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  <title><![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[Gappers will get your goat. Literally. If you don't brush them off and return them to the ocean, whence they arrive every day, these bright orange, many-eyed creatures will cover your goats, and the goats will stop giving milk. In a village called Frip, goat's milk was the entire economy. Three families lived there--the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her widowed father, who wanted everything to remain the same. It didn't. One day, the Gappers, despite an average IQ of 3.7 (±.02), decided for a good reason to concentrate on Capable's goats. Oh, how the Romos and Ronsens turned their backs on the gapper-ridden Capable! Oh, how they indeed lorded it over her! What kinds of creatures are we, one wonders, when such selfishness so often springs up so spontaneously among us? And, given the coldness of her neighbors' shoulders, what will Capable do about her Gapper plague, as her share of the economy dries up? Literally. The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, with a brilliant story by award-ridden short-story master George Saunders and fifty-two haunting and hilarious illustrations by bestseller-plagued artist/author Lane Smith, answers that question. In doing so it tells a tale as ancient as the Bible and as modern as a memo from the Federal Reserve Board. And funnier than both--which isn't saying all that much, admittedly. You don't get to laugh and gaze in visual awe and pleasure all that often when the Golden Rule comes under such serious attack and such staunch defense as it did in Frip. An adult story for children, a children's story for adults, an earthlings' story for aliens, an oceanside fable for the landlocked, a capitalist tool for anarchists, a fish story for loaves, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip represents the classic instant of two young geniuses colliding and colluding. The result is--what else?--an instant classic!]]></description>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.13</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[While the underlying message behind this allegory is not the most original, the premise, and relationship between the goats/gappers/3 families in the town of Frip, is. Plus the gapeprs in general are rather hilarious, though I felt bad for the goats (The gappers, little tennis-ball-like eye-covered ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48227849">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>11111184</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Jeffrey]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <read_at>Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Dec 27 16:23:53 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 27 16:36:31 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Is this a kid's book? Maybe, but I wouldn't recommend that a very young child read it, or even look at the pictures -  it could be scary. Adults will find it thought provoking. <br/><br/>In Frip, people act with blissful ignorance, accepting the world as it is as though they understand it, but the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11111184">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>23507519</id>
    <user>
    <id>1063661</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Woodge]]></name>
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    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1063661-woodge]]></link>
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    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Gappers will get your goat. Literally. If you don't brush them off and return them to the ocean, whence they arrive every day, these bright orange, many-eyed creatures will cover your goats, and the goats will stop giving milk. In a village called Frip, goat's milk was the entire economy. Three families lived there--the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her widowed father, who wanted everything to remain the same. It didn't. One day, the Gappers, despite an average IQ of 3.7 (±.02), decided for a good reason to concentrate on Capable's goats. Oh, how the Romos and Ronsens turned their backs on the gapper-ridden Capable! Oh, how they indeed lorded it over her! What kinds of creatures are we, one wonders, when such selfishness so often springs up so spontaneously among us? And, given the coldness of her neighbors' shoulders, what will Capable do about her Gapper plague, as her share of the economy dries up? Literally. The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, with a brilliant story by award-ridden short-story master George Saunders and fifty-two haunting and hilarious illustrations by bestseller-plagued artist/author Lane Smith, answers that question. In doing so it tells a tale as ancient as the Bible and as modern as a memo from the Federal Reserve Board. And funnier than both--which isn't saying all that much, admittedly. You don't get to laugh and gaze in visual awe and pleasure all that often when the Golden Rule comes under such serious attack and such staunch defense as it did in Frip. An adult story for children, a children's story for adults, an earthlings' story for aliens, an oceanside fable for the landlocked, a capitalist tool for anarchists, a fish story for loaves, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip represents the classic instant of two young geniuses colliding and colluding. The result is--what else?--an instant classic!]]>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat May 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 02 07:28:37 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 02 08:30:02 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Read this for the third time (it’s 84 pages, illustrated) and this time I did it aloud to Luke.  It’s the story of a girl named Capable living in the town of Frip who’s exhausted from her job of brushing off gappers from her goats on a daily basis.  Gappers are baseball-sized, multi-eyed creat...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23507519">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23507519]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23507519]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>5329613</id>
    <user>
    <id>195737</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kate]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kansas City, MO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/195737-kate]]></link>
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    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Infestation! Neighbor rivalry! White-painted foods! This book has it all, and in the most killer illustrations ever. I would seriously like to frame one of the pages with the movers. Also, Capable is the best girl's name ever.<br/><br/>Once in Berkeley this used bookstore had a bunch of leftover c...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5329613">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5329613]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>1173456</id>
    <user>
