Books: Little Brown Monster

• Share

SON OF TI-COYO (245 pp.)—Clément Richer—Knopf ($3).

Anyone willing to believe that a grown shark will take a small boy to be his friend instead of his lunch can have some mildly shocking fun with a sly yarn called Son of Ti-Coyo. A sequel to Ti-Coyo and His Shark (published in 1951), it is so neatly laced with urbane craft and malice that many parents will think twice before sharing it with the kiddies.

Guinéo, son of Ti-Coyo, is a Martinique moppet with the congenital amorality of a growing barracuda. He comes by his wicked ways naturally, since Daddy Ti-Coyo and Grandfather Cocoyo are born thieves who have come up in their island world by means that normally lead to the guillotine. Now respectable, they live on a prosperous seaside plantation. Their chief idiosyncracy is that they keep Manidou, a huge pet shark, in a specially built tank that has an outlet to the sea.

Guinéo the boy and Manidou the shark are pals. They take off daily for long ocean spins, the boy riding easily by keeping tight hold of the shark's lateral fin. Guinéo likes to feed his voracious playmate, especially with human tidbits. By pretending to be helpless far offshore, he sometimes attracts a rescuing fisherman, whose extended arms are nipped off by the waiting shark. When the fisherman pitches into the water, Manidou gets the rest of him. Guinéo, who hates to study, gets rid of his tutor by taking him out for a row, pulling the boat's plug and letting Manidou handle the rest. Only Mama is really shocked by her son's tricks; daddy and grandparents can hardly conceal their admiration for the little fellow.

What saves Son of Ti-Coyo from being just plain grisly is Clément Richer's tongue-in-cheek style, smooth, graceful and literate. A native of Martinique, he now lives in Paris, where he has twice been honored by the French Academy.