Blart: The Boy Who Didn't Want to Save the World

Blart: The Boy Who Didn't Want To Save The World
Author Dominic Barker
Cover artist David Wyatt
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Children's
Publisher Bloomsbury
Publication date
2006
Pages 320 pp
ISBN 0-7475-8074-X
OCLC 62265410
Followed by Blart II: The Boy Who was Wanted Dead or Alive - Or Both

Blart: The Boy Who Didn't Want To Save The World is a fictional comedy novel by Dominic Barker. It was published in 2006, by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc in Great Britain. It tells the tale of Blart, a young boy on a pig farm, who refuses to save the world. The book is largely a light-hearted parody of the fantasy genre. However, the plot and humour both become darker as the book progresses. It won the 2007 Stockton Children's Book of the Year Award.[1]

Plot summary

Blart is a young and quite unattractive boy, who lives on a small pig farm with his grandfather. All he cares about is himself and pigs. One day, Capablanca, a very proud and powerful wizard, arrives on Blart's grandfather's doorstep. He tells Blart that he is destined to save the world, by destroying the great Zoltab. But, selfishly, Blart refuses. But, by force, Blart is swept up from his home and sent on a perilous quest around the land, fighting the forces of evil. He meets many strange characters, some even stranger than him! And it all leads up to one final confrontation with the evil Zoltab and his most powerful minions...

Characters

Main characters

Minor characters

Sequels

A sequel entitled Blart II: The Boy Who was Wanted Dead or Alive - Or Both was released in the United States and the UK in 2007, and a third volume entitled Blart III: The Boy Who Set Sail on a Questionable Quest was published in 2008.

Setting

The setting of the story is unclear. Whilst the plot-line would suggest it takes place in a fantasy realm like Middle-earth or Narnia the characters refer to the world as Earth and concepts of the Church, Hell and the Holy Grail exist, suggesting it takes place some time in Earth's distant past. The theory of the world's creation is almost identical to the Christian Genesis as well as Ainulindalë from The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Reception

The novel was generally well received. The Guardian praised it as being "inventive, charming and very funny" with a "satisfying ending".[2] The Dominion Post said it had "some truly laughable scenes"[3] and the Birmingham Post noted that it would appeal to young Terry Pratchett fans.[4] The Times also chose it as one of their Top Easter Reads, describing it as "hilarious".[5]

References

  1. "'Oscars' for children's books". The Northern Echo. 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  2. Bedell, Geraldine (2008-04-16). "Hello, cruel world". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  3. "sci-fi & fantasy briefly". The Dominion Post. 2006-07-29. Retrieved 2008-04-08 via HighBeam Research.
  4. "Jayne Howarth laughs out loud at the reluctant hero Blart". Birmingham Post. 2006-03-04. Retrieved 2008-04-08 via HighBeam Research.
  5. "Bookseller's Chart". The Times (London). 2006-04-15. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
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