aren't more youth reading great books like this?! May I suggest that we make such good novels much more available to young readers --- even if we need to draw them in to the adventure by reading some/all of it out loud to them?
May 9, 2017
That was cute :)
June 29, 2017
B+. children's fiction, fantasy, adventure, grade4, grade 5, Mom's stash, keep.
February 1, 2021
Excellent romp through adventures with good triumphing over evil. Good for all ages.
May 8, 2023
A fun book that Sebastian and I both read. We discovered it reading other Lloyd Alexander books
November 2, 2018
Having only ever read the author's Prydain Chronicles, I wasn't sure what to expect. Very enjoyable and engaging story.
August 20, 2014
More reviews on www.jirrinereads.wordpress.com
I read this book for a personal challenge: to read all the nominees + winner of the 1971 Mythopoeic Fantasty Awards.
First of all, I don’t really consider this book to be fantasy. The only reason that I read it as such is that is shelved like that on Goodreads and that it has won a fantasy award. There is no fantasy element in this book. Yes, the setting is fictitious but the rest could all have happened in the past. There is not really a genre where to put this in. It therefore does not make a whole lot of sense why it was nominated for a fantasy award.
This book felt very standard. It was just a boy going on a adventure. Not even a particularly exciting adventure because most of the things that could have been exciting where already given away in the blurb. The blurb above is a different blurb that the one on my copy and luckily is much less revealing. Then there were also the chapter title. I could’ve just read those and be done with it.
The third thing thing that did not make sense was the age of the main character Sebastian. I have now clue. He could’ve been 8 or 18, there was just no way of knowing. It doesn’t help that this book is shelved as both young adult and middle grade on Goodreads, so there are others who don’t know. Judging to a lack of depth in the story line and the shortness of the book, just 200 pages, I would say Middle Grade. But still, very weird that the didn’t tell me how old Sebastian was.
The writing is just okay. It is not very simplistic, not very elegant either. Just s0-so. The use of language was something entirely different though. One of the characters was princess and she spoke as if she had shallowed a thesaurus. I do have a good understanding of English, although a native speaker, but that was just weird. I know it was meant to show the difference in social class but Lloyd Alexander went a bit over the top. It wasn’t only the princess though. At times he threw in words like retorted, bashful, hawked, stout. I know that these words are not that difficult, but when this book is in fact meant for Middle Graders, he might have made it a little bit more accessible. Or did Middle Graders have that level of proficiency in the 70s?
Besides all of this it was still enjoyable and I certainly think that young boys, will have fun with Sebastian on his adventures. I certainly want to read more by Lloyd Alexander, because although not really swept away by this one I’ve heard great things about his Prydain Chronicles. Not worth to buy, but if you see it in your library and you want to read something sweet, perhaps give it a whirl. Oh and don’t read the blurb! 3 stars for The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian.
I read this book for a personal challenge: to read all the nominees + winner of the 1971 Mythopoeic Fantasty Awards.
First of all, I don’t really consider this book to be fantasy. The only reason that I read it as such is that is shelved like that on Goodreads and that it has won a fantasy award. There is no fantasy element in this book. Yes, the setting is fictitious but the rest could all have happened in the past. There is not really a genre where to put this in. It therefore does not make a whole lot of sense why it was nominated for a fantasy award.
This book felt very standard. It was just a boy going on a adventure. Not even a particularly exciting adventure because most of the things that could have been exciting where already given away in the blurb. The blurb above is a different blurb that the one on my copy and luckily is much less revealing. Then there were also the chapter title. I could’ve just read those and be done with it.
The third thing thing that did not make sense was the age of the main character Sebastian. I have now clue. He could’ve been 8 or 18, there was just no way of knowing. It doesn’t help that this book is shelved as both young adult and middle grade on Goodreads, so there are others who don’t know. Judging to a lack of depth in the story line and the shortness of the book, just 200 pages, I would say Middle Grade. But still, very weird that the didn’t tell me how old Sebastian was.
The writing is just okay. It is not very simplistic, not very elegant either. Just s0-so. The use of language was something entirely different though. One of the characters was princess and she spoke as if she had shallowed a thesaurus. I do have a good understanding of English, although a native speaker, but that was just weird. I know it was meant to show the difference in social class but Lloyd Alexander went a bit over the top. It wasn’t only the princess though. At times he threw in words like retorted, bashful, hawked, stout. I know that these words are not that difficult, but when this book is in fact meant for Middle Graders, he might have made it a little bit more accessible. Or did Middle Graders have that level of proficiency in the 70s?
Besides all of this it was still enjoyable and I certainly think that young boys, will have fun with Sebastian on his adventures. I certainly want to read more by Lloyd Alexander, because although not really swept away by this one I’ve heard great things about his Prydain Chronicles. Not worth to buy, but if you see it in your library and you want to read something sweet, perhaps give it a whirl. Oh and don’t read the blurb! 3 stars for The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian.
October 10, 2016
Having read Alexander's Prydain Chronicles, I expected something that was going to be an adventure, more than likely based on fantasy, easy to read and well paced. What I found... was something a bit different...
The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian is a slightly chaotic ride. Sebastian is outed from the Kingdom, meets and rescues a princess, runs through a series of odd events, acquires a "cursed" violin, and ends up back where he started, etc.... all the typical action fare of a children's book. Two things separate this book from the typical: 1) The vocabulary of the princess, and 2) The speed at which problems get resolved.
The Princess speaks eloquently. VERY eloquently. Example: "I think we should go over there" becomes "The thoughts and fancies that travel through my current stream of consciousness indicate a supposed predisposition to travelling henceforth in a direction eastward, ceasing movement once we arrive at our destination." Even at some point in the story, Sebastian has to remind her to "speak more plainly". As an adult, this threw me off a little, but I can't imagine being a child reading this.
