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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Hm. Very fantastical throughout but I felt like the ending derailed a bit.
‘There is no labyrinth as treacherous as that with neither paths nor walls.’
When seven-year-old Anna is placed in the company of a neighbor while her father attends to some business, she never thought that would be the last she would see of him. The year is 1939 during the very beginning of World War II and the Germans are beginning their round up of scholars and Anna’s father is a professor at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Unsure what to do, Anna turns to a mysterious stranger she names Swallow Man after he displays his proficiency with languages including the ability to speak to birds. Intrigued by this man, Anna begins to follow him and the two stay together, walking across Poland, for many years.
“A riverbank goes wherever the riverbank does. […] I’ll be the riverbank and you be the river.”
During this duo’s travels, the Swallow Man teaches Anna many lessons, cultivating her ability to survive with or without him. The two that bear repeating most: “To be found is to be gone forever,” and “One can’t be found as long as one keeps moving.” And keep hidden and moving they do. Within this short novel, years pass and it becomes more and more difficult to continue to survive in a world that has transformed around them, blanketing them in war. Throughout their time together, the Swallow Man persists in fascinating Anna with his perpetual crypticness and continues to keep the reader curious about the circumstances which brought him to this point.
‘It was very difficult for her to take her attention away from the thin man, even for a moment. Somewhere, tickling the back of her brain, she felt a certainty that if she wasn’t constantly watching this fellow, she would miss whole miracles, whole wonders – things that he let fall incidentally off himself as other men might shed dandruff.’
There was something supremely enchanting about this well-written story. It combined the heartrending historical aspects of The Book Thief with the magical realism of The Snow Child. Unfortunately, Savit built up a mesmerizing tale of survival only to lose steam and fizzle out at the end. The hazy inscrutability that is cast over this story leads to the magical feeling of mysteriousness but by the end I was expecting that haze to clear and it never did.
Spoiler
There was one particular moment where the haze somewhat cleared and the magic dispelled: when Anna, in an attempt to obtain the medicine the Swallow Man required, agreed to remove her clothes for the pharmacist since she didn’t have any money. He didn’t physically assault her but just the act of being naked for the first time in front of a stranger was a horrifying experience for Anna and a horrible experience to have to read about. It left a terrible taste in my mouth about the whole thing and felt like a poorly placed piece attempting to shock the reader when the story has been nothing but demure up until that point.I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This book is good, though the comparisons to [b:The Book Thief|19063|The Book Thief|Markus Zusak|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390053681s/19063.jpg|878368] are certainly overselling it. A tale of abandonment and choosing to become lost during a time of war, it is beautifully written, with several compelling characters, but I never felt any urgency in getting back to reading it. Also, the author chose to underwrite the ending, which added an unnecessary and seemingly unintentional ambiguity.
3.5 stars rounded down.
3.5 stars rounded down.
Exquisite writing. Still not sure how I feel about the story.
Listed to the audiobook version. Very interesting, well-developed characters. The story was great.
There is no doubt this book is beautifully written. It kind of reminds me of a mashup of The Road and The Book Thief. I just couldn't get past the idea that this book felt more like adult literary fiction than YA.
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
A strange and beautifully written little book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol