It feels as though I have been reading this book for many
weeks. This might be the longest book I
have read on my Kindle – it has 576 pages.
While this is not the longest book I have ever read it did seem
especially long and at times I did not think I would reach the end. This is one disadvantage of reading a novel
on a Kindle. I like to see page numbers
when I am reading but the Kindle only gives you percentages. I find I like to have a better sense of how
much I have read and how much reading I still need to do.
It may be simplistic but one of the ways I judge a book is
by how reading it consumes me. If I love
a book I am happy to devote many continuous hours to reading. When I gobble up a book this way it means I
have really enjoyed it! Because Wildwood
took me so long to read I cannot say I loved it but there were moments when I
did get completely caught up in the story.
I was interested to read some of the Kindle reviews because they were so
divergent. Some people gave this book 4
or 5 stars while others gave it only one or two…. Wildwood seems to be a book that does provoke
a strong reaction. It has won lots of awards but the New York Times reviewer agrees with me that parts of this book were
quite slow. You can read about the story from the series web site and the NY Times review but here are some of my
observations :
I knew the story would end in a fierce battle right and yes it certainly did. The
battle was so graphic I could hardly read all the details.
Alexandra, the Dowager Governess reminded me of so many
thoroughly evil, power crazed, women we find in fantasy writing – I am thinking
of the Queen of Narnia and The Snow Queen as obvious examples. But also of Robe of Skulls. Here is a graphic description
of Alexandra : “Her face was ovoid and
pale, though her lips shone red like the freshest late summer apples. Her hair was electric copper-red and it hung
in braided tresses … she was discernibly human, yet she struck Curtis as being
entirely otherworldly, as if she’d been pulled from the face of some ancient
cathedral’s … fresco.”
I did like the opening chapters when Prue watches, helpless,
as her baby brother Mac is lifted from the park and flown away to the
Impassable Wilderness. The inclusion of
detailed maps help the read make sense of this wild area.
The link to Rapunzel, while obvious, was also somehow
reassuring. Prue’s parents make a
promise to the evil queen that they will relinquish their second child if she
will help them to conceive. “one day …
we were at the farmer’s market … and I was off getting … rutabagas.” “So you need a baby?’ and we nod yes. ‘I’ll make you with child but you have to
agree to something.’ And we say okay, what it is? And she says ‘If you ever
have a second child, that child belongs to me.”
The cast of characters are diverse and interesting. The Dowager
Governess wants to use the ivy to take over the whole kingdom. She enlists the
help of coyotes. She tames them and
gives them smart uniforms and military discipline. On the other side, apart
from the two heroes Prue and her class mate Curtis, we have a disparate bunch
of Bandits, farmers, animals like rats, sparrows, badgers and a very impressive
owl. Various trees and plants also pay
an important role in the eventual triumph over evil.
I am quite lost as to why Curtis stayed behind and deserted
his family. He is such an important
character in this story but even now right at the end I feel I know very little
about him and this is frustrating.
To some extent this book reminded me of Toby Alone (which is
an utterly fabulous book) and The Emerald Atlas. If you are a Narnia fan you should also enjoy this book. I have read a good review of the audio version which might be worth looking for.
The stage is set at the end for the sequel but I am not
rushing to read it just yet. There is a good video on the series web site.
2 comments:
The sequel is out and I have decided not to buy it. I stopped reading and didn't finish it, so I have felt I couldn't recommend it to students.
That is good to know. Reading is so subjective. I often adore books others are luke warm about and then cannot understand the accolades and fuss around other books. Wildwood just did not enthral me.
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