A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears
Publisher: HarperCollins; HarperCollins Publishers
Published: April 30, 1998
Language: eng
Number of pages: 192
ISBN-13: 9780062059260
Description: Prince Roger is sent on a quest, the purpose of which is to turn the carefree young prince into a sober man and worthy monarch. Roger gets everything wrong--except for the meaning of life, and that he gets right. "Feiffer follows "The Man in the Ceiling" with another winner, this time a rollicking medieval farce that pokes fun at medieval farces--and just about everything else--while managing at the same time to be hilarious, engaging and thoroughly entertaining".--"Family Life". Prince Roger sets out eagerly on a quest and finds a few adventures, a lot of friends, a damsel or two in distress (not!) and himself, in the end. A carrier of joy' whose mere presence causes everyone to laugh uncontrollably, Roger finds cruelty and kindness equally amusing, and expects his quest to be a lark. It's anything but: As Roger passes through the Forever Forest, nearly starves at the Dastardly Divide, sees people at their worst in the Valley of Vengeance, and temporarily despairs in the Mountains of Malice, he sobers up, learns to care for others, becomes an expert peacemaker, does Good Deeds, and falls in love with Lady Sadie, who says what she thinks as she repeatedly saves his bacon.'-K. Feiffer's worldly-wise, confiding tone and sense of the absurd are highly congenial, and the drawings are a vintage Feiffer delight.'-Publishers Weekly. 100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1995 (NY Public Library)