For #MarchMagics2024, I finally picked up my very first Diana Wynne Jones and what an absolute delight it was from start to finish—so much so that I dFor #MarchMagics2024, I finally picked up my very first Diana Wynne Jones and what an absolute delight it was from start to finish—so much so that I didn’t want to put it down once I started. It luckily being a weekend when I read it, I could do just that!
While using a fairy-tale structure and several fairy-tale tropes, Howl’s Moving Castle breaks many stereotypes, weaves together fantasy and real-life spaces, and mixes in several elements of its own (including a John Donne poem) to give readers a thoroughly entertaining and wonderful tale. In the land of Ingary, live the Hatter family, with three daughters of which Sophie, our heroine is the eldest, and though she and her sister Lettie lost their mother as babies and have a step-mother Fanny, Fanny is nothing like your fairy-tale stepmother and loves Sophie, Lettie and her own daughter Martha equally (in fact, if anything, Martha least of all). Not only that, when Sophie’s father dies, it isn’t Sophie and Lettie who are turned out of the house (and the hat shop the family runs) to fend for themselves, but Lettie and Martha—not turned out really but sent as apprentices to train in Baking and Magic while Sophie is apprentice in the family hat shop which she will eventually inherit. Sophie though is more of a typical heroine, lacking confidence in herself and believing that as eldest, she can achieve nothing.
But while stepmothers in Wynne Jones’ tale do break stereotypes, witches do not and one fine day as Sophie is leading a lacklustre (though busy) life in the hat shop, the Witch of the Waste suddenly walks in and curses her, leading her to immediately grow old. Worried about how she would explain this to her family, Sophie decides to leave home, without the least idea where she will go. Around their prosperous little town of Market Chipping, the magical castle of the Wizard Howl has been seen floating around—a moving castle, it shifts location all the time—and rumours abound that he eats the hearts and sucks out the souls of beautiful young women. Wandering in the cold and tired, Sophie ends up at this castle and decides to push her way in (for why would Howl want the heart of a shrivelled up old woman).
Nothing there or thereafter, however, is as expected. Neither is Howl the terrifying old wizard she was expecting nor is his castle a den of wickedness. Soon befriending Howl’s young apprentice Micheal and even striking up a deal with his magic fire demon Calcifer, Sophie instals herself as cleaning lady in the castle while Howl simply doesn’t react or only unsuccessfully makes known his displeasure. She experiences the castle’s many wonders and with Micheal, Calcifer and indeed, Howl himself, has many adventures, ones that will change her life forever.
While this is a story of fantasy, magic, adventure and even romance, most of all it is a story full of fun—be it in the characters themselves (Sophie whose mousy personality undergoes a 180-degree change when she turns into an old woman—reminding me a little of L.M. Montgomery’s Valency Stirling—or the somewhat supercilious Calcifer who is rather a nice chap or even the rather melodramatic and vain Howl himself, constantly absorbed in his own appearance and given to throwing tantrums—all likeable but none flawless), the gentle fun poked at stereotypes and even in the adventures themselves. One can’t help being absorbed in the charm of it all and having fun the way Wynne Jones herself must have had when writing it.
Yet for all the stereotypes and tropes it incorporates, this is a highly original story, whimsical and crazy, where the reader doesn’t quite know where they are headed and even though we may know ‘how’ things might (will?) eventually turn out, the path to that happening is an adventure all the way and full of surprises, for instance, suddenly finding oneself in real-life Wales with children playing computer games just as one has settled into Wynne Jones’ fantasy world. Even though much of every day life and its doings are involved, the action remains constant, if not always fast paced, moving between Sophie defiantly cleaning the not-very-well-kept castle (much to Howl’s annoyance) or selling real (Howl’s) and concocted (her own) spells to eager customers to whom she is ‘Mrs Witch’, to taking off with Micheal in Howl’s seven league boots, sometimes to look out for her sisters’ welfare and at others even to catch a shooting star, while a creepy scarecrow is often on their trail and a dog-man (a man turned into a dog, that is) too makes himself at home in the castle. Nothing is as it seems or as one imagines, and both Sophie and us readers learn that as things progress.
The romance thread stays a bit understated but it is pretty much (almost) apparent which way things will go—I say almost because there was one element I expected would resolve differently till another surprise at the end. But this wasn’t an aspect that bothered me much; I found the conclusion satisfying since the explanations that came forth as all the characters gathered together, before that final flourish of drama/melodrama, were once again contrary to expectation and all the more enjoyable for it.
This made for an absolutely wonderful introduction to the world and work of Diana Wynne Jones and I can’t wait to pick up another.
(p.s. I am perhaps one of the few, if not the only one, who has not yet seen the Ghibli film, thus the lack of comparison/mention). ...more
My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.
