The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread
By: Kate DiCamillo / Narrated By: Graeme Malcolm
Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
What can be more charming than a mouse with a sword… er… a needle…?!?
I dunno; I might be able to say that I love Kate DiCamillo’s work. But I’ve only read/listened to two others of her audiobooks: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and The Magician’s Elephant. Both of those were sooo good, especially the former (Hey, it had me sobbing into a heaping gob o’ tissues!).
So here I am, a third of her stories under my belt, and I’m tickled pink. This was my mom’s pick for our li’l audiobook club, and it was a hit. Though my sister and I differed on our views of what happened to The Villain of the Story (I’m more up for thinking DiCamillo does bitter coming in with the sweet), we were all quite taken with the magical and moral tones of the story.
Despereaux, named by his melodramatic maman after being the only live birth in his passel, he’s almost immediately an outcast; he’s not like any other mouse around, plus he’s tiny… and his ears… they’re so LARGE! And when his siblings try teaching him mouse ways, well, things always go awry. Eating paper? How can Despereaux eat paper when there are such wonderful stories printed on it? Scurry in a zig zag frenzied fashion? How can Despereaux scurry when he’s enchanted by the play of colored light from the stained glass windows, falling on the floor he’s supposed to be running across?
Things get to be much and Despereaux’s father drums a beat with his tail, summoning all, summoning Despereaux to his doom: He’s drummed out of the mouse clan, and he’s on his own.
The story also has a princess, Pea, whom Despereaux sees and becomes friends with. There’s young Miggery Sow, a baseborn maid, beaten aplenty, and just dyyyyyying to become a princess one day in her own right; so much that she’s willing to do dreadful things. And there’s Roscuro, the shamed Rat who caused the death of the Queen and who’s out for revenge since he’s a TOTAL outcast now too: Rats have become illegal in the kingdom.
And naturally there’s a plot against Pea and her father the King. Despereaux, learning of the horrible fate as the Princess is kidnapped, looks desperately to save the day by trying to find heroes to set off after her. Alas, there is no one to come to his aid, and he must look within himself for a brave heart, true courage to do noble deeds. Armed with red thread, a needle for a sword, the little mouse with the huge ears sets out on his own, seeking to enter the dungeons, looking for his fair friend.
DiCamillo always (Or it seems to me, after three audiobooks…) tells stories with great heart, where choices have to be made, and where we’re taught that fighting the good fight means having the courage to be who we’re supposed to be. It was charmingly written, packed with wonderful lessons on friendship and forgiveness and especially authenticity. Naturally, I hoped for much for all, even Roscuro—as I felt he was coming from a place of great guilt, grief, and loneliness. But as in Life, we live and die by our own decisions.
Now I must say, I’ve got a few Graeme Malcolm narrations in m’ Library, but this is the first one I’ve actually sat back and listened to. I MUST say that I was delighted with his performance. As my sister pointed out: He really has ya by the time he does Despereaux’s flamboyantly inconsolable French maman mouse. Throw in adventure, nobility of purpose, chivalrous actions, and Miggery Sow as one of the most memorable characters listened to in a long time, and I’m quite taken with the gentleman and his vocal talents. On to the next Graeme Malcolm, I say!
The Tale of Despereaux is a wonderful story, barely 3 1/2 hours. And I gotta tell ya, I actually listened to it at x1 speed rather than way faster. I dunno; I guess I was just sooo enjoying the story, sooo enjoying the performance that, well?
I forgot that I’m a 50+ woman and became a 9-year old kid again.
Listen to it, I tell ya! You’ll be going back in time too!
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