18th December, 2018
Review: The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale
This books feels like a story in which Willie Wonka meets Santa Clause and both decide to open a toyshop in Diagon Alley next to Mr Lemoncello‘s library. The story is so magical that it will blow you away and it has the potential for becoming a marvelous literary classic.
Young Cathy finds herself with child, escapes her parents‘ house and gets a position at Papa Jack‘s Emporium, a mysterious toy shop in London that opens at first frost and closes when the first snowdrops appear. The two sons, Emil and Kaspar, are immediately intrigued by the young girl. While Cathy builds herself a new home, however, the terrors of WW1 are lurking just behind the shop‘s doors.
I absolutely adored this whimsical book that makes you feel like you’ve been thrown back into your own childhood. It’s almost like you are slowly growing up with the characters of the story which spans over a period of half a century. The magical inventions of the toymaker seemed to come to life right off the page, and I constantly had the feeling like I’m five years old again and staring at the many toys in the shop windows downtown right before Christmas. The Toymakers was the perfect read for this time of year. It makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, giving you all the feels. The characters are convincing and vividly drawn, the setting is simply magical. This book is essentially a fairytale for adults that have retained their inner child.
Rating: 5/5 stars