The Dragon’s Promise is the second and final part of the Six Crimson CranMy thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.
The Dragon’s Promise is the second and final part of the Six Crimson Cranes duology by Elizabeth Lim, a fantasy–adventure which takes us to many magical kingdoms in East Asia. In the first book, a loose retelling of the Wild Swans fairy tale, but with its own spin, we meet the Shiori, the princess of the Kingdom of Kiata who has six older brothers with whom she is very close. Her mother is dead and her father, the Emperor, is married to the beautiful but cold Raikama, who has snakes for pets. Unknown to her family, Shiori has magic, something that is abhorred in the kingdom. Soon she finds herself cursed by Raikama having to wear a bowl stuck over her head and in an unknown part of the world, not allowed to speak or her brothers will die, while her brothers are turned to crimson cranes, who change to human form at dusk. The story was very well told, using the basic template of the Wild Swans story and some familiar tropes, while also giving some other tropes their own spin and weaving in folklore and legends from the East.
Keeping this spoiler free for the first book, in The Dragon’s Curse, Shiori who has managed to break her and her brothers’ curse in the first book is tasked with returning a dragon’s pearl (the ‘heart’ of a dragon) to its owner, but to do that she must first discover who he is. This entails a journey to the Dragons’ realm underwater with her friend, a dragon, Seryu, and then a further journey to find the owner of the pearl. As the bearer of the pearl and wielder of magic, Shiori must bear its weight and things are not made easier by the fact that the monsters that had been released in her last adventure, especially their menacing leader Bandur covet the pearl for themselves. And if that weren’t enough, the Kiatan people are now aware of her magic, and many in and outside court wish to see her ‘sacrificed’ to save the kingdom.
This was an enjoyable read but much less so than the first book, for unlike that this didn’t feel like one tale but the combination of a few—three to be precise with a few other threads also tied up. We have a part of the adventure in the Dragons’ realm, a beautiful and dangerous place with its own court and intrigues; the journey to restore the pearl to its rightful owner which involves Shiori turning her brothers into cranes once again; and then addressing the problem of the monsters she’d unleashed back in Kiata. While these segments are definitely connected, and we’re also following along the romance thread with Takkan (her betrothed from the previous book) and to which a triangle element is introduced, they still feel a bit disconnected from each other.
There are secrets and revelations in the book, and some of the themes taken up and lines along which the author develops the plot as to the monsters towards the end, in Raikama’s story, and then also with the humans who have taken against Shiori in Kiata are very relevant, as is the end in its own way a very pretty one, but still it didn’t feel like everything fit together. Perhaps a longer series to do justice to each segment or some editing out to restrict this to a more cohesive story would have helped. This isn’t to say that these elements or plotlines are bad in any way but just that they needn’t have been stuffed together. I did feel the author wrapped up each segment in a fairly satisfying way, and found the fairy tale element that formed the end a lovely one.
The book is well paced and easy to read with some great descriptions of the different realms through which they travel—the splendour and danger in the land of the dragons, the small village in which they find themselves and which was once Raikama’s home, or the home of the pearl’s owner with its very dark towers and well of the blood of the stars. There’s also the close bond between the siblings, and her relationship with her father, who loves and protects her despite being stern when he needs to be as well.
A satisfying read, fairly enjoyable, but one that could have done with some toning down in terms of the number of threads developed.
My thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.
Six Crimson Cranes is a retelling of the Wild Swans fairy tale but set My thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.
Six Crimson Cranes is a retelling of the Wild Swans fairy tale but set in (fantasy) East Asia and with its own spin. The first of (I think) a duology, it takes us to the kingdom of Kiata where the Emperor has six sons and a daughter, our ‘heroine’ Shiori. The children’s mother, beloved by the Emperor is dead, and the Emperor is now married to the beautiful, yet cold Raikama, who has snakes for pets. Magic is abhorred in the kingdom and anyone discovered to possess it is exiled or even executed.
As our story opens, Shiori is heading to her betrothal ceremony, something she is dreading for her chosen husband is from the north, where she believes only barbarians reside. She is deeply attached to her brothers and wishes (not unreasonably for she is little more than a child) life would remain unchanged. But Shiori herself has magic in her and as she is walking towards the hall for the ceremony, a paper (origami) bird, Kiki, she has breathed life into suddenly escapes. Terrified of her powers being discovered, she runs after it and ends up jumping into a lake. As a consequence, her engagement is postponed (to her relief) and she meets a strange boy (in fact, a dragon) who begins to teach her magic.
