The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry

The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry » Topic: Hippopotamus http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus Just another bbPress community en-US Sun, 19 May 2013 11:42:30 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/search.php Tabascofanatikerin on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus/page/2#post-268435 Wed, 06 Apr 2011 22:02:23 +0000 Tabascofanatikerin 268435@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ One month gone and finally have something to show, wether you've been waiting for something or not <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_wink.gif" title=";)" class="bb_smilies" /> So, here's my first real Hippopotamus fanart: <img src="http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1200/nilpferdfertigkl.jpg"> Full resolution: <a href="http://tabascofanatikerin.deviantart.com/art/The-Hippopotamus-203857820">http://tabascofanatikerin.deviantart.com/art/The-Hippopotamus-203857820</a> It's the bar scene quite at the beginning of the story. With Jane, a waiter, Ted...and his reflection. It was drawn with coloured pencils. Actually I wanted to do a complete family portrait but I don't know if I will do that at all. Actually I would still try that. And exclusively shown here: sketches with Ted and Jane. And please don't be shocked <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_wink.gif" title=";)" class="bb_smilies" /> <img src="http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/5872/nilpferdskizze1.jpg"> <img src="http://img858.imageshack.us/img858/5757/nilpferdskizze2.jpg"> I hope you like my first tries! Tabascofanatikerin on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus/page/2#post-266395 Sat, 05 Mar 2011 18:13:29 +0000 Tabascofanatikerin 266395@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I finished the book "The Hippopotamus" today. I would have finished it already a few days or a week ago but I have been studying for weeks for an exam and still do. Back to topic: "The Hippopotamus" is great <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> I like it for several reasons: - the characters. Not only the main character Ted but also the whole family where you're surprisingly not confused with although there are a lot of family members in the story but it's always clear who is it exactly about. That's a good sign for a writer <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> - the atmosphere - the writing style - the bizarre situations we find our "heroes" Only complain: the view on the story. First Ted tells it in a first-person view and there are letters between him and Jane, a flashback to the Hungary and England of World War 2 where it's clear Ted hears it from Lord Michael Logan. But what about the parts in the book Ted can't know about or isn't the story teller himself? That's a little confusing. Okay, we also had that in "Making history" but it's not a bad idea to put the story teller Michael "Mikey" Young into movie script like chapters where his behavior and actions appear better in third person. My opinion. In a nutshell: I like this book very much. Not as much as "Making history" but I had much fun and would read it again <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_biggrin.gif" title=":D" class="bb_smilies" /> And of course I wanna make fanart about it. I already have two motifs in mind: a family picture and one poster-like motif which would fit better to the title. By the way: sometimes I took the book with me to the kitchen so that I could read one chapter or two while the water was boiling. In such a cooking moment I was reading the chapter about David and Lilac, his horse, in the stable in the night. .... <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_eek.gif" title="8O" class="bb_smilies" /> <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_mrgreen.gif" title=":mrgreen:" class="bb_smilies" /> bebefryyounge on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus/page/2#post-258553 Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:08:10 +0000 bebefryyounge 258553@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I'm still reading this book at the moment. I find the book is Stephen Fry, because there is so much of him in the book itself. I really don't like the horse shagging scene....it's very disgusting >_< Spots on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus/page/2#post-254979 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 14:03:21 +0000 Spots 254979@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ This is what I'm reading at the moment. Clive on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus/page/2#post-251453 Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:47:27 +0000 Clive 251453@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Ha ha! So that's a ha-ha! LOL, I'm a doo-doo head, not looking that up before now. <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_redface.gif" title=":oops:" class="bb_smilies" /> What a boo-boo. Reading a book without looking up an important term - bit of a a no-no. I'll just sit here in shame playing my tom-toms. Eating bon-bons. Heh-heh. 'The Hippopotamus' is maybe my favourite book of all time. I just re-read it, but the first time I read it didn't really count because I was about thirteen and in that stage of adolescence when you think you can heal people by having sex with them. I sympathised with Davey massively and was hugely crushed when Ted shattered the whole illusion. I seriously considered going and hiding in a ha-ha, but didn't know what one was. I thought about stripping naked and hiding in the airing cupboard, but pictured my Mum's undisguised astonishment when she entered to shelve the bath towels and decided against it. I did strip naked and wrap myself in the bedroom rug in a sort of tube achieved by grabbing one end of it and rolling, but I did that occasionally anyway and no one thought it was strange. One of my favourite things about Stephen Fry's writing is how perfectly he conveys the horrific awkwardness of adolescence. It's brilliant the way it conjures up the warped and embarrassing and fumbling way you try to make sense of the world in those in-between years! When you think you're the only person in the unviverse like you and that you must've been put on this Earth for some special reason and that everything you do is a trial that you must suffer like a martyr and that soon everyone will discover this and you'll be vindicated and revered and then you'll be able to take off your mask and reveal the shining golden lizard's skin underneath and tell the world your true planet of origin and the sacred purpose you've been sent to fulfil, namely to gather all Music channel presenters together and carefully