The Treasures of Karlongton

by Adil Aboobakar

At dawn, when the black rooster begins to crow, Granny makes little letters of gold spring out of the fireplace. But Granny says that when little children do not sleep at night, they begin to hallucinate. Gepesibz, Briklrim and Delsog know that she is lying. And when too many Holliprops visit her one morning, she has no chance but to unveil an old secret, one that the children are entitled to inherit. A very important task awaits them; they have to make right something that happened in Karlongton, a long time ago.

107 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Yuthika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh the joy of adding a book to Goodreads, especially one written by a Mauritian author! I don’t know what I was expecting when I started reading this book, and I was quickly drawn by its quirkiness and snippets of Granny’s wise words. The style reminded me greatly of Neil Gaiman – from the funny names to the larger-than-life adventures, and of course, the magic. Light, dream-like, and heart-warming!

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure who it was who recommended it to me but when I saw a reviewer got a Gaiman vibe from the book I ordered it. I love Gaiman and I admit that his stuff can be dark, but his stuff is never hopeless and this one feels both dark and hopeless. I think that part of the problem is that the book started off so great and then went south. I hate that. Here are a couple of quotes from the early pages that I loved.

"Granny says that important grownups know how to have orderliness in their lives and keep their minds free from clusters. She says that clusters are what stop the mind from thinking the things which are good. And if all minds stop thinking the things which are good then the world becomes dark and can remain so even after infinite dawns."

"But Granny made us read. She says that literature is our treasure."