Book Review: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip

Title: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
Author: Patricia A. McKillip
Published: New York: Magic Carpet Books, 1996 (1974)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 340
Total Page Count: 193,760
Text Number: 570
Read Because: fan of the author, purchased used from The Book Bin
Review: A distant wizard woman charged with the keeping of a menagerie of Beasts is drawn into the human realm when she adopts the heir to a war-torn kingdom. At her best, McKillip writes mythic fairy tales that develop into subtle, human narratives—and this is McKillip at her best. The lyrical voice, fantastical Beasts, second-world setting, and fantasy archetypes create an original fairy tale, but the protagonist's emotional journey deftly avoids convention and is instead subtle and sincere, exploring trauma and revenge and the function and value of interpersonal connections while maintaining that evocative, magical atmosphere. The climax and resolution are both superb. I even cared about the hetero romance! (I never care about the hetero romance!) This isn't my favorite McKillip, but it's a strong contender and would make a fantastic introduction to her work.


A favorite quote:

The prince of Ilf went one day with fifty men to capture the lovely daughter of Mak, Lord of Macon; on the way Ilf saw a black mountain Cat with fur that gleamed like a polished jewel. The Cat looked at him out of her green eyes, and Ilf gave chase and no one saw him or his fifty men on earth again. The three strong son of King Pwill went with their friends hunting one day and saw a silver-bristled Boar with great tusks white as the breasts of their highborn wives, and Pwill waited for them to come home, waited seven days and seven nights, and of those fifteen young men only his youngest son ever returned from that hunt. And he returned half-mad.

#I am fascinated by Wild Hunts and White Stags #by supernatural chases by and of animals which function as a transportation into/out of fairyland and other supernatural realms #and thus (logically) I collect appearances of Hunts and Stags in novels #from the hunt that leads them back to the lamppost at the end of The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe #to the dog chase that is the unequivocal highlight of Diana Wynne Jones's sometimes-frivolous sometimes-profound Dogsbody #and that is what the Beasts of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld are #a bridge between the supernatural and the human #a threat a chase a goal and a conduit of the supernatural and divine #(among other things)

Book Review: The Golden Day by Ursula Dubosarsky

Title: The Golden Day
Author: Ursula Dubosarsky
Published: Somerville: Candlewick Press, 2013 (2011)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 160
Total Page Count: 193,920
Text Number: 571
Read Because: mentioned as similar to Picnic at Hanging Rock, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: In Melbourne in 1967, a group of schoolgirls accompany their teacher to a cave on the coastline—and their teacher disappears. This is an atmospheric novella inspired by Joan Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock, almost stylized, certainly an homage: the intrusion of the unknown into Europeanized Australia. Picnic is the more transcendent and successful, and The Golden Day wears its inspirations on its sleeve—but it's delightful, with an authentic point of view, an ending which sidesteps simplicity, and most importantly an evocative, haunted, ambiguous atmosphere. If you liked Picnic, certainly check this out, and don't be put off by the middle grade label which is accurate but not restrictive.