Chapter 19: The Return of Rhyme and Reason

Tock, with the Princesses on his back and Milo and the Humbug holding on the back, flies over the demons, lands on the ground, and starts running with the Princesses still on his back. They all run down the mountain trails. with demons chasing them.

They meet:

• Triple Demons of Compromise

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One tall and thin, one short and fat, and the third exactly like the other two. As always, they moved in ominous circles, for if one said “here,” the other said “there,” and the third agreed perfectly with both of them. And, since they always settled their differences by doing what none of them really wanted, they rarely got anywhere at all – and neither did anyone they met.

• Horrible Hopping Hindsight 

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A most unpleasant fellow whose eyes were in the rear and whose rear was out in front. He invariably leaped before he looked and never cared where he was going as long as he knew why he shouldn’t have gone to where he’d been.

• Gorgons of Hate and Malice. These guys inched along like giant soft-shelled snails, with “blazing eyes and wet anxious mouths.” They left slime behind them and moved quicker than you’d expect. OH GROSS THE IMAGERY HERE WITH THE “wet mouths.” I am seriously regretting my lunch right now.

As the demons close in, they run faster and faster, but the demons move just a little bit faster than the fastest that Milo has ever run.

Then come more monsters, including:

• the Overbearing Know-it-all. This is a demon who is mostly mouth, who offers up misinformation. Talks a lot. His body is heavy and bulbous, with spindly legs. He tumbles often, but only hurts others.
• the Gross Exaggeration. Has “grotesque features” and “unpleasant mannors.” Has “rows of wicked teeth” that mangle the truth.
• the Threadbare Excuse. Tattered clothes, small, and constantly giving the same string of excuses.

The demons keep coming, and eventually the path widens a bit and becomes flatter and lighter.

And then it ends.

The armies of Wisdom are there, as a last minute save. The armies include everyone that Milo has met so far, and they charge and the demons retreat.

Azaz’s cabinet declares a holiday. There is a parade and celebration. Milo, Tock, and the Humbug ride in the royal carriage with Azaz and the Mathemagician, and the two princesses.

Milo says that he couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help, and then Azaz and the Mathemagician tell him that the quest was, in fact, impossible. They didn’t tell him because if he knew it was impossible, he wouldn’t try. And sometimes you discover the impossible is possible if you don’t know. Or something. I guess this is the life advice of this chapter. Just don’t think it’s impossible and you’ll find a way. Well ,I want to live forever. Figure that out, Milo.

Anyway, so they party and carry on and then there is a feast (with division dumplings!) and songs and poems and it goes on for a bit. Eventually the party ends and Rhyme and Reason tell Milo to say good-bye. He tries to convince Tock and Humbug to come with him (why he would want to bring this weird ass talking bug back to the real world is beyond me, but whatev. Boys are weird.). They can’t, and Milo gives them both a hug.

Milo gets into his car and drives away. As he drives away, he hears the brothers start their old fight again about word vs numbers.

Chapter 20: Good-by (spelling is unchanged from the book) and Hello

Milo drives back to the tollbooth, puts a coin in, and ends up back in his bedroom. It’s only six p.m. on the day he left. His room appears to be very different than he remembered.

The next day he rushed home from school to take another trip. Only the tollbooth is gone (so sad.) As Milo mourns this loss, he realizes that he has a million other things to do and play with and see. He’s not even sure he has the time to take another trip.

The end.

Thoughts:

Still a pretty good book. Good wrap up to the hero’s journey. I don’t actually have much to say anymore. The demons are both adult demons and child demons.

I don’t think it’s “too advanced” for a children’s book, which is something that publishers worried about back in the 60s. I think that kids tend to be smarter than we think they are, and if given the opportunity to do these things, most kids will “get it.” I also think there are kids that this book won’t do anything for. But as a fantasy book, with a hero’s quest, this book was pretty much a textbook. Structured nicely, good use of interesting words, the climax was exciting, etc.

Next YA book: I was thinking about “A Wrinkle in Time” before @WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? suggested it. But I’m still unsure if that’s something I feel like reading right now. I might do something a little bit happier or maybe just another adult fiction book like Jurassic Park. I can’t decide. Which I suppose is also a demon. I also have the Southern Vampire Mysteries, and Outlander, and non-fiction. Decisions, Decisions.

Links to Previous Chapters:

• Chapters 1 & 2
• Chapters 3 & 4
• Chapters 5 & 6
• Chapters 7 & 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapters 14 & 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapters 17 & 18