David Walliams’ delightfully British humor is in full force in this terrific comedy with heart. The Dahl influence is easily recognizable with characters who long to be posh, but cannot withhold their everyday silliness. Mr. Stink is given a good amount of characterization and avoids being the “Magic hobo” stereotype whose only existence is to heal others pain and disappear.

There are a lot of relationships being balanced so that at the end the resolutions between our protagonist, Chloe, her mother, her father, and her sister all feel a bit too tidy. The mother/daughter relationship is the real heart of the book and could get more attention than it does.

Ultimately this is a fun, heartfelt story that will be loved by any fans of Walliams, Dahl, or their counterparts.

(Note: I read this book in Dutch, but will write a review in English. So the names I am using are from the Dutch edition.)

For some reason I just can't enjoy David Walliams books, I have tried several, and all ended up being dropped or rated 1 or 2 stars.

I guess that mostly lies in the part that his books are a bit unbelievable/strange/exaggerated. I do love the illustrations though and that is also a big reason why I do keep trying out his books. I love Quentin Blake and his illustrations.

This book again, it started of quite nicely, and I was very interested, but as soon as we got to the whole living-in-a-shed-thing it started getting annoying. Mr. Stink was just being bossy and annoying. Demanding food, demanding night stories, demanding all kinds of things. And that took away his charm. I really liked that he was a homeless guy with a past, but now he was just a demanding overlord.

His past thing? Nothing I wasn't expecting. He wasn't acting like a homeless dude that much and he had lots of things that seemed off. Like for example his manners, the dishes and cutlery and so on.

There is one character that I adored, and that was Chloe. She is a really great character and she was so sweet. Even though at times she thought Mr. Stink stank, she kept it in unlike so many other characters. I felt sad for Chloe, for having such a mom (more on Mom Kruimel soon) and such a sister. I am glad she at least found a friend in her dad.

Mom Kruimel, and also Annabelle were quite annoying throughout the book. I absolutely disliked the mom. The things she wanted to do for her politician's career were just ridiculous. I can't see why people would want that.
Annabelle, well I can say I am glad for the change that happened at the end. She could use some kindness. She was just plain rude and acting like the perfect little daughter.

All in all, it was quite a fun book, but sadly the exaggeration, the homeless dude's attitude and several other things annoyed me.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

Mr Stink is probably the best Walliams book; it's original, imaginative and as usual in a Walliams book, HILARIOUS! The idea is ludicrous; a smelly tramp gets taken in by a misfit girl and she desperately tries to hid him from her ludicrously fake-posh mother and prim sister. Maybe that's why it works. Well, it does. It's, honestly, one of the greatest children's books ever. A great mix of Dahl-esque black humour and the comedian's jokes on TV.

I wasn't expecting to love it - but I absolutely did. The ending, little cliche, but touched on some lovely topics such as homelessness, prejudice and kindness. Unimaginable kindness.