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The Tiny Wife
by
Andrew Kaufman (Goodreads Author)
A magical short novel from the author of All My Friends are Superheroes.
A robber charges into a bank with a loaded gun, but instead of taking any money he steals an item of sentimental value from each person. Once he has made his escape, strange things start to happen to the victims.
A tattoo comes to life, a husband turns into a snowman, a baby starts to shit money. And St...more
A robber charges into a bank with a loaded gun, but instead of taking any money he steals an item of sentimental value from each person. Once he has made his escape, strange things start to happen to the victims.
A tattoo comes to life, a husband turns into a snowman, a baby starts to shit money. And St...more
Kindle Edition, 80 pages
Published
(first published December 20th 2010)
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Hmm...I knew from Day-1 that I'd be tome-travelling a LOT this year but what I didn't know was I'd also be witnessing crime while on this journey! Yes, crime was what Canada was all about for me (at least while I was visiting it with Andrew Kaufman!)
'The Tiny Wife' is a beautiful modern day fable about a thief who steals something of sentimental value from people. It's funny, crazy, quirky and extremely interesting. In fact I was almost battling with myself while reading it about whether or n...more
'The Tiny Wife' is a beautiful modern day fable about a thief who steals something of sentimental value from people. It's funny, crazy, quirky and extremely interesting. In fact I was almost battling with myself while reading it about whether or n...more
Très bon roman (nouvelle? conte?) et excellente traduction de Nicolas Dickner pour les éditions Alto), si on est capable de faire abstraction de toute logique et qu'on accepte de simplement se laisser porter par l'histoire. Ma seule déception est que c'est absurdement court: 123 pages avec illustrations, qui se lisent en moins d'une heure, ce qui nous empêche de réellement comprendre les personnages. Mais, en somme, un vraiment bon moment de lecture.
I really struggle with these kinds of adult fairy tales where magical things happen and everyone generally acts as though it's somewhat normal. I'm constantly trying to analyze and figure out what everything MEANS so that I can't relax and enjoy it. Fortunately this novella is short enough to read in one sitting so I tried to just sit back and ride this imaginative wave.
A bank robber goes into a bank but instead of stealing money he takes an item of sentimental value from each person. The resul...more
A bank robber goes into a bank but instead of stealing money he takes an item of sentimental value from each person. The resul...more
This is a tiny gem of a book! At only 88 pages, interspersed with some interesting illustrations and a story that's weird but whimsical and utterly entertaining, it's unlike anything I've ever read before! Again books like this make me wonder about literature we classify as classics and nominate for awards!! I'm more convinced now coz some of the best writing I've ever read is neither...but man is it good!
The story begins with a robbery and continues on to consequences, but in the telling, it re...more
The story begins with a robbery and continues on to consequences, but in the telling, it re...more
I loved this novella and I would highly recommend it.
It's a great story with the underlying message that you should never take your life for granted. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't stop reading it until it was finished.
In Canada, a bank robbery takes place but the thief doesn't demand money. Instead he demands that each hostage hands over the one item on their person that means the most to them. With each item the thief takes, he also takes a part of their soul which has drastic consequen...more
It's a great story with the underlying message that you should never take your life for granted. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't stop reading it until it was finished.
In Canada, a bank robbery takes place but the thief doesn't demand money. Instead he demands that each hostage hands over the one item on their person that means the most to them. With each item the thief takes, he also takes a part of their soul which has drastic consequen...more
This book is pretty. A pretty little hardback with a pretty cover and full of pretty illustrations. Pretty pretty pretty and I am a sucker for a pretty book.
Contents wise? I didn't enjoy this as much as Kaufman's 'All My Friends Are Superheroes' which I absolutely adored but I did like it, in a weird, almost aching kind of a way. The thing about Kaufman, and this is true about Superheroes as well, is that he tells his fantastical stories in such a matter of fact way that you kind of focus less o...more
Contents wise? I didn't enjoy this as much as Kaufman's 'All My Friends Are Superheroes' which I absolutely adored but I did like it, in a weird, almost aching kind of a way. The thing about Kaufman, and this is true about Superheroes as well, is that he tells his fantastical stories in such a matter of fact way that you kind of focus less o...more
If you read this book, be ready for anything. It comes across as bizarre, though there is a strong point being made that is never explicitly stated but there to be pondered none-the-less. I love books that make you think.
