With this first book in Russell Brand’s Trickster Tales series, the famed comedian, actor, and bestselling author delivers a hilarious retelling of an old fairytale favorite that will appeal to adults and children alike. Once upon a time, long ago, in a time that seemed, to those present, exactly like now except their teeth weren’t so clean and more things were wooden, there was a town called Hamelin. The people of Hamelin were a pompous bunch who loved themselves and their town so much that if it were possible they would have spent all day zipped up in a space suit smelling their own farts. But space suits hadn’t been invented yet so they couldn’t. Then one day without warning a gang of rats bowled into the town and began causing a right rumpus… So begins Russell Brand’s wildly funny and surprisingly wise retelling of the classic tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Whether you’re a kid or a grown-up kid, you’ll be chuckling the whole way through this zany story that bypasses Brand’s more adult humor for the outrageous, the madcap, and the just plain silly. Maybe you’ve heard about the Pied Piper before, with his strange music and those pompous townspeople and pesky rats. Or maybe you haven’t. But one thing is for sure: you’ve never heard it quite like this.

ラッセル・ブランドが紡ぎ直す本書は、古典の皮を被った痛烈な社会風刺と無垢なナンセンスが同居する、極上のトリックスター文学です。彼の語りは、人間の自惚れをユーモアたっぷりに描写し、現代にも通じるエゴイズムの滑稽さを浮き彫りにします。単なる再話に留まらず、言葉の端々に宿る鋭い洞察力が、読者の知性を心地よく刺激してやみません。 本書の真髄は、狂騒的な劇の背後に隠された「知恵」にあります。権威を嘲笑い常識をひっくり返す手腕は、まさに笛吹き男そのもの。読者はページを捲るたび、当たり前の価値観が解体される快感を味わうでしょう。大人も子供も、理屈抜きでこのカオスな祝祭に飛び込むべき一冊です。