Jo and Jim In A Weird World by John Guthrie

 Creative, Fascinating, Innovative

Genre: Literary Fiction

Jo And Jim In A Weird World by John Guthrie, Author

Curiosity having got the better of them, with no thought of any danger that may lie ahead, Jim and Jo climb through the flora and fauna portal, into a world where, time, destination and the changing of the seasons are of no relevance. A world with gravity defying women, a soldier who has mislaid his battalion, and a train and it's journey, neither of which have any beginning nor end. On their quest to return to their home, they encounter non-sensical and eccentric characters, and a number of ever changing environments. How do they get somewhere when they don't know where they are?

Being a very practically minded person and not processing well, anything that isn't in the natural order, going by the title and the blurb, I wasn't sure how I was going to get on with this book. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I am not one to give up on a book,. I was worried that this might be the first. However, after getting over my initial feeling that the Author clearly must have lost his mind during the first chapter, I actually began to enjoy it. It is an immensely liberating feeling after reading novels with a 'normal' narrative, to then read one where keeping track of the story isn't the be all and end all because neither of the main protaganists or the reader can be sure of what is going on and instead of having to comprehend the writing, I could just read it.

It is wonderfully erratic by it's nature and put me in mind of what it actually ended up being. It is amusing and fun, and the imagination is allowed to run wild, as the Author's obviously did. It is strangely compelling, as you are drawn into finding out what wildly bonkers things happen to the siblings, next. I read the first twelve chapters in one evening and the others as soon as I got up the next day. It makes you smile and it is impossible to be grumpy whilst reading, it is definitely a feel good read, transporting you back to childhood, if you are older than the recommended target audience, which I am. I thoroughly recommend this story to anyone not finding satisfaction in the real world.