Several people are in a bank when a robber appears and orders them to hand over the thing with most sentimental value to them. He explains that he has taken half their soul with him, and they will need to fight in the following days to grow it back, else they die. Each of them s...more
Several people are in a bank when a robber appears and orders them to hand over the thing with most sentimental value to them. He explains that he has taken half their soul with him, and they will need to fight in the following days to grow it back, else they die. Each of them s...more
3 likes · like · see review
If you lost part of yourself, what would you become? What if you didn’t even know what you had to lose? Andrew Kaufman’s novella The Tiny Wife (now given a UK edition – a beautiful little hardback – by The Friday Project) begins with a bank robbery where the thief demands, not money, but that each person in the bank give him a possession of great sentimental value to them. By taking these items, the thief explains, he is also taking more than half of each person’s soul: ‘This will have strange a...more
The Tiny Wife is a tiny adorable book, easily read in a single sitting and most awesomely absurd in both its premise and in its execution. It is hard to say something about the story as almost anything would be a spoiler but what can be said is that in the end it is a story about people, a story about knowing yourself and a story about life. And also tattoos turning into lions and people shrinking until they almost disappear. Or do disappear.
This book reminds me a little bit about Things My Girl...more
This book reminds me a little bit about Things My Girl...more
A man robs a bank. But instead of making off with bags of cash he takes one thing from each of the customers there: one thing which holds the most sentimental value.
The bugger gets away with it and disappears with his swag.
And then odd things start to happen to the folks he's stolen from. A woman's lion tattoo becomes an actual lion and chases her all over town. Another lady wakes up to find that she's made of candy. And, amongst others, a man's wife discovers she's shrinking. Those who've read...more
The bugger gets away with it and disappears with his swag.
And then odd things start to happen to the folks he's stolen from. A woman's lion tattoo becomes an actual lion and chases her all over town. Another lady wakes up to find that she's made of candy. And, amongst others, a man's wife discovers she's shrinking. Those who've read...more
3 likes · like · see review
I read this book in a couple of hours and I have yet to decide if I actually enjoyed it or not.
Expanding on the way "All My Friends Are Superheroes" blurs the line between reality and metaphor, Kaufman creates modern fables. I enjoyed the simple impossibility of them, not overexaggerated or blown out of proportion but stated as though they could be fact. However, with his last book, the message was clear- conflict and resolution. The main story in "My Tiny Wife" is similar, but some of the smal...more
Expanding on the way "All My Friends Are Superheroes" blurs the line between reality and metaphor, Kaufman creates modern fables. I enjoyed the simple impossibility of them, not overexaggerated or blown out of proportion but stated as though they could be fact. However, with his last book, the message was clear- conflict and resolution. The main story in "My Tiny Wife" is similar, but some of the smal...more
The Tiny Wife is a thing of beauty, 80 pages of carefully wrought words enhanced by sharp, silhouette illustrations. Not a single word is wasted in this contemporary fable with echoes of Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm and even a little pinch of Italo Calvino.
Our story opens in contemporary Toronto where a thief carries out a bank robbery with a difference – he asks each customer for the object which is of most sentimental value to them. It transpires that they have also handed over...more
Our story opens in contemporary Toronto where a thief carries out a bank robbery with a difference – he asks each customer for the object which is of most sentimental value to them. It transpires that they have also handed over...more
Very small, but oh so beautifully formed. The Tiny Wife is really a novella at 88 pages and it is very easy to read the whole book in just one sitting, in fact I expect anyone who picks this up will not put it down again until they have read to the very last line. Beautifully presented in a gorgeous little hardback volume - very similar to the Ladybird books that we all know and love from our childhood, and illustrated expertly with silhouette drawings by the very talented Tom Percival.
An astoun...more
An astoun...more
This book has all the whimsy of a fable while being macabre, tragic, comic, provocative, confusing and thought-provoking. Here is the premise and if it does not intrigue you, I don't know what will - An armed robber enters a bank but instead of stealing money he takes from each person inside, the thing that holds the most sentimental value for them, also taking with him 51% of their souls. The events that follow are strange and bizarre and very real – One woman turns into candy, another finds Go...more
Oct 08, 2011
Dilipickle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
quick-reads
It was one of the more unusual reads of the year for me but definitely memorable! Kaufman's narrative is funny, clever and fantastical. The illustrations (by Tom Percival) that pepper the pages are as intriguing as the tale itself. I was trying to think of what I can compare it to but I really can't think of any. In the midst of all the weirdness, ultimately it is about the fighting spirit of people in the face of tough times and all the little things that ultimately do matter. The ending was un...more
Kaufman has created a wonderful fable, a modern fairy tale and one that doesn't stop at including all of the dark (and slightly twisted) elements present in your traditional Hansel and Gretels and Red Riding Hoods a la Brothers Grimm.
