Book Description
What to give the person who has everything? This is the dilemma of Frederick Knick-Knack, who surely must have, somewhere in his bags and boxes, his chests and cases, his collection of collections, the ideal gift for his friend Alice. Published in France to considerable acclaim in 1997, and translated into English with more than 30,000 copies sold, The Merchant of Marvels is now available in a new format for readers to rediscover this world of wonders. How will Frederick convey his most perfect love with just one gift? A ticket for a thousand and one flights on a thousand and one nights? Perhaps a marble made by Merlin the Enchanter? Somehow, somewhere he will find the gift like no other, the perfect present. The Merchant of Marvels is an exuberant marriage of word and illustration, its pages rich with finely crafted objets d’art, line drawings, and breathtaking watercolors. Imbued with magic, mystery, and enchant ment, this emerging classic is the quintessential gift book a wonderful story filled with unimaginably beautiful allegory, and a true expression of love and friendship.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Accompanying a self-described demonologist in Philadelphia for a magazine story, London journalist and self-described skeptic Storr quickly came face to face with evidence he couldn’t dismiss-a close encounter with a poltergeist (“something had touched me, hard enough to launch me to my feet”) and a divination aficionado who may very well have been possessed. In the account that follows, Storr takes readers into some of the more disturbing and disturbed corners of modern ghost-hunting, whipping up a chilling, funny, thought-provoking page-turner. With great care and greater humor, Storr accompanies paranormal investigators famous and obscure, ghost hunting clubs and perplexed homeowners, taking time to research famous cases and discuss his findings with the experts, as well as the witnesses and victims of hauntings. The evidence he finds-from orbs of light that dance on-camera to spectral voices recorded on tape to seemingly possessed individuals-proves only slightly more fascinating than the folks who pursue it, a grand collection of kooks, swindlers, skeptics and true believers. Storr grapples mightily with the unknown, and though his consideration of the slippery nature of reality and the mystery of death is fascinating, it never overwhelms the narrative; indeed, Storr wisely gives the best lines to his subjects, recording them faithfully at their most profound (quoth one famous, long-practicing investigator, “I’m not sure what reality is anymore”) as well as their most nonsensical (a haunted house-sitter spends his time performing “experiments where I pretend I’m slapping someone,” in the hopes he’ll one day do the haunting). Covering an impressive range of modern ghostly phenomenon-including a hilarious visit to the popular British TV show Most Haunted-this is a fun, fascinating and at times frightening read for anyone with an interest in the supernatural.