For the latest in Bookgeeks’ occasional series of guest reviews, master of the surreal James Appleby tells us all about the The Mighty Book of Boosh, a task that he’s eminently qualified for by virtue of once having seen Noel Fielding in Wagamama.

Sorry it’s taken me so long to get this review written but Bridgette Bardot put me in a time capsule with a drawing of an orange cat holding an air rifle.

A great excuse, I know. It’s not mine I’m afraid but just one from Vince’s Book of Excuses for Being Late Volume III, one of many tiny treats housed within this incredible tome – as just one slurp from a whole selection of soups.

Some of the other instructional passages in this book are Bob Fossil’s A-Z of Animals (where the elephant is ‘Grey leg-face man’), The Phases of the Moon (‘The full moon, the main moon, the chalky white ball-bag hanging in the sky like a screwed up letter from a paedophile’), Eleanor’s Top Sexpressions (‘Turn me over and record all over my old DVDs’) or Howard Moon’s Advanced School of Acting Expression (why not try pulling his ‘Bakers’s Confusion or ‘Contemplating Gay’ faces). So lots to be learnt then, but it’s not all self-help.

If you’ve ever seen the TV series, the live shows, the festival music sets or heard the original radio episodes and wondered where all the surrealism, animal-obsession and array of characters come from – this is a fruitful glimpse into their Zooniverse. It will answer questions you never even knew you had like: What are Bruno Mindhorn’s other poems like? What goes on at The Shamen Lodge when they’re not holding committee meetings? And who did Old Gregg use as a muse before he happened-upon Howard Moon?

It’s nice that they’ve had the chance to flesh-out some of the characters a little further. Naboo, who has only really grown in standing (if not in stature) since the Boosh took full flight now has our ear, if we will lend it to him, to demonstrate his knowledge of black magic: “The image of the blindfolded horse is a common one in the occult. Another image that you find in books of this nature is the image of a puma in an eye patch or the eagle in Raybans”.

Bollo too has space to air his concerns about gentlemen’s publications being the only kind of written material being left lying around in woodland: “Now don’t get Bollo wrong, on the whole, Bollo have many a good feeling about porno, Bollo subscribe to Monkey Pumper, Cheeky Chimps and Mandrillwives.com. What worry Bollo is that porno is only book you ever see in woods. . .This is why squirrel and fox come into the city”.

So anyone who’s anyone in the Boosh has been granted a platform – but what of our two favourite keepers? How did they agree what would make it in – given they normally can’t decide on the best way to tackle a Polar Bear. A sense of ongoing creative disagreement is tangible between the two giants in their respective fields of jazz exploration and glitter rock crayon stories. For example, Howard’s ‘The Evolution of the Table-top Globe’ has been crudely pasted over with Vince’s hand drawn original story ‘Ace Frehley Fights the Space Jackals’. You can’t help but feel that if Howard had been given the chance to retort before the final version went to press, it would have been removed and replaced with a warning next to his original lecture to all glam buccaneers and busy-faced jazz-fearers out there.

Howard’s bookish pedigree is clearly much better suited to this volume than Vince’s interests, which tend more towards the frippery of releasing fruit and yams onto music audiences, talking to the animals and having too much fun in general to write. Having said that, his children’s story series featuring Charlie is back and stronger than ever.

On top of all this, Mrs Giddeon, Rudy (he goes by any names) and The Mutants (yes, there is bacon) all have something to say which make this Christmas stocking-filler perfect grazing material for anyone who even slightly enjoys the jazz stylings of Howard or the hair stylings of Vince.

Whether tootling on Howard’s Trumpet Full of Memories or reading Charlie and the Black and White Rainbow, this is one book that neither Naboo, nor anyone else, should ever turn their back on.

You can see loads more surreal madness from inside the pages of the book over at the Creative Review Blog.

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