Reiner Zimnik

So far it is my personal opinion that the reissued 'children's' books of the NYRB are emperors without clothes, so to speak. ?�I don't like Jenny Cat, and I neither like this nor think it a children's book. ?áIt occupies the landscape somewhere between The Little Prince and Salvador Dali, whereas I had hoped it was something like a cross between The Pushcart War and Rene' Magritte. ?áBut hey, I'm not a New Yorker, oh so sophisticated, over-educated, torn between angst and existentialism. ?áI'm a simple girl from a country town in the midwest, and my taste in books reflects that. ?áIf you're hip or chic, you might like this.… (meer)

That a children's book about devastation, war, isolation and choppy relationships can still be charming is a feat in itself. Excellently chaotic pen-and-ink illustrations help drag the reader through any overly bleak spots, though you still have to question what kind of child is seriously going to enjoy this. I guess you could say Zimnik's staking out similar ground to Dino Buzatti's Bears Invasion of Sicily insofar as that seemed to be one of the more disarming products of the Italian epic tradition, while, by the same token, The Crane seems to be right at home amongst his fellow domestic magical-pessimists like Jünger and Grass.… (meer)