Keeping it in the family

Bibliodander, a book-loving monster, shares a hilarious tale of the Swift family's treasure hunt and shenanigans.

My name is Bibliodander and I love to read books. But, sadly, I do not have many books at home, and I can’t go to a library. Why? Because I am a monster and monsters cannot be seen. They can only hide under beds at night. So that’s when I get to read.

I was lucky to lay my hands on The Swifts by Beth Lincoln. For one, it was a different kind of book. It took me some time to figure it out. The story opens with a funeral. A funeral? I thought! Not the best opening. But I was so mistaken. Because, as I read on, I realised what it was all about. It was a rehearsal. Can you imagine that? Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude is a perfectionist. So, every day, the family gathers to rehearse her funeral. Of course, every day something goes wrong.

Oh, did you wonder at the name Schadenfreude? I did. All children born in this family are named from words in the Family Dictionary. The parents open the book and the mother runs her hand down the page and the word she stops at is the name of the child and the definition. The Family Dictionary, of course, is a treasured family heirloom kept under lock and key. You come across names like Atrocious, Vile, Pique, Candour, Flora and Fauna (twins), Pamplemousse, Finicky and even Fortissimo. Inheritance, of course, is the one who keeps the family history. She knows everything there is to know about the family.

The protagonist of this story is Shenanigan Swift. With a name like that you can expect a lot of … well, shenanigans. Her sisters are Phenomena and Felicity. Every 10 years, the Swift clan gathers in the House. This is Shenanigan’s first family gathering and she has been looking forward to it forever. With the arrival of cousin Inheritance, the reunion is officially underway. The purpose of the reunion is to find a treasure that has been stashed somewhere in the house. Till date, no one has found it. The treasure is a hoard that has been hidden by an ancestor named Vile. Will this reunion be the one that makes the difference?

But things begin to go wrong from the very beginning. Arch Aunt Schadenfreude falls down the stairs. At first, it looks like an accident. But when Shenanigan and her sisters look deeper into the matter, it is definitely an attempt to murder. There are villains, secret passages and more ... you cannot put the book down till the last page. Then, of course, you are waiting for Book 2, wondering what the Swift family will get up to next.

The book is immensely funny and, at times, I had to control my laughter and ended up snorting. It was a great feat not to wake up Sunil, who is a light sleeper.