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aashkevr's review
4.0
What a delightfully unsettling little story. I really loved this! Actually, this turned me on to the works of Nancy Springer - I picked up four books from the library and 3 from amazon because I was impressed by both style and content. I have a feeling I will be reading a lot of Nancy Springer in the near future.
The short story is very fairy-tale-esque, the sort of fairy tale rule where the breaking of unspoken rules and the commission of crimes of human indecency and thoughtlessness tends to lead to badness.
The ageless "boy" shows up to do what he does without comment or complaint, and through their misuse and mistreatment of him the people who benefited from his talents suffer.
The writing is spectacular and the tone and style match the content - rhetorically speaking, although the story is short, the writing enhances the plot drawing on almost-archetypal expectations in the way information is conveyed.
A personal favorite for me was Springer's willingness to put readers in the story by "abusing" our expectations of narrative PoV.
Pretty much, the story is wonderful - wonderfully composed and wonderfully conceptualized.
A quick scan of some other reviews leads me to comment that:
A) the boy is clearly not "underage" in the way we conceive of "underage" and there are several indications of this in the story
and
B) I think that the story is complete as it is - the mystery and strangeness of it would be diminished if more concrete information was given about the protagonist. It would ruin the sense that the reader exists within the world - awed and confused with limited understanding.
The short story is very fairy-tale-esque, the sort of fairy tale rule where the breaking of unspoken rules and the commission of crimes of human indecency and thoughtlessness tends to lead to badness.
The ageless "boy" shows up to do what he does without comment or complaint, and through their misuse and mistreatment of him the people who benefited from his talents suffer.
The writing is spectacular and the tone and style match the content - rhetorically speaking, although the story is short, the writing enhances the plot drawing on almost-archetypal expectations in the way information is conveyed.
A personal favorite for me was Springer's willingness to put readers in the story by "abusing" our expectations of narrative PoV.
Spoiler
At one point readers are told, in an omniscient voice, that a character has not yet realized the boy (unnamed protagonist) is mute - so later when the boy speaks readers are surprised. We feel, same as those within the story, the shock of revelation that this boy, who we already suspected was more than he appeared, is even more. For anyone who takes the narration at face value, the revelation of his single line of speech resonates - readers feel instinctively connected to the story because we experience the same twists as the characters within.Pretty much, the story is wonderful - wonderfully composed and wonderfully conceptualized.
A quick scan of some other reviews leads me to comment that:
A) the boy is clearly not "underage" in the way we conceive of "underage" and there are several indications of this in the story
and
B) I think that the story is complete as it is - the mystery and strangeness of it would be diminished if more concrete information was given about the protagonist. It would ruin the sense that the reader exists within the world - awed and confused with limited understanding.
thistlechaser's review
2.0
Going into The Boy Who Plaited Manes, I had thought it was a book, but instead it was just a short story. Turns out that was fine, as it didn't hook me at all. It seemed like the retelling of a fairy tale or an original one. Set in some older time, a boy showed up at a Lord's stables and braided horses' manes. He was god-like in his ability to make horses look great, but who he is or where he came from was completely unknown, as he never said a word.
The Lord's wife needed her hair braided, so she had him do it, and like the horses, she fell in love with him. That lead to the downfall of every character in the story.
I felt like I just didn't get this story. Did it have a moral I was supposed to pick up on? Something other than the completely unsubtle 'Don't cheat on your spouse'? Either way, it just didn't work for me.
The Lord's wife needed her hair braided, so she had him do it, and like the horses, she fell in love with him. That lead to the downfall of every character in the story.
I felt like I just didn't get this story. Did it have a moral I was supposed to pick up on? Something other than the completely unsubtle 'Don't cheat on your spouse'? Either way, it just didn't work for me.
avoraciousreader68's review
4.0
A strange boy shows up at Lord Robley’s estate on the day of the Midsummer Hunt. He walks into the stables, goes straight to the stall of the lady’s white palfrey, opens the door, walks in and starts plaiting the long white mane. The head groom, in a rush to get the lord’s hunter ready, stops and stares at the strange boy doing magical things to the palfrey’s mane. He has no idea who this boy is or where he came from, but he’s got a lot to do in very little time, so decides to let him continue the plaiting. The Lord and Lady are delighted with the result and the boy stays to do the plaiting of all the horses. Who is this strange, silent boy? Where did he come from and who are his people?
This is an excellent short story. Well-written, smooth-flowing with an interesting main character. Personally, by the end of the tale, I thought the boy was fey or had fey blood in him, but we’ll never know. What we do know is that he had a magic way with his hands. I wish he was around to braid my hair. I’ve never mastered the knack of it. *sighs*
*Many thanks to Untreed Reads for providing me with a review copy. Please see disclaimer page on my blog.
This is an excellent short story. Well-written, smooth-flowing with an interesting main character. Personally, by the end of the tale, I thought the boy was fey or had fey blood in him, but we’ll never know. What we do know is that he had a magic way with his hands. I wish he was around to braid my hair. I’ve never mastered the knack of it. *sighs*
*Many thanks to Untreed Reads for providing me with a review copy. Please see disclaimer page on my blog.
gengelcox's review
4.0
A fairy tale of a magic realism type. There’s something unnatural about the boy, that is clear, but what exactly he is never comes out. Why he’s mute except for one phrase is even less clear, although the comeuppance at the end is appropriate and understandable. I would have liked it more if some of those mysteries had been revealed, for the writing and the details are spectacular.
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