A peculiarly-dressed man robs a bank stealing not money, but items of sentimental value and the SOULS of the patrons; victims who are soon plunged into a haphazard, frightening world where tattoos come to life, women metamorphose into sweet treats and husbands turn...more
A peculiarly-dressed man robs a bank stealing not money, but items of sentimental value and the SOULS of the patrons; victims who are soon plunged into a haphazard, frightening world where tattoos come to life, women metamorphose into sweet treats and husbands turn...more
A tiny story in a tiny book about a tiny wife. This novella is less than 100 pages long, but what you get for that is a weird and wonderful little story that starts off in a bank. A robber (dressed rather flambouyantly in purple and feathers) enters and holds the queue up at gunpoint and asks each person in the line to hand over the thing with the most sentimental value to them. Once he has got something from each of them he disappears after telling them that he has taken a portion of each of th...more
I picked this book up purely on a whim in a bookshop. I had not heard of it before but the cover intrigued me and when I read the back cover it sounded so charming and enchanting that I knew I had to get it. The book is quiet short but has some really memorable moments in it. I love the concept behind the beginning of the book, of a thief coming into a bank and rather then taking money he asks for one item of significant sentimental value from each person. I also really enjoyed the ending of the...more
"The robbery was not without consequences. The consequences were the point of the robbery."
When a man in a purple hat walks into the bank with a loaded gun, it's not money he's after but an item of sentimental value from each victim. In the days following this odd robbery, weird things start happening. A tattoo comes alive, a woman discovers she's made of candy and our narrator's wife starts slowly shrinking.
The Tiny Wife is a tiny book, really more of a novella but it's a wonderful, surreal lit...more
When a man in a purple hat walks into the bank with a loaded gun, it's not money he's after but an item of sentimental value from each victim. In the days following this odd robbery, weird things start happening. A tattoo comes alive, a woman discovers she's made of candy and our narrator's wife starts slowly shrinking.
The Tiny Wife is a tiny book, really more of a novella but it's a wonderful, surreal lit...more
(possible spoilers)
The Tiny Wife, the opening pages had me fascinated, what did I have on my person that had the most sentimental value? And what would it mean for my soul to lose it? Quite an intriguing question. It was my Wizard of Oz 'Are you a Good Witch or A Bad Witch' watch. I read on.
However I was soon frustrated, not knowing why all these strange things were happening to people. Were they punishments or rewards? Who was being pushed or rewarded and why? Why, why, why? And then what?
For e...more
The Tiny Wife, the opening pages had me fascinated, what did I have on my person that had the most sentimental value? And what would it mean for my soul to lose it? Quite an intriguing question. It was my Wizard of Oz 'Are you a Good Witch or A Bad Witch' watch. I read on.
However I was soon frustrated, not knowing why all these strange things were happening to people. Were they punishments or rewards? Who was being pushed or rewarded and why? Why, why, why? And then what?
For e...more
Feb 16, 2012
Mazmi
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fairytales-retellings-fables-etc,
weird-books
The Tiny Wife is a short modern fable supposably a romance because I picked it up in the Amazon Kindle romance deals. A thief robs items of sentimental value off people in a bank. Through the course of the book unusual stuff happens as a result of giving up these items.
My Thoughts:
Erm, I found it very weird if I must be honest, a short but very weird book. The illustrations were nice and some of the things that happened were amusing. Also at times the book was kind of sweet. Still it was only be...more
My Thoughts:
Erm, I found it very weird if I must be honest, a short but very weird book. The illustrations were nice and some of the things that happened were amusing. Also at times the book was kind of sweet. Still it was only be...more
Hold on....
do you know that feeling when you finish the book, but you're not finished yet?
Or the question people ask - why? why is the sky blue? not how we see the sky as blue, but WHY IS it blue?
I had the same with the Tiny Wife. I'm still pondering about some questions in the category 'why'.
The story is written beautifully, I couldn't put it down (ok, once, but just once) and the whole booklet, size and pictures included,
add to the experience of reading it in my opinion.
It is said to be a mode...more
do you know that feeling when you finish the book, but you're not finished yet?
Or the question people ask - why? why is the sky blue? not how we see the sky as blue, but WHY IS it blue?
I had the same with the Tiny Wife. I'm still pondering about some questions in the category 'why'.
The story is written beautifully, I couldn't put it down (ok, once, but just once) and the whole booklet, size and pictures included,
add to the experience of reading it in my opinion.
It is said to be a mode...more
I love a bit of quirk in a book. If you love quirky, you will love this. The cover describes it as a type of moral tale, though I am not sure what is to be learned from (view spoiler).
I enjoyed the story of the tiny wife herself, and the living tattoo and heartbroken busdriver were also favourites, but some others left me wondering. A book that makes you think is a gift indeed, but this one left...more
I enjoyed the story of the tiny wife herself, and the living tattoo and heartbroken busdriver were also favourites, but some others left me wondering. A book that makes you think is a gift indeed, but this one left...more
Aug 25, 2011
Allison Collins
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
hard-cover,
reviewed-for-waterstones
This is a truly wonderful short story, bordering on a modern day fairy tale for Adults.
