But beneath the sometimes playful, magic realist surface of the novel, trouble lurks.
Benders delve beneath the sometimes fuzzy underbelly of talking dolls, toy instruments and basic keyboards.
African countries that had seemed immobile in relation to the Arab Spring in the Middle East were bubbling, just beneath or sometimes above the surface.
No one who understands what religion really is, beneath its sometimes ugly face, could suppose that it would be good to bury it.
Recent stagings, however, have probed the emotional ambiguities beneath the sometimes brittle surface, and Bruno Ravella's production for Garsington Opera is among the most touching and effective to date.
But beneath the sometimes gauche politics, the key to her success is the irresistible way her voice curls itself around rhymes and slogans with a louche, addictive confidence.
It was the real truth about Truman Capote: that beneath his sometimes frivolous exterior, he was an artist - one of the best writers of his generation.
Mr. Lieberman kept in check his now familiar signature mirth at the very idea of his nomination, while Mr. Cheney showed that, beneath his sometimes dour exterior as a candidate, there beats an avuncular self-confidence.
"This book really does prove that there is so much going on beneath the sometimes very challenging surface of autism, of this small person you are in charge of with autism," he told the Guardian.
After Bill Clinton's effort on Tuesday to humanize his wife, and to persuade Americans that a funny, well-meaning, and loving woman resides beneath her sometimes flinty exterior, the emphasis Wednesday was on building up her credentials as a Commander-in-Chief in dangerous times.
