Thursday, 22 July 2021 05:50 pm
Book Review: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
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deckardcanineCatherynne M. Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making ended on a mostly positive note but did not feel final. September had gone home but could only hope that she wouldn't have to wait long to visit Fairyland again. After all, she had left a piece of herself behind -- literally, in the case of her shadow.
Her wait takes about a year in Omaha time and about four in Fairyland time, so she's a little more mature at 13 and sees substantial changes to the land she loves. I think she knew on some level that her shadow had a life of its own, but she hadn't counted on it being quite so influential: It (OK, "she") now goes by Halloween, the Hollow Queen of Fairyland-Below, which is the same size as the above version. Halloween has been whisking shadows to her realm without consent. The shadows enjoy their freedom there, so it wouldn't be so bad, except that they're also connected with magic, so the entities who prefer to stay topside have to ration what's left. Eventually, their realm would simply become Earth as we know it.
September's determined to play the heroine once again, partly because she feels responsible for her shadow, however autonomous, so she "falls" on purpose. She soon meets the shadows of her closest Fairyland friends, Ell and Saturday, who know her as well as their counterparts do but don't behave quite the same way, and the differences are not primarily for the better in her mind. It's a pity that the "real" Ell and Saturday don't show up until near the end. At least she gets a whole new itinerant companion, Aubergine the Night-Dodo, who's great at stealth but seems trustworthy.
Fairyland-Below is literally darker than Fairyland-Above, but September doesn't have trouble seeing there. Oddly, the shadows are not black or even monochromatic, and they are functionally solid. It's not a gloomy place in attitude, perhaps thanks to Halloween. And despite fearful rumors, it's not evidently more wicked. Certainly Halloween comes across as less so than the Marquess -- whose shadow, incidentally, doesn't act wicked at all. September could hardly expect to attack Halloween; if talking doesn't work, there's a nonviolent backup plan.
That said, September does show less innocence than before, more willingness to do harsh things. How ironic that this should happen after, according to the narrator, she gains more of a heart with age. Sometimes I wondered why she made such decisions and whether the readers were supposed to agree with them.
Really, I think the story has gotten weirder overall. Some aspects are difficult to picture. And you can forget about jumping in before reading the predecessor.
On the plus side, I appreciate Valente trusting our intellect. When characters talk about narrative elements as nearly concrete things beholden to laws, the seriousness manages to translate to great fun for us. I might have to reread those sections in particular someday.
I can see why Valente felt that she had just scratched the surface and could write about Fairyland for decades. Until I check out the next volume (as I plan to), I have almost no idea where things will go next. But then, unpredictability was always a key component, even with all the hints from chapter subtitles.
I have now started City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. Didn't realize I'd be reading two consecutive books with the word "marid" in their vocabulary.
Her wait takes about a year in Omaha time and about four in Fairyland time, so she's a little more mature at 13 and sees substantial changes to the land she loves. I think she knew on some level that her shadow had a life of its own, but she hadn't counted on it being quite so influential: It (OK, "she") now goes by Halloween, the Hollow Queen of Fairyland-Below, which is the same size as the above version. Halloween has been whisking shadows to her realm without consent. The shadows enjoy their freedom there, so it wouldn't be so bad, except that they're also connected with magic, so the entities who prefer to stay topside have to ration what's left. Eventually, their realm would simply become Earth as we know it.
September's determined to play the heroine once again, partly because she feels responsible for her shadow, however autonomous, so she "falls" on purpose. She soon meets the shadows of her closest Fairyland friends, Ell and Saturday, who know her as well as their counterparts do but don't behave quite the same way, and the differences are not primarily for the better in her mind. It's a pity that the "real" Ell and Saturday don't show up until near the end. At least she gets a whole new itinerant companion, Aubergine the Night-Dodo, who's great at stealth but seems trustworthy.
Fairyland-Below is literally darker than Fairyland-Above, but September doesn't have trouble seeing there. Oddly, the shadows are not black or even monochromatic, and they are functionally solid. It's not a gloomy place in attitude, perhaps thanks to Halloween. And despite fearful rumors, it's not evidently more wicked. Certainly Halloween comes across as less so than the Marquess -- whose shadow, incidentally, doesn't act wicked at all. September could hardly expect to attack Halloween; if talking doesn't work, there's a nonviolent backup plan.
That said, September does show less innocence than before, more willingness to do harsh things. How ironic that this should happen after, according to the narrator, she gains more of a heart with age. Sometimes I wondered why she made such decisions and whether the readers were supposed to agree with them.
Really, I think the story has gotten weirder overall. Some aspects are difficult to picture. And you can forget about jumping in before reading the predecessor.
On the plus side, I appreciate Valente trusting our intellect. When characters talk about narrative elements as nearly concrete things beholden to laws, the seriousness manages to translate to great fun for us. I might have to reread those sections in particular someday.
I can see why Valente felt that she had just scratched the surface and could write about Fairyland for decades. Until I check out the next volume (as I plan to), I have almost no idea where things will go next. But then, unpredictability was always a key component, even with all the hints from chapter subtitles.
I have now started City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty. Didn't realize I'd be reading two consecutive books with the word "marid" in their vocabulary.