David Walliams (text), and Tony Ross (illustrator), Fing, HarperCollins, February 2019, 272 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780008349080
Librarians Mr and Mrs Meek will do anything to keep their darling daughter, Myrtle Meek, happy. Myrtle has everything a child could possibly want. But everything isn’t enough. She wants more, more, more! When Myrtle declares that she wants a FING, there’s only one problem… what is a FING?
Renowned actor, TV host, comedian and author David Walliams has produced another charming tale of wonder and adventure for children. Interestingly enough, however, the narrative action in Fing centres mostly on the parents in the story, with the child being relegated to a secondary role. Mr and Mrs Meek are doing most of the work in moving the story along in the world-wide quest to track down the elusive creature known as the Fing, though we do find ourselves wishing they would exercise a little bit of parental discipline with their ill-mannered daughter!
The book starts off in an almost Roald Dahl-esque style, a tale about a wayward child and oh whatever is to be done! The Dahl comparison is helped along by Ross’s illustrations that distinctly call to mind those of Quentin Blake, Dahl’s illustrator of choice.
Fing is a rather fun flight of fancy, aimed at readers aged seven and over. It works as a chapter book, and there’s enough fascination in the artwork and the variety of the lettering to make it entertaining visually as well. Walliams knows his genre as well as his audience, and he knows how to craft a pleasing tale.
I’ve lost count of how many of these sorts of books Walliams has now published (so has he, I’d wager)… my only criticism (albeit a minor one) was that I got the feeling towards the end that he was just going through the motions a little bit… filling up pages and pages with sound effects and action noises just to make sure the book hit a certain length. I’m sure that’s probably just a personal thing though, and younger readers are less likely to notice something like that. Fing is a very enjoyable read, and well worth making the journey.
Reviewed by Christian Price