But Shiori isn’t the only one in Kiata to possess magic; it seems her stepmother, Raikama, too, is a sorceress and before she knows it Shiori’s brothers are turned into swans and Shiori herself is cursed so that she cannot be recognised by anyone, nor make herself known, and worse, with each sound she utters, one of her brothers will die. Alone, far away from home, separated from her brothers, she must search for them and also a way to break the curse. This will take her to places she’s never been before, make her face hardships she has never even imagined, and test her character in many ways. Does she reunite with her brothers? Can the curse be broken?
This was an interesting and very readable version of the Wild Swans story. While the basic idea of a princess whose brothers are turned into swans (here cranes) and must be turned back is the same, the author has given it her own spin, added various twists and turns (including the ending), and blended in folklore and legends from the east. I loved the fairy tale feel and elements that the author manages to retain throughout the story with the many adventures Shiori has and the places she ends up in—the tropes may not be new but the story was so well told, that I enjoyed reading every bit of it. There is also a romance sub-thread in the story, and I quite liked the way the author built that up as well.
Among the characters, Shori herself was most interesting (and of course as the tale is told in her voice, we get to know her best). Shiori when the story starts off is very reckless, perhaps a little arrogant, certainly a little childish and also somewhat self-centred, but as troubles begin to come her way and she has to face many dangers and tests of character, she grows into a different and far better person—this was an element I liked very much; the growth she shows makes one like her and root for her all the more. In the process she has to question her assumptions, and ends up understanding others a little better than she did or perhaps even attempted to).
The dragon boy/prince Seryu was also a very intriguing character, and though we didn’t see very much of him, I think we will in the next book. Takkan, even if his role is more a supporting one was also an interesting character for me. I loved the paper bird Kiki very much as well—she might have been created by Shiori, but she has a personality of her own. While Shiori’s brothers were well drawn out as characters (their distinct personalities), I felt we didn’t get to know them too well.
Besides Shiori, Raikama too, the ‘evil’ stepmother is a very interesting character, and with many shades and complexities to her. While initially one might be tempted to view her as the archetypical stepmother, with Shiori one begins to wonder about her—were she came from, what made her as she was, what made her act as she did? And some of the answers when they come are indeed eye-opening and moving.
This was a well-told tale, with interesting and likeable characters and an interesting plot, and kept me engaged all through. 4.5 stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown and Co for a review copy of the book.
This is a retelling of Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market but also mMy thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown and Co for a review copy of the book.
This is a retelling of Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market but also much more, it weaves in folklore, history, myth and magic. This is the story of two sisters Liba, nearly eighteen, and fifteen-year-old Laya who’ve been living with their Tati and Mami in the woods on the outskirts of Dubossary, on the border between Moldova and Ukraine. Their family has never been accepted really in town for their mother is a convert, and their father has had to leave home and his town (Kupel) because he married an ‘outsider’. When word comes that Tati’s father is ill and on his deathbed, Tati and Mami must go to see him but the girls must stay in their house, for they don’t have travel documents and the times are not safe. Before their parents leave, Liba and Laya discover the truth about their parents and themselves, that Tati (and Liba) can ‘shift’ into bears and Laya like Mami can change into a swan. The sisters have only each other to rely on when the mysterious Hovlin brothers come into the village, with their fruit stall temping buyers including Laya, but also spewing venom again Jews. Other things are happening as well which put their lives and those of all the Jews in that part of the world at risk. The girls must also deal with the truths about themselves and how this will affect their dreams, ambitions, love, and even their relationship with each other.
I really enjoyed this book a lot and there were many many aspects I loved about it, though a few things perhaps prevented it from being a five-star read for me. I enjoyed that the story in alternate chapters is told from each sister’s perspective—Liba’s in prose and Laya’s in verse—and thought the author really succeeded in Liba’s chapters coming through as more grounded, sensible, ‘sane’ even reflecting her personality, while Laya’s are lighter, dreamier, some feel almost entirely as though one were in a dream, and the parts describing her falling into the Goblins’ trap are so well done, one can literally see her getting trapped without even realising what’s happening (In some ways Liba and Laya to me were comparable to Elinor and Marianne from Sense and Sensibility—and so Laya did end up annoying me too!). I also enjoyed the strong cultural and folklore elements in the story very much. Liba is strongly attached to her religion, culture, and customs and those elements are woven through the story very well. I loved the use of phrases in Hebrew, Ukrainian, and Yiddish though I only realised there was a glossary when I got to the end (since I wasn’t reading a physical copy). Their cultural background and folklore elements of the sisters’ bear and swan heritage also impacts on their characters, their personalities, things that may attract or repel them.
There was a point in the story where I wasn’t too sure what was happening, where everything was headed—but then I stopped for a bit and looked up Goblin Market online—a poem I wasn’t familiar with—and once I had an idea of that story, the book began to make much more sense. I could then see the different plotlines more clearly, and see better how they were flowing along and interacting with each other.
