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The Calculus Affair (The Adventures of Tintin) (Paperback)
by Hergé
| Category:
Adventure, Fiction, Ages 9-12, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 128.00
MSL price:
¥ 118.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
The adventures of Tintin which is full of mystery and comedy is a classic series. Tin-Tin will take you to another time & place. |
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Detail |
Author |
Description |
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Author: Hergé
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Pub. in: September, 1976
ISBN: 0316358479
Pages: 62
Measurements: 11.6 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00146
Other information:
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Rate this product:
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- MSL Picks -
The Calculus Affair may not be immediately entertaining, as in Explorers on the Moon or the Shooting Star, but it slowly develops the plot, with just enough suspense to put the reader at the edge of his seat at the last panel. And it starts with a boom, too. The mysterious phenomenon of breaking glass and china, including the Captain's whisky glass, is only fully explained on page 51, and the later pages expose many other plot details which contributed to the overall controlled confusion in the beginning and middle of the book. In some adventures, an answer is readily available to the various people and clues which meet up with Tintin and his friends, but in this book you feel just like a character, not knowing what will happen next. For Tintin and the Captain's dash through Switzerland, every little detail-the Hotel Cornavin, Professor Topolino's villa in Nyon, even the positioning of signposts and billboards-was mapped out by Herge, with his usual extreme attention to detail. And for Tintin and Haddock's unexpected visit to Szohod, Herge based most of the city on bits and pieces from the USSR-after all; it began in TINTIN magazine in 1954, the height of the Cold War. The Bordurians' habit of constantly reproducing their laughable leader Kurvi-Tasch's whiskers, even in their alphabet, was another Soviet touch, and their phrase "By the whiskers of Kurvi-Tasch" was probably taken from chants used at 1930s Stalinistic rallies. Overall, the book was an expert work, one of Herge's finest, and certainly a complicated and precision instrument, even when compared to his much-hyped works preceding it, Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon.
Target readers:
Kids aged up 6
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- Better with -
Better with
The Red Sea Sharks (The Adventures of Tintin)
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Hergé (pseudonym of Georges Remi), Belgian author and illustrator, created Tintin in 1929 and produced 24 volumes of the internationally famous bande dessinée by the time of his death. Known as the father of the modern European comic book, Hergé's impeccable style and superb use of color won him international acclaim after the Second World War, and the books have been translated from the original French into some 40 languages.
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This 1956 Tintin Adventure certainly reflects the height of the Cold War as Herge deals with the question of how scientific inventions can serve humanity without being coveted by military powers. The answer, unfortunately, is that they cannot and that is why rescuing Tournesol from the bad guys is so important. Fortunately, the resolution proves the Herge is still one step ahead of us in the faux world he has created for his hero's adventures. The Calculus Affair is one of the better Adventures of Tintin.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
This book is one of the great masterpieces of the cartoonists art. I've read it many times since I was 14 (I'm now 29) but the sheer athleticism and virtuosity of both the draughtmanship and the narrative remained undiminished. It really is an astonishing display and is perhaps only second to Flight 714 and 'The Castafoire Emerald' in Herge's ouevre. Buy it and read it. |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
This adventure is well written and well illustrated, as all the Tintin books are, but is unique in how it is completly non-stop. Tintin and the Captain follow Calculus, the absent minded professor, as he travels, only to discover Calculus has been kidnapped! An exciting story. |
David Horiuchi (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Of Herge's many Tintin adventures, The Calculus Affair is generally considered the crown jewel. The intricate plot concerns Professor Calculus, who has stumbled upon an invention of devastating possibilities. Naturally the Bordurians will stop at nothing to shift the balance of power, so they kidnap the professor, sending Tintin and Captain Haddock on a dizzying chase. Also includes an extended set-piece involving a piece of sticky tape, and the first appearance by the insurance agent from hell, Jolyon Wagg. |
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