Reviews: (by author)

(3 reviews)

Sanvoisin, Éric. The Ink Drinker. Illus. Martin Matje. New York: Delacorte, 1998. $9.95. ISBN 0-385-32591-6.

The Ink Drinker, originally written in French, is the story of a book-hating boy who becomes an ink drinker. Although his father loves books and owns a bookstore, the protagonist loathes books so much that, although he spends his days spying on the customers, he keeps quiet when he spots a shoplifter pocket a book. One day a strange, gray-faced customer comes into the store and slyly sucks the ink from a book. After making the grave mistake of trailing the customer, the protagonist runs straight into the lair of a vampire. Although the finicky vampire can only stomach ink, the protagonist still leaves with Draculink's mark. Upon returning to the bookstore, he finds he now craves the very thing he used to hate and realizes he too has become…an ink drinker!

Martin Matje's watercolor and pen illustrations bring the words of the story to life. Even the tiniest descriptive details are incorporated into the illustrations. Often the text and illustration become one. For example, in the last page, a straw appears in the lower right and "sucks" the words down the page.

The illustrations also add a bit of humor to the story. Written with a casual first-person tone, the text itself does add some lightness to a dark subject. However, the illustrations of the ridiculous-looking Draculink are quite necessary to keep the story from being overly frightening for young children. Yet, the total effect is still creepy enough for most children to enjoy a little thrill.

Elizabeth Klug, October 2003

 

Sanvoisin, Éric. A Straw for Two. Illus. Martin Matje. New York: Delacorte,
1999. $9.95. ISBN 0-385-32702-1.

A Straw for Two, the second book in the Ink Drinker trilogy, continues the story of Odilon, the boy who becomes an ink drinker after being bitten by a vampire who sucks ink…through a straw. Although Odilon finds he enjoys slurping sentences and savoring paragraphs from the pages of aged books, he is beginning to feel lonely. He dreams of slurping a book with a straw for two, but fears a life of lonely book sucking. Then everything changes when the mysterious and lovely Carmilla comes to school. Odilon is immediately smitten and wonders, "If I bite Carmilla, will she become an ink drinker too?" He decides to ask Draculink, the ghastly vampire who bit him and made him an ink drinker, but runs away after accidentally knocking over Draculink's casket. The drama builds when, the next day, he finds the pages of his notebook sucked ink-free! Odilon is caught between fear that Draculink is after him for wrecking his casket and hope that the lovely Carmilla might have something to do with the missing ink!

This companion to The Ink Drinker reads much the same as the first. The Ink Drinker, although not the most captivating book, at least presented a novel idea. When Odilon sucks the words from a book he vividly experiences the story itself; he IS the pirate seeking his stolen treasure; he IS the cowboy chasing the thundering heard. However, readers who have already read the first book may be disappointed with the companion. Although the second book focuses on the loneliness of Odilon's situation and the companionship he finds in Carmilla, the plot complications are just not very interesting. Perhaps this may have something to do with the fact the book was originally written in French and consequently written for a French audience.

Elizabeth Klug, October 2003

 

Sanvoisin, Éric. The City of Ink Drinkers. Illus. Martin Matje. New York:
Delacorte, 2002. $9.95. ISBN 0-385-72972-3.

The City of Ink Drinkers, the third book in the ink drinker trilogy, continues the saga of Odilon, his girlfriend Carmilla and her uncle Draculink. The first book, The Ink Drinker, explains how Odilon meets Draculink and becomes an ink drinker (instead of eating food, he sucks the words from books with a straw). The second, A Straw for Two, brings an ink drinking love into Odilon's life. In this book Odilon is called upon to help his love Carmilla and her uncle Draculink find a new home. The mayor is moving Draculink's cemetery and he has to find a new home quickly. If Odilon can't come up with a plan, Carmilla will have to go the mountains to live with her parents. Odilon is stumped until he stumbles across a building he's never noticed before. Unwittingly Odilon has found the city of the ink drinkers!

As with the second book in this trilogy, The City of Ink Drinkers doesn't quite live up to the first. Although it's difficult to say without examining the original French version, it seems that most of the book's problems are likely due to errors in translation. Certain phrases that probably made perfect sense in French come across as awkward, trite or just don't make sense in English. However, in addition to the translation glitches, there is at least one blatant error in the trilogy's storyline. Keep in mind that none of the books exceed forty pages, so it should not be difficult to keep the original story straight from book to book. Yet in this third book, Odilon mentions how, when he first encountered Draculink, he accidentally caused his casket to fall. However, a thorough examination of the first book reveals no such encounter. Odilon actually knocks over Draculink's coffin in the second book. This, combined with the strange translation problems, make this book a confusing and disappointing read.

Elizabeth Klug, October 2003

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