I read this in one sitting and loved every bit. It was Quirky, imaginative and most definately odd. Certainly some of the things that happened would not go un-noticed if they happened in the real world but that is what makes this so much fun to read.
All the bases are covered; happiness, love, life, how we as people cope in the face of adversity and of course, as every Fairy Tale should, a happy ending and a mo...more
I read this in one sitting and loved every bit. It was Quirky, imaginative and most definately odd. Certainly some of the things that happened would not go un-noticed if they happened in the real world but that is what makes this so much fun to read.
All the bases are covered; happiness, love, life, how we as people cope in the face of adversity and of course, as every Fairy Tale should, a happy ending and a mo...more
The Tiny Wife is a thing of beauty, 80 pages of carefully wrought words enhanced by sharp, silhouette illustrations. Not a single word is wasted in this contemporary fable with echoes of Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm and even a little pinch of Italo Calvino.
Our story opens in contemporary Toronto where a thief carries out a bank robbery with a difference – he asks each customer for the object which is of most sentimental value to them. It transpires that they have also handed over...more
Our story opens in contemporary Toronto where a thief carries out a bank robbery with a difference – he asks each customer for the object which is of most sentimental value to them. It transpires that they have also handed over...more
2 likes · like · see review
Review Taken From The Pewter Wolf
What would happen if a robber burst into a bank and, instead of robbing it, he took an item of sentimental value from each person in the bank and, after that, the victims of this robbery started noticing that strange things are happening to them? Like finding God under the sofa? Or having your lion tattoo jump off your skin and chase you through the town? Or you wake up and discover your husband has turned into a snowman? Or, in Stacey Hinterland case, start to s...more
What would happen if a robber burst into a bank and, instead of robbing it, he took an item of sentimental value from each person in the bank and, after that, the victims of this robbery started noticing that strange things are happening to them? Like finding God under the sofa? Or having your lion tattoo jump off your skin and chase you through the town? Or you wake up and discover your husband has turned into a snowman? Or, in Stacey Hinterland case, start to s...more
It all begins the day David's wife Stacey is queuing at the bank. A man comes in, armed with a gun, and makes everyone line up, customers and staff alike, and orders them to give him whatever is most precious to them. He doesn't want their wallets, but random objects of sentimental value - they are pieces of their souls.
Without these objects, strange things begin to happen to each of the people who were in the bank that day. For some, it is a small, passing moment that endangers no one. For othe...more
Without these objects, strange things begin to happen to each of the people who were in the bank that day. For some, it is a small, passing moment that endangers no one. For othe...more
The Tiny Wife begins in a dramatic fashion as a thief in a purple hat bursts into a busy Toronto bank brandishing a loaded gun. But it soon becomes apparent that this is no ordinary stick-up. The stranger demands that each of the bank's customers gives him the object in their possession that holds the most sentimental value. Confused, they comply with his demands and part with the trinkets that they hold dear; a cheap watch, a well-used calculator. But along with these knick-knacks each victim l...more
I was intrigued by this book just from the front cover. The story centres around a young lady named Stacey who is one of the victims in a bank robbery. The robber takes not money or jewels just one thing from each person, something with sentimental value. After the robbery strange things start to happen to all the people involved, Stacey starts shrinking. This is a charming little story that will have you griped from the very first page. It's like nothing I have ever read before. Would recommend...more
There are some books that you want to save for a special occasion and The Tiny Wife is one of them. Knowing this was on my Kindle kept me going through the long tunnel of a very long, frustrating book.
The Tiny Wife is an enchanting short novel from Andrew Kaufman, author of My Friends Are Superheroes. The book opens with a robbery but the robber isn't after money. Instead he makes the customers and the bank workers each hand over one object of sentimental value. The narrator's wife hands over a...more
The Tiny Wife is an enchanting short novel from Andrew Kaufman, author of My Friends Are Superheroes. The book opens with a robbery but the robber isn't after money. Instead he makes the customers and the bank workers each hand over one object of sentimental value. The narrator's wife hands over a...more
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ANDREW KAUFMAN's critically acclaimed first book, All My Friends Are Superheroes, was a cult hit and has been translated into six languages. Kaufman is also an accomplished screenwriter, film-maker and radio producer and has completed a Director's Residency at the Canadian Film Centre. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their two children.
More about Andrew Kaufman...
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“Perhaps one of the hardest things about having kids is realizing that you love someone more than your wife. That it's possible to love someone more than you love your wife. What's even worse is that it's a love you don't have to work at. It's just there. It just sits there, indestructible, getting stronger and stronger. While the love for your wife, the one you do have to work at, and work so very hard at, gets nothing. Gets neglected, left to fend for itself. Like a houseplant forgotten on a windowsill.”
—
4 people liked it
“His accent was thick and British, the kind that makes North Americans feel slightly ashamed.”
—
2 people liked it
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Feb 23, 2012 07:01pm