Sarah's Library

27/9 - For the first 100 pages this was a laugh-a-page kind of book with a similar sense of humour to Jasper Fforde's books (without the literary references). The hilarity calmed down through the rest of the book till it was at the level of a snort here and there, no full-bellied laughs like there were to begin with. I wish the possessed one hadn't had to have been Lesley, but once I realised it was I thought for sure she was going to die, so when she made it through to the end of the book I was pleasantly surprised. I'm still not sure I understand exactly what/who Punch was. Once Grant realised that there was a puppet master behind Henry Pyke and worked out that it was Punch he called him something along the lines of 'the spirit of mischief', so if he 'killed' the 'spirit of mischief' does that mischief out of the world. I got a bit confused somewhere there. I might go back and reread Punch's explanation before I return the book to the library.

Okay, I've found the scene I was looking for

"We are playing our role," said Lesley. "We are Mr Punch, the irrepressible spirit of riot and rebellion. It is our nature to cause trouble, just as it is your nature to try and stop us."

So, when Grant finally manages to grab Mr Punch and drag him through time and this happens

'This is not a person, I told myself, and drove the pilum into Mr Punch's chest. There was no blood, but I felt the shock as it pierced the skin, muscle and finally the wooden planking of the bridge itself. The revenant spirit of riot and rebellion was pinned like a butterfly in its display case.'

That last scene implies to me that Mr Punch was killed, but I don't see how you can kill the spirit of riot and rebellion, or if you even should (the occasional bit of rebellion can be useful, although rioting not so much). That small question of logic and the lower level of hilarity after the first 100 pages is why I couldn't give this five stars. Definitely going to read the next book in the series.