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juushikaTitle: The Enchanted Castle
Author: E. Nesbit
Illustrator: H.R. Millar
Published: Middlesex: Puffin Books, 1985 (1980)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 253
Total Page Count: 101,607
Text Number: 291
Read Because: interest in the author following reviews by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rushthatspeaks, from my personal collection
Review: When three children discover a castle, a sleeping princess, and a magic ring over their summer holiday, what they find are magics false and true and tricky, beginning them on a rambling journey of enchanted adventure. The Enchanted Castle is a book of fluff and whimsy, but it's not without heart. Much of the plot is the near-episodic doing and undoing of mischievous magics—tales of "be careful what you wish for," but never quite in the way either characters or audience expect. Characterization is slightly more colorful than realistic, and Nesbit's voice is wry, humorous, and hugely enjoyable to read—and while it's antiquated, that serves to make it quaint rather than unapproachable. These adventures are simply fun, and the book's other aspects help to sustain their longevity, but for me they nonetheless began to run a little long. It's not that aren't some wonderful moments: it's just that they begin to run together after a while, with too little forward movement to give them purpose. Luckily the book's final third revives it, rediscovering the plot to give the story backbone. And what a plot it is: there's still plenty of fluff and fun and silly character interaction, but the truth of the remarkable enchanted castle is original and gently breathtaking. In the end, sprinkled selectively within the froth are a few sympathetic events, some beautiful images, and true enchantment—which is never a small thing to find, and in The Enchanted Castle it twinkles brilliantly from the hidden corners of our own real world. This book is engaging, color, clever, unusual, and well stands the test of time—and though its architecture was not always to my personal taste, I enjoyed it. I recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: E. Nesbit
Illustrator: H.R. Millar
Published: Middlesex: Puffin Books, 1985 (1980)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 253
Total Page Count: 101,607
Text Number: 291
Read Because: interest in the author following reviews by
rushthatspeaks, from my personal collectionReview: When three children discover a castle, a sleeping princess, and a magic ring over their summer holiday, what they find are magics false and true and tricky, beginning them on a rambling journey of enchanted adventure. The Enchanted Castle is a book of fluff and whimsy, but it's not without heart. Much of the plot is the near-episodic doing and undoing of mischievous magics—tales of "be careful what you wish for," but never quite in the way either characters or audience expect. Characterization is slightly more colorful than realistic, and Nesbit's voice is wry, humorous, and hugely enjoyable to read—and while it's antiquated, that serves to make it quaint rather than unapproachable. These adventures are simply fun, and the book's other aspects help to sustain their longevity, but for me they nonetheless began to run a little long. It's not that aren't some wonderful moments: it's just that they begin to run together after a while, with too little forward movement to give them purpose. Luckily the book's final third revives it, rediscovering the plot to give the story backbone. And what a plot it is: there's still plenty of fluff and fun and silly character interaction, but the truth of the remarkable enchanted castle is original and gently breathtaking. In the end, sprinkled selectively within the froth are a few sympathetic events, some beautiful images, and true enchantment—which is never a small thing to find, and in The Enchanted Castle it twinkles brilliantly from the hidden corners of our own real world. This book is engaging, color, clever, unusual, and well stands the test of time—and though its architecture was not always to my personal taste, I enjoyed it. I recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
