John Of The Rhine

I’m not completely sure what I expected from this short story, but because there was so much going on in so few pages, everything felt too rushed and undetailed.

John is made of a hump of clay. A sentient hump of clay, as he tries to keep his master happy he’s also trying to explore the world.

The beginning of the story reminded me a lot of the sperm whale and petunia scene from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as John goes trough a process not unlike the sperm whale with all kinds of existential questions. I couldn’t really decide whether it was meant as a youth book, but the story seemed a bit simple other wise. While entertaining, I didn’t feel like it was something special.