The problems get resolved way too quickly. This can be quite an issue with a lot of children's literature, but (probably) as an adult, I miss the build up and prolonged resolution.
I read this book as part of a 2016 Reading Challenge fulfillment: "Read a National Book Award Winner". Do I recommend it? Maybe.... but definitely with reservation.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian is a slightly chaotic ride. Sebastian is outed from the Kingdom, meets and rescues a princess, runs through a series of odd events, acquires a "cursed" violin, and ends up back where he started, etc.... all the typical action fare of a children's book. Two things separate this book from the typical: 1) The vocabulary of the princess, and 2) The speed at which problems get resolved.
The Princess speaks eloquently. VERY eloquently. Example: "I think we should go over there" becomes "The thoughts and fancies that travel through my current stream of consciousness indicate a supposed predisposition to travelling henceforth in a direction eastward, ceasing movement once we arrive at our destination." Even at some point in the story, Sebastian has to remind her to "speak more plainly". As an adult, this threw me off a little, but I can't imagine being a child reading this.
The problems get resolved way too quickly. This can be quite an issue with a lot of children's literature, but (probably) as an adult, I miss the build up and prolonged resolution.
I read this book as part of a 2016 Reading Challenge fulfillment: "Read a National Book Award Winner". Do I recommend it? Maybe.... but definitely with reservation.
July 2, 2013
A fun story, if a bit predictable. I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, to be honest. Once I got a feel for the story I realized it really wasn't what I'd been expecting, closer to The Chronicles of Prydain than The Arkadians. That said, it was a fun, if shallow, book, and I enjoyed Sebastian's adventures with the Princess and Nicholas and Presto.
I think where this book falls short is that it doesn't make as strong a statement about Good vs. Evil as the Prydain stories do, and it doesn't take the time to weave the full scope of the universe for us, like The Arkadians does. It's a very middle-of-the-road book, which is the same problem I have with the Vesper Holly books. (Vesper Holly's adventures also seem to lack any actual adventure, which is sort of a problem, if you ask me.)
Nothing Alexander writes is poorly written, though, so although it was a quick, easy read, it was still quite enjoyable and I thought it would probably make an excellent read-aloud story.
I think where this book falls short is that it doesn't make as strong a statement about Good vs. Evil as the Prydain stories do, and it doesn't take the time to weave the full scope of the universe for us, like The Arkadians does. It's a very middle-of-the-road book, which is the same problem I have with the Vesper Holly books. (Vesper Holly's adventures also seem to lack any actual adventure, which is sort of a problem, if you ask me.)
Nothing Alexander writes is poorly written, though, so although it was a quick, easy read, it was still quite enjoyable and I thought it would probably make an excellent read-aloud story.
December 16, 2018
Even better than I remembered.
It's odd the things that stick with you; I'd forgotten chunks of the plot, but I remembered almost all of the delightfully silly names Sebastian made up for the cat, Presto (His Most Excellent Catliness! The Prince of Meows! His Excellency the Duke of Gauli-Mauli!).
Some children's books you can return to, others you can't, and I'm happy that this one holds up. It's also kind of amazing to realize how early my love of swashbuckling adventure began....
NB: This is the wrong cover. Goodreads has the version I loved as a kid, but they've got that cover listed with the Danish edition! I don't want to suggest I read it in anything other than English, but that's the cover I remember—and which I much prefer.
Also, I'm only listing two reads of this, but I'm sure I re-read it a lot when I was a kid, because I re-read all my favorites so much.
It's odd the things that stick with you; I'd forgotten chunks of the plot, but I remembered almost all of the delightfully silly names Sebastian made up for the cat, Presto (His Most Excellent Catliness! The Prince of Meows! His Excellency the Duke of Gauli-Mauli!).
Some children's books you can return to, others you can't, and I'm happy that this one holds up. It's also kind of amazing to realize how early my love of swashbuckling adventure began....
NB: This is the wrong cover. Goodreads has the version I loved as a kid, but they've got that cover listed with the Danish edition! I don't want to suggest I read it in anything other than English, but that's the cover I remember—and which I much prefer.
Also, I'm only listing two reads of this, but I'm sure I re-read it a lot when I was a kid, because I re-read all my favorites so much.
November 13, 2015
I felt a little deceived when I saw the book cover. The picture on the front gives the impression that the story is about two kids and a white cat. I will admit that there is a white cat names Presto in the story who is pretty cool. But the other two main characters are not children, at least it did not seem that way to me.
Although age is never discussed, the reader gets the impression that Sebastian must be in his early 20's. As for the story itself, I found it to be good, but not as extraordinary as I was hoping, since it is a 1971 National Book Award Winner. The story is funny and has a lot of intersting twists, but I was hoping for something else, I guess.
Overall, The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian by Lloyd Alexander is a good read for any young adult looking for an interesting fictional tale in the 19th Century.
I rated this book a 7 out of 10.
Although age is never discussed, the reader gets the impression that Sebastian must be in his early 20's. As for the story itself, I found it to be good, but not as extraordinary as I was hoping, since it is a 1971 National Book Award Winner. The story is funny and has a lot of intersting twists, but I was hoping for something else, I guess.
Overall, The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian by Lloyd Alexander is a good read for any young adult looking for an interesting fictional tale in the 19th Century.
I rated this book a 7 out of 10.
April 29, 2017
Disaster after disaster, nothing goes his way, and yet Sebastian keeps plodding through, and somehow gets out of each scrape, showing himself to be far more than just a fourth fiddle.
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