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juushikaTitle: The Girl Who Circumnagivated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Author: Catherynne M. Valente/![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yuki_onna
Published: New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2011
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 247
Total Page Count: 113,197
Text Number: 326
Read Because: fan of the author, purchased from Grass Roots
Review: When the Green Wind comes to Setember's window, she takes his hand and is swept away to Fairyland—there to pit herself against a Marquess with quite a remarkable hat, and to lose her heart. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is the sort of book to say thanks for. Its style is whimsical and affected, imitating Victorian children's literature but maintaining enough self-awareness to stay on the enduring side of twee and provide commentary on the traditions it borrows from, from fairy tales to portal fantasies. Despite those roots its landscape is inventive and vibrant, filled with cities of cloth and nations of autumn. But most and best of all, the book has heart. Such transparent intentions could easily backfire, but Valente handles them with aplomb—she balances the heartfelt and humorous, keeping the messages just barely within bounds in the same way she handles the style, but most importantly not all of her intentions are good. September's journey is as dark as it is beautiful, and what she learns along the way isn't so common as to be cliché—which is precisely what makes the book so precious. I wish I had read it as a child, but I appreciate it even more as an adult because these aren't messages that lose their meaning; rather, they're reminders I still need to hear today: that dangerous journeys are worth taking, that vulnerability is not weaknesses, that a girl with almost nothing can still circumnavigate the world.
It's too easy to write overblown praise for such a book. Fairyland lives and dies by its style, its charm and whimsy, which not all readers will appreciate—but it's pretty easy to tell from the first few chapters if this will be the case. And it fulfills the promise made by its appearance in Valente's Palimpsest (my review): it's a book to chart your life by, without being cheapened or overburdened by moral messages; it's a journey to want to take. I recommend it wholeheartedly, because the best way I know to say thanks for a book is to pass it along to others.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Catherynne M. Valente/
yuki_onnaPublished: New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2011
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 247
Total Page Count: 113,197
Text Number: 326
Read Because: fan of the author, purchased from Grass Roots
Review: When the Green Wind comes to Setember's window, she takes his hand and is swept away to Fairyland—there to pit herself against a Marquess with quite a remarkable hat, and to lose her heart. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is the sort of book to say thanks for. Its style is whimsical and affected, imitating Victorian children's literature but maintaining enough self-awareness to stay on the enduring side of twee and provide commentary on the traditions it borrows from, from fairy tales to portal fantasies. Despite those roots its landscape is inventive and vibrant, filled with cities of cloth and nations of autumn. But most and best of all, the book has heart. Such transparent intentions could easily backfire, but Valente handles them with aplomb—she balances the heartfelt and humorous, keeping the messages just barely within bounds in the same way she handles the style, but most importantly not all of her intentions are good. September's journey is as dark as it is beautiful, and what she learns along the way isn't so common as to be cliché—which is precisely what makes the book so precious. I wish I had read it as a child, but I appreciate it even more as an adult because these aren't messages that lose their meaning; rather, they're reminders I still need to hear today: that dangerous journeys are worth taking, that vulnerability is not weaknesses, that a girl with almost nothing can still circumnavigate the world.
It's too easy to write overblown praise for such a book. Fairyland lives and dies by its style, its charm and whimsy, which not all readers will appreciate—but it's pretty easy to tell from the first few chapters if this will be the case. And it fulfills the promise made by its appearance in Valente's Palimpsest (my review): it's a book to chart your life by, without being cheapened or overburdened by moral messages; it's a journey to want to take. I recommend it wholeheartedly, because the best way I know to say thanks for a book is to pass it along to others.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
