The Imagination Box
Of late I have started issuing a lot of books from my school library. One day as I was browsing the shelves looking for a mystery book, the librarian suggested I take the book called ‘The imagination box’. So I took the book. It is a little over 250 pages and as you would have already gathered the genre is mystery. It was published Faber & Faber in the year 2015.
The author of this book is Martyn Ford. He is an author and journalist from the UK. His first book is ‘It happened to me’ and ‘The imagination box’ is one of his best works.
The main characters in this book are Tim, the protagonist, his parents Elisa and Chris, professor Eisenstone, Dee, Eisenstone’s granddaughter and the lead lady, Phil the finger monkey, Inspector Kane, Stephen and Clarice Crowfield, the argonists and professor Whitelock.
The plot is somewhat like this - Tim was a ten year old boy adopted by Elisa and Chris who ran a hotel called Dawn Star. One day, Tim had gone to steal chocolates. Suddenly, an old man came and told him that he was also there to do the same thing. They both took some chocolates and went back to their rooms. But then Tim came to know that the man was a professor and was living in the room next to his. So he snuck into his room to take a look and over there he found a box and a hat. He put on the hat and began thinking about the burnt sausages he had for dinner. He did not know that when one puts on the hat called a reader, one gets the power to create whatever one imagines. To his surprise, Tim then finds a burnt sausage in the box. When the professor comes to know of this he introduces himself as George Eisenstone and reveals the secret of the box.
The professor then takes Tim to his lab for practice. But one day, the professor goes missing. So Tim starts investigating with Phil, a monkey he had created and Dee, the professor’s granddaughter. It’s a roller-coaster ride to find the kidnapper. Tim, with the help of the imagination box unlocks mysteries and goes on several adventures. Will Tim use this power to his advantage or use it against others?
The author cranks up the horror by giving the box the ability to create intangible things like fear and nightmares; not just physical items. The objects were described so that you could understand it but still one has to picture it in their minds how personally and uniquelly one wants to.
My favourite character is Tim because he had a very good imagination and is very clever. The suspense was also very gripping. My favourite part was when Tim stole a car and drove it to the hotel to escape. But I didn’t like that the professor had such a short presence in the story; I think his role should’ve been bigger. I would like to read this book again sometime.
I found the book funny and the notion of wish fulfilment was pretty fascinating. I think the book is a great read for both boys and girls.
If you like reading this book I suggest reading ‘The imagination box: A mind of its own’, the next book in the series. There are total three in the series.
I give this book 3.9 stars out of 5.