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Title: The Castafiore Emerald: The Adventure of Tintin by Herge ISBN: 0-7497-0169-2 Publisher: Little Brown and Company Pub. Date: January, 1975 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: Madame Castafiore descends upon Catain Haddock's home
Comment: I have to admit that after going to the Moon and rescuing his friend Chang in Tibet, the stay at home Tintin adventure "The Castafiore Emerald" is relatively tame. It begins with Tintin and Captain Haddock out for a walk and discovering a band of gypsies camped near the rubbish dump. This offends the good captain, who offers the gypsies the use of a large meadow near his hall. However, no good deed goes unpunished and he receives a telegram announcing the imminent arrival of Biana Castafiore, the Milanese Nightingale. Meanwhile, the broken step on the front staircase earns Haddock a badly sprained ankle and the opportunity to roll around the adventure in a wheelchair. The diva and her entourage then descend upon the hall, literally adding insult to injury by giving the captain the gift of a parrot.

As Castafiore repeatedly points out, she has brought along her jewels, including an emerald given the signora by the Maharajah of Gopal. The gypsy fortuneteller had already predicted the theft of the jewels and we expect her prophecy to come true, even though Castafiore is constantly yelling about her jewels missing. But you know that sooner or later this is going to come to pass and then it will be up to our intrepid reporter to solve the case and save the day. Meanwhile, Captain Haddock's life continues to be a string of minor misfortunes and misunderstands thanks to Castafiore, Professor Calculus, the parrot, Thompson and Thomson, and the unwillingness of the local repairman to come out and fix that step.

"The Castafiore Emerald" derives its comedy from the clash of characters with Tintin staying out of the way for the most part. Of course, by this time in the series Hergé is completely comfortable with his cast of characters, which shows in the interplay, although I admit the diva is not my cup of tea. I just happen to really like the way Hergé represents other lands, so having him stay around the captain's house just seems to me to be an interlude from the main adventures. Still, "The Castafiore Emerald" is well worth the read Hergé does a delightful take on that new fangled invention, the television. Final Note: I like Hergé's quaint cover, with Castafiore singing for the cameras while a smiling Tintin reminds us to be quiet during the performance.