Sofia and the Pornographic Penguin

To enjoy this book you have to have a sense of humor, so only check it out if you have one! I loved it! It was full of dry British humor.

A big, big warning: if you are a prude, or if dirty, crude language and talk about sex annoy/hurt/bother you, this is not the right book for you!

When I saw this book on NetGalley it caught my eyes, and yes, I had to request it because of its title. I know that this is not a good reason to want to read a book, but what can I do? I am shallow this way! A beautiful cover or an interesting title and the book is on my TBR or wish-list, just like that. It’s almost magic, right?
Anyway, I requested it and they approved my request. When I started it I didn’t have a single expectation because… well, the synopsis is not so detailed, I had not read other reviews so, yeah, I was going in blind. But the title was so catching that I was curious.
I would be honest with you, when I started it I thought about DNF it because, well, yes, the language. Crude and dirty, and all over the place. But I was also intrigued because it was unique and I was curious so I kept reading on. And I fell in love with it, slowly but inexorably.

On the surface is quite a simple book: we have a strange, really really strange, family, who is setting in a new house, a manor in the country. The husband is happy about it, the wife not so much. And with the house, they inherited the gardener, who is a sort of handyman. There are two daughters, but they don’t live with her parents, and one of them is the victims of a vile blackmail. Or better, she’s the victim of a vile act, but the victims of the blackmail are her parents. So they (or, better, the wife, because the husband is quite oblivious to all that happens around him) try to discover who is blackmailing them and to resolve the situation.

So, you see, the plot is all there. But we have so much more from this book, and that’s because of the writing, the characters and all the good feeling all around (well, sort of, at least). The only major takeback of this book is that you have to close an eye on the human part. One of the daughters is a victim of a vile act (or it’s all staged, I didn’t truly understand this part, but it may be because I was hoping for a staging and so I didn’t watch it so closely) but that’s just stated, because she’ s not the focus of the story, and we don’t see her, ever. So she’s a victim but she’s dismissed because she’s not in the story, really, And also, the solution of it all is quite… brutal, so if you have a soft heart, this may not be ideal for it. But I found it quite satisfying because it was harsh, really really harsh, but it was just. I don’t know if I made sense in this, but those things bugged me during the reading, they didn’t bug me so much that I couldn’t enjoy the reading, mind me. I adored this book, but they were there nonetheless.

But now I can start with the good. I loved this book, it was such a marvelous surprise and I enjoyed my reading so, so much. And now I fear I won’t do justice to it. And I am sorry, but I would try! First of all, we have a set of unique characters and all of them are so real, so well developed, that I felt like all of them were friends who I knew since forever. And I would love to go and visit for real, I’d love to visit their manor for a tea, or for a dinner. Sofia is the wife. She’s a beautiful woman, with a lot of character. And she knows what she wants. How she wants it. And when she wants it.
And then we have his husband. He lives in his own world, and he sees the world as a child can see it. He’s quite the useless man, to be honest, but the story would have not been the same without him. He’s sweet and absent-minded. I think he’s the portrait itself of absent-mindedness!
And then we have Sailor. He’s the handyman, the shady gardner, rough at the edges but with a big heart. And he’s resourceful, oh if he is!

All of them are unique, and I know that I am repeating myself here, but it cannot be helped. I loved them all, but they are not alone. Sofia is feeling alone in the big house, far away from the city and far away from her daughters, that now are grown up and have their own life. But the big manor won’t remain empty for long. They need people to get the things going in the house, and slowly the people they “hire” to help them out became part of the family. All the newcomers have problems. A lot of them. Like Martha, poor, innocent and naive girl, almost sold in a marriage from which she tries to escape. And she would find a new life here, with new people who love her truly, and who help her out. All of them, the family and the other new people around the house, would go out of their way to secure the happiness and the safeness of Martha. And this was really a sweet thing.

I won’t go on with the details and all the way in which every character would go out of his (or her) way to help the others out., because it would be a spoiler, but in this book, aside from a peculiar and crude language, we could see the birth of strong ties between all the characters, we can see the building of a family, based not on blood but on feeling. And this is the thing that I have appreciated the most. In this respect, I think this is one of the sweetest books I have ever read, even if during the reading all words can come to mind, but sweet. And, nonetheless, I found a sweetness all around in those pages, and an abundance of good feeling, that let my heart warmer. I appreciated it a lot.

And then, this book was fun as hell. I smiled a lot, and I mean a lot! But I laughed out loud too, and I think that the author was really brilliant. It’s not about the jokes, but it’s about the innocence of the children, the naivete of some moments, the pure absurdity of some scene. Because this book is hilarious and absurd and strange, and original, brilliant and fantastic. But mostly… yeah, strange, absurd and fun!

And the author has a way with his writing, with creating new way fo saying and has a marvelous and black humor that is present in every single page.

I really hope to have at least make you a little bit curious about this book, because I loved it and I hope that more people would give it a try! And, to be honest, I gave this book 5 solid stars, even if it’s not a 5 stars book. But it was such a surprising read, and I enjoyed it so much that, to me, it well deserves the 5 stars rating!