Hi Martin
The Tough's Guide isn't actually a novel, but a kind of encyclopaedic guide.
It's a rather devastatingly witty satire on all the clichés of fantasy, and
when I read it a few years ago I'd pinged quite a few. I think it's just
been re-released; it used to be near impossible to get.
I confess I have watched Grave of Fireflies only once, although we own it.
But I really do recommend it, it's a stunningly beautiful film. It's
astounding how much emotional charge can be generated by animated
characters; it's something like what can happen in very good puppet shows.
The Ghibli Studios thing, what Miyazaki does so superlatively, and what
superlative puppeteers also manage, is to catch gesture and movement.
There's a scene in My Friend Toto where a toddler is playing on the tree
monster, falling over and giggling: when I first watched it, I stopped the
dvd and replayed it, because I couldn't get over how accurately he was
rendering the physical movements of a small child. Wonderful stuff.
Best
A
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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