The Fate of Fausto
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A TIME Best Children's Book of 2019!
A Chicago Public Library 2019 Best of the Best Book!
*"This minimalistic masterpiece is a must-read for all ages." --School Library Journal (starred review!)
A quirky, cautionary tale from beloved New York Times bestselling picture book creator Oliver Jeffers!
There was once a man who believed he owned everything and set out to survey what was his.
"You are mine," Fausto said to the flower, the sheep, and the mountain, and they all bowed before him. But they were not enough for Fausto, so he conquered a boat and set out to sea . . .
Combining bold art and powerful prose, and working in traditional lithographic printmaking techniques for the first time, world-renowned talent Oliver Jeffers has created a poignant modern-day fable to touch the hearts of adults and children alike.
Praise for The Fate of Fausto:
"Jeffers paints Fausto and the objects of his desire with the nonchalant finesse he is known for and in the richly saturated colors he generally favors... Jeffers delivers swift justice in a few concluding words that make for an ending that satisfies for being both fair-minded and irrevocable."--New York Times Book Review
"Boldly conceived and gracefully executed."--Publishers Weekly
"A parable sure to spark lively discussions." --Booklist
"A cautionary fable on the banality of belligerence." --Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fausto, a balding tyrant in a three-piece suit, wants it all. "You are mine," he tells a flower. He declares ownership of a sheep, a tree, a field, a forest, and a lake. A mountain gives him some trouble, but when Fausto "put up such a fight you would not believe" Jeffers (Here We Are) represents it with vicious scribbles above his head the mountain eventually concedes. Now Fausto resolves to possess the sea and, outfitted in a yellow slicker, sets out in a boat. "Sea, you are mine," he declares. To demonstrate his "anger and importance" after the sea resists, Fausto steps from the boat to stamp his foot on its surface allowing nature a serene return to its original, unowned state. In Jeffers's first book featuring lithography, a medium that reproduces the energy of his lines with startling vividness, dashes of violent pink, acid yellow, and Prussian blue punctuate expanses of white space. Boldly conceived and gracefully executed, Jeffers's dark fable imagines what happens when desire leads to selfishness and self-destruction, and shows the merits of calm refusal in the face of dangerous individuals. Ages 4 8.
