New Way to To Say I Love You: Esio Trot, Esio Trot
Oh Love…the Great Intangible! We people love to talk about it, debate about it, fight for it, sing about it and definitely yearn for it. It is consumes most of our thoughts and guides every breathing moment of our lives. Yet, at the heart of it, love is actually not complex but truly simple in its nature. It is because love is just going out and giving ourselves selves for others. Dahl richly illustrates this in a tale about Mr. Hopper, man in his golden years who has fallen in LOOOVE with his neighbor Mrs. Silver, a widow who lives with her favorite turtle Alfie. A bizzarre love triangle soon occurs as Mr. Hoppy becomes a bit jealous of Alfie as he realizes the turtle is the object of Mrs. Silver’s affection. He soon takes advantage of this fact and concucts a zany plan that can only happen in the world of Roald Dahl. The rest of the story is up to you to find out. The only clue I can give is that words Esio Trot does take a part in it.
Esio Trot is my muy paborito (favorite) book of Dahl because I am really an old fashion romantic at heart. I easily fall for charming love stories such “You’ve Got Mail” and the “High School Musical” that don’t involve eroticism to weave its magic but rather a simple creative plot with great dialogue. In this case, I found it novel that Dahl used an elderly couple in his love story than the usual young Romeo and Juliet because it really fleshed out the idea the love does makes us young again. This is seen in the gushy giddiness of Mr. Hoppy as he thinks of the lovely Mrs. Silver and the events that follow after. It is really simple but it works for me and this is why Esio Trot is usually one of the books I read to the kids during my outreach programs and one of the novels I reread when I am feeling a little blue. Thus, in case, love is something you can never really get tired of as long as you are always young at heart.
If you want are old fashion romantic like me, do not hesitate to recommend books of a similar nature to this site and I will feature it.