surgically remove their eyes leaving the optic nerve in-tact and promise to replace them only when they've apologised for the atrocities they've committed. This time I read most of 'The Hippopotamus' in the bath and put lots of bath oil in the water so that I would slide straight into my clothes afterwards. That was weirdly the one thing I remembered from reading it the first time - Ted's piece of advice about bath oil - and I've carried that with me ever since. pebbles on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus/page/2#post-244455 Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:16:35 +0000 pebbles 244455@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Just finished listening to the audiobook for the second time. Great story, very appropriate subject (in these times) and most of all, great characters. When I first "met" Ted Wallace I was shocked by how much he uses his great insight for contempt (although he does see through that too...noticed more of that the second time around). Or more precisely, I was a little shocked that Stephen had such a side to him, since he always seems to put a lot of himself into his characters. But of course very soon I loved old Ted dearly, and if letting him have a typical happy end was a little bit cheesy, I don't care. He deserves it and I'd hate it if he didn't get it. Loved Oliver too, even though certain people react to my sceptical views a lot like he does sometimes and I'm fed up...his way of expressing himself is far too funny to hold it against him <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_mrgreen.gif" title=":mrgreen:" class="bb_smilies" /> . Katrina on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-145995 Mon, 25 May 2009 18:48:03 +0000 Katrina 145995@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ a ha-ha. that was the most confusing word that I didn't know.</blockquote> Dude I know! I was trying to picture it and thinking, "what the hell is that?" I did laugh out loud at the word, though. exoskeleton on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-145587 Sun, 24 May 2009 23:50:46 +0000 exoskeleton 145587@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ finished this today. I meandered my way through the first half over the course of a couple of weeks and then read the second half all this weekend. I thought the story was very good, and I was quite pleased with the resolution. I'd like to see Daisy Diary that night! my favorite digression was into Michael's family history, and my least favorite digression was the trip to the hospital. my favorite new word was "dissembler." also this: <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/59/Hahafront.JPG/450px-Hahafront.JPG" alt="" /> is a ha-ha. that was the most confusing word that I didn't know. PamJH on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-110319 Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:32:08 +0000 PamJH 110319@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ This is an excellent yarn, ladies and gentlemen. Though I did enjoy The Liar, I thought this book was better developed. Makes me wish Mr. Fry had time to write more novels. The opening rant is classic. erik on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-104595 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:20:37 +0000 erik 104595@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Well, of course I thougt it was great, or I wouldn't have read it. I usually follow Stephen King's advice and read for about twenty pages whether I love it or hate it (not so with Dan Brown; like Stephen I was almost instantly repulsed :D). Then I stop and wonder whether I want to read the rest. In the hippo case, it once again proved a good idea. I actually had some small trouble getting into the book at first. I wasn't sure who was writing the first bits (which, I suppose, was who it's meant to be), but found the near-rants fascinating. I couldn't agree more with male vs. female libido, although I disagree with the presentation and the details. You know how it is when you read something like that, I'm sure. Anyway, the whole setup with the traditional detective novel is immensely funny when coupled with this story-line. I kept getting images from Gosford Park running through my mind. The horse scene was very graphic, but consider your reaction to it... Isn't murder worse? It was wonderfully un-PC, but I don't think it overstepped any actual lines. But then again, I'm from Denmark, so... Bottom line: Absolutely worth a read in my opinion. I think I read it in two pieces (although it's a year back or so, my memory could be failing me. Katzeneurotic on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-103965 Sun, 01 Feb 2009 21:56:20 +0000 Katzeneurotic 103965@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I loved it too. It was my first Fry book and I felt strange reading it. It was as if I had a hard time adjusting myself from the comediant Fry I knew to the writer Fry. quite unsettling in the 'horse-healing' scene - the description was very...exact. John Sasser on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-67995 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:37:07 +0000 John Sasser 67995@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Just finished reading it last night. Absolutely fantastic, I've never been so drawn in by a novel and so interested in the characters. The last 30 pages or so had me excitedly turning each page and actually had my heart thumping faster. A classic. gjhsu on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-67892 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:08:16 +0000 gjhsu 67892@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ I thought it was a fun book, written in a style I'm not sure I had encountered before. Almost half of the book is made up of letters between characters. Good story, definitely recommended. Sayuri Nitta on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-67812 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:29:41 +0000 Sayuri Nitta 67812@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ Fascinating and very interesting book. It shows that the life is really surprising thing <img src="http://www.stephenfry.com/bb-content/plugins//bb-smilies/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":)" class="bb_smilies" /> I'm absolutely agree with Mattic - thing about men's and women's sex was very exactly developed there (!) GirdYourLoins on "Hippopotamus" http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/hippopotamus#post-61820 Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:27:49 +0000 GirdYourLoins 61820@http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/ i really liked this book but i thought the end came together too quickly by the end i mean the whole ''Healing'' thing