Scan barcode
bookaneer's review against another edition
5.0
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is a work of art with a capital A. From the very first pages, I knew I was reading something extraordinary. A cross between magical realism and historical fantasy, this is told from the eyes of a two-thousand year old crow, as he flew throughout the history of man, the history of Ymr – our world, Ka – the world of the crows – and what lies in between, under, and beyond.
I truly never really paid attention to crows before this book. Their reputation as messenger of death, the death-black bird, seem to permeate in many histories including in my own country. Because of this book, however, I came to appreciate them more, one of the most intelligent animals out there. I spent hours falling into the rabbit hole of crow googling. Did you know crows can tell the difference between a man carrying a shovel over his shoulder and a man carrying a gun? They know to stay away from the one and the other one can’t hurt them. For Indonesians, did you know Indonesia has at least six different crow species? And our crows are exceptionally bright? Crowley did an extensive research for this book and it shows. How he integrated the facts of crows from biological traits to social behavior seamlessly into an engaging, magical tale is an achievement of its own.
CROWley (ahem) is also somehow successful in making an animal POV does not seem like a representation or allegory of men – which novels did often with their animal characters. There is no humanizing part. Dar Oakley is his own character, a crow, and he has his own, unique, endearing voice. Moreover, one of my favorite parts of the book is that the crow showed agency. Not just an observer, mind you.
History buff and myth lovers will enjoy this book. Dak Oakley tales brought me to many points of history; I lived with the ancient Celts, I witnessed the Roman legion in their bloody campaign, I traveled across the sea to the New World, I followed the homeward-bound victims of the Civil War, and I saw the bleak, diseased future of humanity. This book is divided into a few different era. Each era represents a journey. Every journey is different. Every journey is mythically-inspired and fantastically morbid. How could it not? There was a very thin line between worlds whenever Dar Oakley was around. The streams of human companions the crow had been engaged with across time and continent actually showed that Dar Oakley’s true companion is death. He croaks out "ka" (caw), which is also the ancient Egyptian word for the spiritual self that survives the decay of the body.
Let me stop with that, since whatever I wrote here won’t do the book any justice. There were too many parts I love. Aside from The Scar, this is the best book I read this year, one of those five glowing stars that will shine the longest in my memory. It was truly a marvelous, achingly beautiful reading experience – also thanks to the lovely buddies I had in SFFBC, you know who you are :)
I truly never really paid attention to crows before this book. Their reputation as messenger of death, the death-black bird, seem to permeate in many histories including in my own country. Because of this book, however, I came to appreciate them more, one of the most intelligent animals out there. I spent hours falling into the rabbit hole of crow googling. Did you know crows can tell the difference between a man carrying a shovel over his shoulder and a man carrying a gun? They know to stay away from the one and the other one can’t hurt them. For Indonesians, did you know Indonesia has at least six different crow species? And our crows are exceptionally bright? Crowley did an extensive research for this book and it shows. How he integrated the facts of crows from biological traits to social behavior seamlessly into an engaging, magical tale is an achievement of its own.
CROWley (ahem) is also somehow successful in making an animal POV does not seem like a representation or allegory of men – which novels did often with their animal characters. There is no humanizing part. Dar Oakley is his own character, a crow, and he has his own, unique, endearing voice. Moreover, one of my favorite parts of the book is that the crow showed agency. Not just an observer, mind you.
History buff and myth lovers will enjoy this book. Dak Oakley tales brought me to many points of history; I lived with the ancient Celts, I witnessed the Roman legion in their bloody campaign, I traveled across the sea to the New World, I followed the homeward-bound victims of the Civil War, and I saw the bleak, diseased future of humanity. This book is divided into a few different era. Each era represents a journey. Every journey is different. Every journey is mythically-inspired and fantastically morbid. How could it not? There was a very thin line between worlds whenever Dar Oakley was around. The streams of human companions the crow had been engaged with across time and continent actually showed that Dar Oakley’s true companion is death. He croaks out "ka" (caw), which is also the ancient Egyptian word for the spiritual self that survives the decay of the body.
"Maybe not, said the Skeleton. But look at it this way. When you return home, you'll tell the story of how you sought it and failed, and that story will be told and told again. And when you're dead yourself, the story will go on being told, and in that telling you'll speak and act and be alive again."
Let me stop with that, since whatever I wrote here won’t do the book any justice. There were too many parts I love. Aside from The Scar, this is the best book I read this year, one of those five glowing stars that will shine the longest in my memory. It was truly a marvelous, achingly beautiful reading experience – also thanks to the lovely buddies I had in SFFBC, you know who you are :)
helinae's review against another edition
5.0
Ambitious. Multi-level. Eye-opening. Fantastically realistic. Sad, but truthful.
"Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr" is all of the above. My first book from John Crowley leaves me wanting more, as the lyrical writing is perfect for stopping for a moment, meandering in the meaning of the thoughts brought forward through words.
Topics in this book include in-depth thoughts of our world, our history, its people, death, religion, our journey for a purpose or nothing at all. All this through the eyes of a crow, the world of crows, ever watching and ever knowing. The story takes you in, flying through our world as we have never seen it before.
John Crowley writes beautifully. I am going to visit more of his books in the near future.
"Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr" is all of the above. My first book from John Crowley leaves me wanting more, as the lyrical writing is perfect for stopping for a moment, meandering in the meaning of the thoughts brought forward through words.
Topics in this book include in-depth thoughts of our world, our history, its people, death, religion, our journey for a purpose or nothing at all. All this through the eyes of a crow, the world of crows, ever watching and ever knowing. The story takes you in, flying through our world as we have never seen it before.
John Crowley writes beautifully. I am going to visit more of his books in the near future.
mlcarter815's review against another edition
2.0
It’s well written, but I didn’t find it very engaging.
danga5's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
oleksandr's review against another edition
4.0
This is a novel about a crow’s view on human civilization. Maybe I should start with deciphering the title: Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr. Ymr is the real of humans, both living and dead from Norse (?) myths; Ka is its equivalent in the crows’ world; Dar Oakley is the name of the crow, who narrates most of the book.
The book starts with the author, who recently lost his wife, found a wounded crow and takes it home. In time the crow and the author develop a common tongue and the crow tells his story.
The crow story has four parts, starting from [1] iron age Albion, with Celtic/Norse populations, following with [2] early medieval monks, [3] north American Indians up to the US civil war and [4] the present day/alt or near future. Crows are materialists, “dead is dead” is their common refrain, but humans made them in their stories as death birds and crows have to take part.
The story mixes the wealth of information about real biology/behavior of crows, their supposed difference in views from humans (like ‘in every human language we talk about ways and paths and bringing and bearing things along them. We come to a fork in the road, a parting of the ways, we take a wrong turn. Crows never talk in that way. But if I couldn’t, I’m not sure I could tell a story, or recount a life. We are beings on the path, always wondering what’s beyond the next turning. Crows live in a wide, trackless space of three dimensions.’). And last but not least, their appearance in our stories.
Great prose, vivid story, clever ideas.
The book starts with the author, who recently lost his wife, found a wounded crow and takes it home. In time the crow and the author develop a common tongue and the crow tells his story.
The crow story has four parts, starting from [1] iron age Albion, with Celtic/Norse populations, following with [2] early medieval monks, [3] north American Indians up to the US civil war and [4] the present day/alt or near future. Crows are materialists, “dead is dead” is their common refrain, but humans made them in their stories as death birds and crows have to take part.
The story mixes the wealth of information about real biology/behavior of crows, their supposed difference in views from humans (like ‘in every human language we talk about ways and paths and bringing and bearing things along them. We come to a fork in the road, a parting of the ways, we take a wrong turn. Crows never talk in that way. But if I couldn’t, I’m not sure I could tell a story, or recount a life. We are beings on the path, always wondering what’s beyond the next turning. Crows live in a wide, trackless space of three dimensions.’). And last but not least, their appearance in our stories.
Great prose, vivid story, clever ideas.
ashcomb's review against another edition
4.0
I looked for something different to read and got recommended Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr. The cover (which is amazing) and the book premise instantly pulled me in, and after reading the first pages, I ordered the book. Ka isn't your typical fantasy. It is like a campfire story about past lives and mythologies mixed with children's animal fairy tales with moral but written for adults. It works. The language is beautiful and dream-like. The story is interesting and left me in this weird good mood (as if everything will be all right, everything has a purpose, and the world makes sense.) And who wouldn't like these words: "One Crow alone is no Crows: Alone Dar Oakley was more alone here than the Saints were in their cells."?
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is a tale about what it is to be a crow, but on a deeper level it is a tale about being different and following that path and asking questions and not taking the world as it is. It is also about death and immortality. I would love to tell you what the book's moral is and how it will end because it makes the book great, but I think it is best left to be discovered. What made me love the book was that this reminded me a lot of my childhood's fairytales with a moral, and now as an adult, those books are hard to come by. Here is a moral passage which I will always cherish: ' "Never make fun of the Small Ugly People," One Ear told the Crow clan children and others gathered around him. "Never laugh at them. They know they're ugly and they're ashamed of it, but they can't change it. They hear better than any other being, and they'll know you mocked them. They'll hide from you ever after, and you won't find them even when they could do you some good.'
The only downside the book has is its pacing. The book is slow to read, and there are places where I wished the story would move on, but when I think about editing the book and cutting out scenes, there isn't a single word I am willing to take out. Every word belongs there even when it can be tiresome.
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is definitely an odd book among its kind as is the crow.
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is a tale about what it is to be a crow, but on a deeper level it is a tale about being different and following that path and asking questions and not taking the world as it is. It is also about death and immortality. I would love to tell you what the book's moral is and how it will end because it makes the book great, but I think it is best left to be discovered. What made me love the book was that this reminded me a lot of my childhood's fairytales with a moral, and now as an adult, those books are hard to come by. Here is a moral passage which I will always cherish: ' "Never make fun of the Small Ugly People," One Ear told the Crow clan children and others gathered around him. "Never laugh at them. They know they're ugly and they're ashamed of it, but they can't change it. They hear better than any other being, and they'll know you mocked them. They'll hide from you ever after, and you won't find them even when they could do you some good.'
The only downside the book has is its pacing. The book is slow to read, and there are places where I wished the story would move on, but when I think about editing the book and cutting out scenes, there isn't a single word I am willing to take out. Every word belongs there even when it can be tiresome.
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is definitely an odd book among its kind as is the crow.
king_lefay's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5