The Floods 1: Neighbours

Colin Thompson (author/illustrator)

Random House, Australia: 2005; 158pp

ISBN: 1741660734

Genres: humour, satire

Everybody needs good neighbours, the song tells us. The Floods are excellent neighbours, on their terms. The fact that other people cross the street rather than walk past their gate isn't their problem. The real problem in their street is in the house next to theirs which is occupied by the neighbours from hell – the Dents. The Dents are lazy slobs. The Dents play extremely loud music which they accompany with loud swearing, shouting and thumping. The Dents have a front yard so full of junk it looks like a garage sale.

The Floods decorate their windows with tasteful cobwebs and dead flies; the walls are the beautiful colour of blood; anything that isn't red is black. They have a beautiful garden full of thistles and stinging nettles and the yard contains a small cemetery of much loved dead friends and relatives. Their front gate is trained to discourage visitors and a lovely vicious hedge to protect them from prying eyes. Their meals involve the things that most people treat as hazardous material; and one of them has an interesting relationship with electricity. Yes, the Floods are witches and wizards: parents Nerlin and Mordonna, Valla, Satanella, Merlinmary, Winchflat, the twins Morbid & Silent, and Betty, the one who looks 'normal'. (Trust me, she's not!)

The only thing spoiling their domestic bliss is their noisy, nasty, neighbours – neighbours that the rest of the street find even more peculiar than the Floods, if that is possible. Something must be done – and who better to do it than the Floods?

A wickedly wonderful story from Colin Thompson, Neighbours is the first in a hilarious series of novels about the adventures of a family who are, quite simply... different. Packed with puns, word plays and satirical commentary on human nature, Neighbours will delight readers who like their humour warped and with a sting in its tail.

Highly recommended.