Mulysses

Øyvind Torseter is a Norwegian artist and illustrator who has created eleven books on his own and several with other authors. He’s received numerous awards for his books, including a Bologna Ragazzi Award and the Norwegian Book Art Prize. In 2014, he was a finalist for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. His books have been translated into several languages, with six already published by Enchanted Lion. He lives and works in Oslo. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Kari Dickson grew up bilingually, as her mother is Norwegian and her grandparents could not speak English. She holds a B.A. in Scandinavian studies and an M.A. in translation. She is the translator of several books from Norwegian with Enchanted Lion, including Batchelder Award winner  Brown and Batchelder Honor recipients My Father’s Arms Are a Boat and The Most Beautiful Story.

“Mulysses plays on the deadpan humor of Moby-Dick and the Cyclops section of the Odyssey… [The] hero-narrator, a cute mule-like chap who also appears in Torseter’s The Heartless Troll and The Hole, reminds me of Tove Jansson’s Moomintroll… All this is accomplished with minimalist, scratchy lines, rare patches of color, amusing characters and few words. I can picture an adult reading it with a child and both being happy. Mulysses is an engaging little mash-up that is, thankfully, no mess at all.” —New York Times"Seemingly inconsequential objects introduced early, including a lost locket, a synthetic sweater, and a missing whale eye, slot tidily into place later, providing Chekhovian satisfaction. Via artwork featuring Jules Feiffer–like caricature and fanciful, indigo-washed ocean depths, Torseter blends subverted Odyssean tropes with the narrator’s comic resignation to present a simultaneously quirky and gentle caper." —Publishers Weekly"Torseter’s ­illustrations feature a combination of large, ­full-page color panels and spreads with smaller panels in black and white, expertly using color to communicate the shifting feelings of the characters. A spread of a whale is ­particularly striking, evoking Japanese wave woodblock prints. Though the book broadly references works like The Odyssey and Moby Dick, prior knowledge isn’t necessary to enjoy the story... A solid purchase, especially for collections where seafaring adventures are popular.” —School Library Journal“A free-wheeling nautical adventure… Visually appealing.” —Kirkus Reviews