The consequences of this annexation are unexpected. Many soldiers of the occupying army of the Thinifers begin to marry Fattypuff girls, and return to their homeland with affection for the country that they conquered. The Thinifers begin to adopt Fattypuff cuisine, habits, and attitudes. Consequently, the Thinifer president proclaims that the two peoples form a new nation, the United States of the Underground. King Plumpapuff of the Fattypuffs is made constitutional sovereign, while the Thinifer president is made his chancellor. All distinctions by weight are abolished. A toponymic compromise is reached: the island of Fattyfer-Thinipuff is called Peachblossom Island. Sadly there are no jokes about lean manufacturing, but the old line about generals always preparing to re-fight the last war is deployed in a kind of Maginot line situation the full figures of the Fattypuffs mean they cannot swiftly get out from their special curved trenches, but as can be the case defeat in war allows for victory in defeat... . The conflict is eventually resolved with their help and some members of each society choose to explore the other and they discover that a combination of Fattypuff & Thinifer can work together. It's a very clever story about mans intolerance to man and how opening the mind to new ways and ideas helps to break down barriers. One thing it seems they both agree on is war and mutual hatred of each others races. The story shows us how each of the boys is forced to adapt to the culture that has accepted him based purely on his body size and weight.

Ocr tesseract 4.1.1 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 1.0000 Ocr_module_version 0.0.6 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA19866 Openlibrary_edition Although I understand that a copy of the first English edition of this book is now rare and somewhat valuable, even without a dust wrapper, the book in my hands at the moment is, quite simply, one of my absolute favourites from a very early point in my life. There have been many reprints and different editions and even (anathema from my point of view) new sets of illustrations but there may still be some of you who have not come upon the book before, so I had better explain. I realise, incidentally, that the whole notion of the book would probably be greeted with horror by the health and safety (and discrimination) brigade – almost as much as some of the other favourite books of my childhood which I do not even dare to name! Can I describe this as a geopolitical children’s book with an eventual message of peace and reconciliation? Meanwhile, the Fattypuffs live off chocolate éclairs 'as fat as motor-tyres and cream buns as big as bath sponges'. Their trains and houses are bulging and rounded while the Thinifer trains are much narrower 'because four Thinifers only took up as much room as one single Fattypuff'.

From France comes this hilariously nonsensical account of an underground land divided into two countries... The story offers endless possibilities for discussion in the classroom around the subject of politics and international conflicts, but most of all it will be enjoyed for its ingenious plot and zany characterisation. Fritz Wegner's line illustrations play an indispensable part in bringing this story alive." [2] I read it when I was 8 or 9 then spent another 20 plus years trying to remember what it was called, who wrote it and getting hold of another copy. The Irish Independent chose Fattypuffs and Thinifers as one of the top 50 books for children, [3] while Anthea Bell chose it as one of "her top 10 favourite books in translation that she would recommend for children." [4] Each boy is taught the history of the Fattypuff and Thinifer societies and also taught about their mutual intolerance of each other. Despite being total strangers to each culture the boys are taken in and welcomed and given homes and eventually their positions in their relative families allows them to influence decisions being made about the Fattypuff vs Thinifer war.

The idea is that two squabbling brothers, one fat and one thin, discover an underground world divided into two states, that of the plump Fattypuffs and that of the scrawny Thinifers. Written in 1930 the two nations are apparently based on France and Germany and are no less antagonistic, but are also shown to be complimentary, even symbiotic. Apparently Maurois was from an Alsatian family. Perhaps there is a wish fulfilment element here in the final ability of both sides to appreciate what the other has to offer and in the mutual deconstruction of prejudices. To The Times Literary Supplement on 27 December 1941, 'This most amusing fantasy' won pride of place in a review of many juveniles, but purely as comedy..." [1] Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2020-12-10 09:23:57 Associated-names Wegner, Fritz; Denny, Norman, 1901-1982 Boxid IA1998705 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier The book is marvellously prescient about the modern division in life between the obsessively fit and the self-indulgently fat. The Thinifers spend all day in the gym, like 'mechanical figures which never stop moving': 'They scarcely eat anything, they drink nothing but water and they even work without being made to.'

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George Millar wrote: "Technically, Maurois' book belongs to the subgenre of Hollow Earth fantasies, imagining vast countries stretching in enormous caverns right there under our feet, like Journey to the Center of the Earth penned by Maurois' illustrious countryman. However, the underground location need not be taken too seriously. Maurois was writing a political fantasy and parable, not a physical one.(...) The code is not really difficult to unravel. Two countries who are hereditary enemies, with divergent cultures and ways of life—one endlessly, pedantically precise and methodical, the other addicted to gourmet food and the good things of life - who can they be but Germans and French.(...) On this basis Maurois can be credited with predicting that there would be a new war and that France would be occupied by Germany; he can also be credited with predicting that there would be ultimately a reconciliation and an end to the prolonged enmity between these two countries - even if the actual EU falls a bit short of the complete unification in the story's happy ending...". [5] See also [ edit ]