I bought this small hardback book consisting of one short story because it was pretty, very appealing, and with lovely illustrations. And apparently a Christmas story. For its size, it was expensive, not exorbitant, but an indulgence. I bought it at our lovely independent book store (at a 50th anniversary sale, so I got 20% off).
Previous to reading this story, I had read nothing by Susanna Clarke and I had no idea what to expect.
I loved the story. It is a fantasy story about a young woman, Merowdis, who loves animals and nature. She has many dogs and many cats, and a pig, plus other assorted animals. She prefers to spend her time in the woods alone, and she has a sister, Ysolde, who understands her and aids and abets her in her escapes to the woods. The rest of her family wants her to marry and be normal.
As the story begins, Ysolde takes Merowdis out to the woods in the chaise, dropping her at the gates to the wood, leaving her to walk alone in the woods with two of the dogs and the pig, named Apple.
The story begins a few days before Christmas and there are mentions of the Christmas season, but I hardly noticed the connection to Christmas the first time I read it.
I loved the Afterward too, where the author talks about her inspiration and sources for the story. It was as good as the story, and I found both the story and the afterword moving.
The story takes up 42 pages of the book but there are a lot of illustrations, so it is really about 30 pages long. The illustrations by Victoria Sawdon are gorgeous and the writing is magical.
13 comments:
Happy new year, Tracy! I hope 2025 is a good year for you. The story sounds lovely. I don't usually go much for fantasy stories, but this one does sound engaging, and a good story to read at this time of year.
I've read Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004) and enjoyed it. Happy New Year!
I don't usually seek out fantasy, but this sounds delightful. I loved the cover when I first saw it and your comment about it having wonderful illustrations just draws me to it more. I might have to see if I can find it. We have a new independent book store (actually they bought the old one that struggled and revamped it with a coffee shop inside), so maybe I should support them by having them order it for me.
Clarke's PIRANESI is in my queue for next week.
I would have picked this up too - what an appealing cover! I own a copy of Jonathan Strange but it is an enormous paperback and I haven't had the energy to read it. Maybe I'd do better with it as an audiobook on a long trip. I don't enjoy fantasy as much as I used to. Wishing you a Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! I came across this book in a YouTube vlog review that spoke highly of the quality of its publication, the design & illustrations. Good thing the story is good as well.
Margot, this story was perfect for this time of year. I hope we all have a good 2025.
George, I never considered reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell because of the length, but I am more interested now. Or maybe I will try Piranesi.
Kelly, I have to push myself to read fantasy, and then I usually enjoy it. I did not know what to expect with this one, but I enjoyed it. And it is always good to support a new bookstore.
Jerry, I will be eager to see what you think of Piranesi. At least that is a comfortable length for me.
Constance, if you do listen to an audiobook of Jonathan Strange, I will want to hear how it went. I hope 2025 is a good year for you.
Frank, It was a relief to enjoy the story so much since I liked the cover and the illustrations. I don't read a lot of fantasy and I should seek out more fantasy short stories.
Happy New Year to you too.
I loved Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell! It's definitely one of my favorite books. :D
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