By MARGIE THOMSON books editor
A slapstick adventure involving a minuscule Nazi invasion of the East Coast town of Dynamite Bay on Christmas Eve, 1942, to kidnap the inventor of the pavlova, Mrs Possywater - a dastardly plot dreamed up by the obese, cake-loving Hermann Goering desperate to provide his Fuhrer with a birthday treat.
Well, I guess if Charlie Chaplin can spoof the most evil regime of recent history so can Stu Duval.
It's a rollicking tale, a triumph of Kiwiana from its creamy subject matter to its cracking, idiomatic dialogue.
His writing is colourful and evocative: "The sea is as flat as a footy field and as black as an All Black sock", for instance, and the breath of the villainous Otto Mattick "is as frosty as car exhaust".
A terrific read for 10 years and up.
(Reed $14.95)
<i>Stu Duval:</i> Achtung! Pavlova
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
