What happens when a boy, a mole, a fox, and a horse meet? They converse and teach each other some of life’s greatest lessons.
Charlie Mackesy, who began as a cartoonist and book illustrator before being taken on by galleries, through his book “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse” tells about his four unlikely friends.
“The book is for everyone, whether you are 80 or eight. You can dip into anywhere, anytime. Start in the middle, if you like. Scribble on it, crease the corners and leave it well-thumbed,” he says.
The boy is lonely when the mole first surfaces. They spend time together gazing into the wild.
“I think the wild is a bit like life-frightening sometimes but beautiful,” says Mackesy, who has lived and painted in South Africa, Southern Africa, and America.
In their wanderings, they meet the fox.
“It’s never going to be easy meeting a fox if you’re a mole. The boy is full of questions, the mole is greedy for cake. The fox is mainly silent and wary because he”s been hurt by life,” the author says.
“The horse is the biggest thing they have ever encountered, and also the gentlest. Their adventures happen in springtime where one moment snow is falling and the sun shines the next, which is also a bit like life – it can turn on a sixpence,” he says.
Mackesy hopes his book, brought out by Penguin Random House India in a digital format, encourages readers to live courageously with more kindness for themselves and for others.
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