    <id>77824</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Preeta]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[France]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <date_added>Sat May 12 06:36:50 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 12 06:40:02 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Did anyone need another reason to love George Saunders?  The protagonist of this delightful book is a sweet, weary, serious little girl called Capable, who's been holding the household together since her mom died.  You'll wish she were real just so you could meet her and hug her.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1173456]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>13140578</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Robert]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jan 22 06:02:19 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 22 06:02:19 -0800 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[George Saunders, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip (Villard, 2000)<br/><br/>Saunders (Pastoralia) and illustrator Lane Smith (The Stinky Cheese Man, James and the Giant Peach) team up to deliver this cautionary tale about helping your neighbors out of a jam. And while the story wears its moral far...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13140578">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>5702562</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Gappers will get your goat. Literally. If you don't brush them off and return them to the ocean, whence they arrive every day, these bright orange, many-eyed creatures will cover your goats, and the goats will stop giving milk. In a village called Frip, goat's milk was the entire economy. Three families lived there--the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her widowed father, who wanted everything to remain the same. It didn't. One day, the Gappers, despite an average IQ of 3.7 (±.02), decided for a good reason to concentrate on Capable's goats. Oh, how the Romos and Ronsens turned their backs on the gapper-ridden Capable! Oh, how they indeed lorded it over her! What kinds of creatures are we, one wonders, when such selfishness so often springs up so spontaneously among us? And, given the coldness of her neighbors' shoulders, what will Capable do about her Gapper plague, as her share of the economy dries up? Literally. The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, with a brilliant story by award-ridden short-story master George Saunders and fifty-two haunting and hilarious illustrations by bestseller-plagued artist/author Lane Smith, answers that question. In doing so it tells a tale as ancient as the Bible and as modern as a memo from the Federal Reserve Board. And funnier than both--which isn't saying all that much, admittedly. You don't get to laugh and gaze in visual awe and pleasure all that often when the Golden Rule comes under such serious attack and such staunch defense as it did in Frip. An adult story for children, a children's story for adults, an earthlings' story for aliens, an oceanside fable for the landlocked, a capitalist tool for anarchists, a fish story for loaves, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip represents the classic instant of two young geniuses colliding and colluding. The result is--what else?--an instant classic!]]>
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  <read_at>Sat May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 05 07:48:14 -0700 2007</date_added>
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  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Another pass-along from my mom, I picked up The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip as a quickie read.<br/><br/>Ostensibly a children's book, we visit the tiny village of Frip, a goat herding community plagued by gappers - baseball-sized creatures with multiple eyes, a shrieking voice and an abiding l...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5702562">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>45658090</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Kevin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Sat Feb 07 11:31:40 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Feb 07 19:23:35 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A curious children's book by one of my favorite short story writers. It's dark, not for the events in it, but because of the rationalizations of selfishness and apathy of human nature depicted. I think those parts would go over a kid's head, but those are also the most interesting, humorous parts of...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45658090">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>38142562</id>
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    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Wed Nov 19 10:25:13 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Nov 19 10:43:01 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is, in a way, a variation on the classic children’s story <em>The Little Red Hen</em>.  Unfortunately, it is also heavy-handed, deeply cynical, and mean-spirited.  The author has a very low view of ordinary people and obviously takes great delight in depicting most of the characters here as despicable...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38142562">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38142562]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>77989536</id>
    <user>
    <id>1986410</id>
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    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Mon Nov 16 13:16:05 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 16 13:44:22 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[A fantastic fairy tale for adults or a complex story for children?  Probably a mix of both.  Charmingly quirky illustrations lend flavor to a tale of <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rule">the Golden rule</a> disregarded, and the story is told with great humor and wit.  Young Capable is a perfect heroine and model for how to deal with all th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77989536">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77989536]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>63718570</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Emily]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Thu Jul 16 08:53:09 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 16 08:55:01 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is incredible!  It is was written for children, but I first read it in a sociology class.  The storyline is simple, but has profound implications about the functions of society and how we interpret and explain the things that happen to us in the world, even if they are based on chance.]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Lisa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Sulphur, LA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3002605-lisa]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">28748</id>
  <isbn>1932416374</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781932416374</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">72</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167955857m/28748.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28748.The_Very_Persistent_Gappers_of_Frip</link>
  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>502</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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      </shelves>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Dec 03 13:13:16 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 05 16:22:00 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I must have been a bad mood when I read this book because while I loved the title and artwork, the message came across as bleak and a bit politically biased.  Maybe the next time I read it, I should put myself in a different state of mind and decide if I truly dislike the book.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79785770]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79785770]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>76623343</id>
    <user>
    <id>1319499</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Brad]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Hewitt, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1319499-brad-gunnell]]></link>
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  <isbn13>9781932416374</isbn13>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167955857m/28748.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28748.The_Very_Persistent_Gappers_of_Frip</link>
  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>502</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_added>Tue Nov 03 14:59:50 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Nov 03 15:00:50 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[If you like Max Lucado's picture books, you will love the Gappers. A moral tale of industry, integrity, self-reliance and charity. The illustrations are delightful as well. <br/><br/>Hard to find these days as it is out of print, but a worthy find.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76623343]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76623343]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39153568</id>
    <user>
    <id>92056</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Hayden]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>
