Heap House Paperback – 21 July 2015

Although I’m a ‘mature’ reader I decided to read this book after being very impressed by two of Mr Carey’s adult books - ‘Little’ and ‘Observatory Mansions.’ It has to be said that Edward Carey has an incredible imagination, and has taken me on quite a journey with his original stories. So much so that I’ve now made it my mission to read all of this author’s novels. Although Heap House is targeted at the YA market, there’s enough quality and depth in this book to keep all age groups captivated, intrigued and amused for a few hours.I loved the crazy idea of having a house that was essentially a hodgepodge of different buildings that had been salvaged from Victorian London, and then incorporated into the sprawling property known as Heap House. This building has a huge spiral staircase (known as the corkscrew) and all manner of rooms - ranging from a chapel and infirmary to a library and an attic filled with thousands of bats - capable of inflicting ‘monstrous infections’ - crikey! The various roofs are festooned with several thousand chimney pots, of various sizes and designs that have been collected, and put up there by a past iremonger - the area is called The Forest of the Roof. Below ground level are a series of basement floors, where servants live and carry out there work - anything from household chores for the members of the sprawling Iremonger family living above, to reclamation duties, where they recycle the metal, wood and fabrics etc retrieved from London’s discarded waste, and left on the rubbish ‘heaps’ surrounding the big house. There is even a steam train terminal down in those depths! What an amazing place to live - eh!Heap House may be a strange property inhabited by weird, and eccentric characters, but the stories they hold were enough to keep me enthusiastically turning those pages. One of the delights of reading Edward Carey is that he is full of surprises. So, you can never be quite sure where he is going to lead you next, and that’s part of the attraction because, as a reader, you will witness all these unexpected revelations.I loved the main protagonists of Clod Iremonger and Lucy Pennant - their adventures and verbal interactions were a joy to behold. As with his other books, the author has included his own wonderful illustrations throughout, which add yet another dimension to this tale. If you want to get lost in a good book, please do consider getting your hands on a copy of Heap House. I found reading it to be an absolute delight - and I think you will too!

Refreshingly different.

Ungewöhnliche Geschichte, tolle, dichte Atmosphäre. Ich hoffe, die "Iremonger Trilogy" (wann kommt der dritte Band??) bekommt auch auf dem deutschen Buchmarkt die Aufmerksamkeit, die es verdient.

Heap House is so horrible it becomes horribly delightful. It is so over the top that I don't think it would actually scare a child and it is hilarious in it's bizarreness. This has to be one of the most original books ever and I liked it so much that I will buy the sequel. P.S. The author, Edward Carey, is also the illustrator. Note his photo on the back cover. He looks like his boy protagonist, Clod. Also, I love that the girl protagonist is brave, says what she's thinking, and loyal to what very few friends she has.

It's a nice twist of reality: it looks ALMOST like everything normal in victorian England, but then you're on for a ride on the real wild side... and then, unfortunately this being a story in several volumes you end the book with... no end! you have to wait the next volume to know what's coming next... and next... and next... (which I hate! hence the 4 stars... I like a good end and this book only delivered more... expectation?)