Then there were also the historical elements of the plot, the pogroms of the early 1900s which led many of the Jewish community in the region to lose their lives, their homes, and all they had. This was a period of history that I didn’t know much about, and I only realised after reading the author’s note at the end that she had used actual events as the base for that part of the plot, and experiences her own family had gone through. And the book’s message in terms of culture, community, and the need to understand and accept difference comes most strongly from this aspect of the plot.
This was also a pretty fast paced book, which kept me reading thoughout, as I wanted to see how everything would resolve (or not) and how things would pan out for the different characters.
I thought the author did a great job of weaving together the different plotlines such that nothing felt like it wasn’t really needed, even the love stories of the sisters (though it felt like at one point in the story, this was the only element focused on) had a purpose. However, reading the book, it still felt as though too much was going on—the real, the fantastic—there is the goblin market plot; the sisters struggling with their identities, their relationships with each other, with their parents, their ‘boyfriends’; the folklore–fairy tale elements; the historical parts of the plot—just an awful lot for two young girls to deal with. It wasn’t that I couldn’t keep track of what was going on—I could; I also liked that all of these plotlines had a resolution, only that it felt like too much.
This was overall a really good read for me and I enjoyed it very much! And I cannot end this review without saying what an absolutely gorgeous cover this one has as well—that was what grabbed my attention in the first place!
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children’s Publishers, UK for a review copy of this book.
I’d been noticing this book all over and founMy thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children’s Publishers, UK for a review copy of this book.
I’d been noticing this book all over and found the cover very intriguing (though I didn’t know much about the story except that it had to do with fairy tales) so when I found it listed on NetGalley I put in a request. This is the story of seventeen-year-old Alice who with her mother Ella has been living a roving life―since she was a child, every few months, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, they must move, for bad luck finds them everywhere they go. But something changes and they make an attempt (albeit not a very good one) at setting down, but then Ella’s mother goes mysteriously missing. Realising that this has something to do with a book of rather dark fairy tales Tales from Hinterland, which her grandmother Althea Proserpine wrote many years ago, her only book which was somewhat successful but is not wrapped in mystery, Alice sets out to track her down. In the process she is helped by her classmate/friend(?) Ellery Finch who also happens to be a huge fan of the book, and practically knows it from cover to cover.
So to start off with, I must say I felt the tiniest bit of disappointment because somehow or other I was expecting this one to be in a historical/old-fashioned setting but it wasn’t but that wasn’t much of a bother once I actually started reading. I enjoyed the writing overall. The story is told from first person perspective, but to me Alice’s voice didn’t always come across as that of a seventeen-year-old, sometimes she seemed much older (though I wouldn’t say that about her actions/behaviour―that was very much a teen).
I really thought the author was very imaginative with the whole atmosphere she created and the plot itself as well. She weaves in references/tributes to known fairy tales but the ones she creates are very much her own and while much much darker I think than our more common ones, I found them interesting to read. Even outside of the fairy tales, when Alice and Ellery are tracking down her mother Ella, the atmosphere is dark, creepy (very creepy), and I found when I put down the book for the day, I wasn’t left feeling the most comfortable, so that certainly was a job well done. The plot again I enjoyed, it had me interested enough to want to keep reading on to find out how things turn out―what really happened to Ella, and what Alice and Ella’s connection is with the world in Hinterland. Some reviewers seem to have found the initial part of the book a little slow, but I didn’t think so. In fact, I thought it did its job well building up the anticipation and the excitement towards what the magic world would be like, what its secrets were, or whether indeed there really was one. I did think it dragged a bit at a point or two because I remember thinking why they still hadn’t got there. As far as the second part was concerned, while I found it interesting reading, to see how things played out, I wasn’t entirely grabbed by it, though the end was satisfying. The ‘mystery’ element in the plot or rather what the actual connection was between Alice, her mother, grandmother and the Hinterland world, I didn’t guess at all.
Alice herself I felt very neutral towards except at some points where she rather annoyed me. For instance, her constant digs at Ellery about being rich and privileged do get a bit much when it is clear and she is aware that his life is no less complex than hers, and while may be privileged in one way, is far from it in others. But why I didn’t really ‘like’ her I did want to find out how things would turn out for her. Ellery, though he wasn’t perfect, was someone I felt more sympathetic towards.
So overall, a pretty good read―there were many things that I really enjoyed about the book, but it wasn’t a five-star read for me.
I notice from the goodreads page that there is a sequel planned plus the Tales from Hinterland themselves, the latter I know I want to read―the sequel―I’m curious about that as well. ...more