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  <isbn13>9781932416374</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">72</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167955857m/28748.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28748.The_Very_Persistent_Gappers_of_Frip</link>
  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>502</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <date_added>Tue Dec 02 18:07:34 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 02 18:08:41 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I feel that this book offers many of the lessons of the Bush administration, but in a much more palatable format.  For instance: &quot;Just because a lot of people are saying the same thing loudly over and over, doesn't mean it's true.&quot;]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39153568]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39153568]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>31462915</id>
    <user>
    <id>1164912</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Justin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Littleton, CO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1164912-justin-matott]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
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  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167955857m/28748.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28748.The_Very_Persistent_Gappers_of_Frip</link>
  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>502</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <date_added>Thu Aug 28 15:09:50 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Aug 28 15:12:55 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The illustrations in this book are worth the price of admission!!! I love Lane Smith's stuff in general, but in this book he has really stretched his artistic self and drawn a masterpiece.  I would love to have full size paintings from this book all throughout my writing den!!!  The story is fun and...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31462915">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31462915]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>74584412</id>
    <user>
    <id>184928</id>
    <name><![CDATA[R.]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Richland, WA]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">926603</id>
  <isbn>0747576114</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780747576112</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179515334m/926603.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>4.22</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>9</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <date_added>Wed Oct 14 21:24:49 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Oct 14 21:26:46 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A very awesome story about community and self-sufficiency and shrieking fencelines by one of the most gifted American writers working today.  And it was autographed &quot;To the Richland Library - GS, 2008&quot;]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74584412]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74584412]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>77455419</id>
    <user>
    <id>1019706</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Becky]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Idaho Falls, ID]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1019706-becky]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">28748</id>
  <isbn>1932416374</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781932416374</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">72</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167955857m/28748.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28748.The_Very_Persistent_Gappers_of_Frip</link>
  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>502</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <date_added>Wed Nov 11 11:46:52 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Nov 11 11:46:52 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[too weird of a story and too many half completed ideas to be a &quot;profound fable&quot; (like Entertainment weekly called it).]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77455419]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77455419]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <user>
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    <name><![CDATA[Cathy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Madison, WI]]></location>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">72</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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  <date_updated>Wed Mar 18 07:07:47 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Inventive and cute child's book!  Read it when you're down and you'll cheer right up!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49648810]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49648810]]></link>
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      <review>
  <id>78887922</id>
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    <id>362282</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jenn]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167955857m/28748.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>502</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Nov 24 14:46:17 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Nov 24 14:48:04 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[George Saunders + Lane Smith collaborating on a book for kids...need I say more?]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78887922]]></url>
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>502</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is that rarity, a  fable that appeals equally to literate adults and id-crazed kids. Its  author, George Saunders, is a Thomas Pynchon-approved, three-time  O. Henry Award-winning surrealist writer; its artist, Lane Smith,  is the Caldecott-honored illustrator of <em>The Stinky Cheese Man</em>  and film designer of <em>James and the Giant Peach</em>. Nothing could  evoke Saunders's simple yet extravagant story better than Smith's  strange, painterly depictions of the seaside town of Frip, a place of  ornery eccentrics and oddball animals. Smith combines some of the  virtues of George  Grosz, Dr. Seuss, and the Japanese prints called Ukiyo-e (&quot;pictures of the  floating world&quot;). <p>  Gappers are baseball-sized, burr-shaped orange creatures with a  compulsion to creep up out of the sea and fasten themselves to goats,  whom they love. &quot;When a gapper gets near a goat it gives off a  continual high-pitched happy shriek of pleasure that makes it  impossible for the goat to sleep, and the goats get skinny and stop  giving milk,&quot; writes Saunders. Since Frip survives by selling goat  milk, the children must brush gappers off the herd eight times daily  and dump them into the ocean. You simply must see Smith's picture of  Capable, the book's plucky heroine, emptying her gapper-sack from a  precarious cliff picturesquely menaced by subtly colored waves. You'll  be torn between lingering over the gorgeous artwork and flipping the  page to see how Capable will ever cope with the gapper invasion of  Frip, her obdurately past-obsessed widower papa, and her dumb, mean  neighbors (two snooty, boy-obsessed girls and a family of singers who  are harder on the ears than a keening gapper attached to the goat of  its dreams). This is a slim tale, but unquestionably one quite in  keeping with Saunders's prizewinning books. The title story of <em>Pastoralia</em>, for  instance, is also a fable involving class struggle and people who get  snooty about the difficulties of working with goats. <p>  <em>The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip</em> is a grownups' book, a kids'  book, an art book, and a cause for countless happy shrieks of pleasure.  <em>--Tim Appelo</em></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[This is a BRILLIANT book!!! I highly recommend it to everyone, especially to Sam.]]></body>
    
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