Review: Dark Comedy with a Light Touch
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 22, 2014
Johnny Nothing has nothing; that is how he got his name. But that is about to change when he inherits a million pounds from old Uncle Marley.As the story starts Uncle Marley is about to be laid to rest. All the members of his money-grabbing family have gathered to find out what they will inherit. The worst of them is Johnny's own mother and father who are terrible parents and just generally, terrible people. But Uncle Marley is quite aware of who deserves his generosity and the congregation are shocked to learn that Johnny has been left a million pounds and, not only that, if he manages the money well for a whole year there is more to come!Written in a fun, self assured style, full of laughs and disgusting observations (references to smelly corpses abound) this larger-than-life story reminded me of Roald Dahl's 'The Twits' but it is a longer book and, I think, it's contents suited to a slightly more mature audience. The illustration style is unusual and suits the narrative well.Though the laugh-a-minute narrative is relentless, and may not suit all sensitivities, there is a much more tender story at its heart; what does a boy called Nothing who suddenly has everything, do? And even tricker than the money, what does he do with the horrible pair he calls Mother and Father?