Reviews

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

heathergstl's review against another edition

3.0

I was a little disappointed in this book. The storyline itself was good and the writing style made for a good read. I did enjoy the book, my disappointment stems from the knowledge that this book was based upon Yeats' poem of the same title. I am a HUGE fan of the Yeats poem. I suppose I expected the book to be more true to the poem and bit more fanciful. Honestly, if I hadn't known that it was based upon the poem, or if I was unfamiliar with poem in the first place, I would have been much more pleased with the tone of the story and it would have gotten a five star rating from me.

trin's review against another edition

4.0

I wish I'd written about this right after I'd finished it, when I was still caught in the world of the story, which is incredibly well-drawn. The book is told in two parallel first person narratives: one following a faery changeling in his new, human life; and one following the little boy he replaced in his life among the faeries. Donohue's depiction of faeries was really different and not what I was expecting; this is no grand court of Titania, but a hard, meager existence eked out in the woods—like an especially brutal version of Peter Pan's lost boys. Donohue doesn't flinch away from the brutality of this, or the more disturbing aspects of sexuality in people who grow older in mind but remain children in body. In contrast, the original changeling (who was also, once long ago, a human boy) gets his second chance at human life, discovering a remarkable gift for music. Donohue does a really good job showing the sadness and the beauty in both characters' situations, and the book, which could have been gut-wrenchingly tragic, maintains a wonderful sense of hope. A first novel, and a really fascinating one.

papierpalast's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

jobustitch's review against another edition

4.0

Although the ending sort of fizzled a bit, the entire book was a wonderful and immaginative read.

hazeyjane_2's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

jaimeroo's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

mollie_makebelieve's review against another edition

4.0

Interesting take on the subject of Changeling Faeries. It is beautiful but also sad. This novel will stick with me for quite a while.
Switching chapters between Henry Day/Aniday the story moves in a fairly fast pace through the years following the disappearance/exchange of the two children. This novel is more than just a fantasy novel about woodland faeries. It is a tale of exchanged, of one life for another.
The symbolism used demonstrates the struggles of a young boy lost trying to remember his traumatic past while also trying to understand who he is. Another boy is uprooted and forced into a completely new environment as he struggles while trying to find a place of belonging in this new society. The book also makes references to old world explanations like changelings as fantastical rationalization for things like failure to thrive, illness, and deformity in children.
The main theme is pulled from a poem by Yeats of the same title.
This tale consists of themes of loneliness and belonging, family bonds, love and memories that cross generations and oceans.
This book was moving, haunting, and I could not put it down.

angelamichelle's review against another edition

4.0

I liked this unusual book more and more as it went along. Very entertaining, but then some interesting meditations on childhood, identity, memory, truth, and right. I recommend it.

rouge_red's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

5.0

A thoroughly enjoyable book that I was completely enchanted by. I already enjoy books about doppelgängers, but then we add the fairy tale aspect to it with much of it taking place in the woods? Sold! The only gripe I had with it was the odd choice to tell the audience that while the humans-turned-changelings don't age physically, they still engage in hanky-panky as pre-pubescent looking things. I could have gone without that detail. Really. Besides that, I liked the ever pervasive melancholic and bittersweet atmosphere. And a detail I did like was the almost Charlie Brown thing of the changelings not being able to understand human speech anymore. Although the ones who can still read and write have no problem doing so. Why is speech affected? Don't know, but it certainly added a twist on some of the interactions between the changelings and humans. It was overall a very absorbing story with some pretty moving moments. It was sad to see the point where Aniday had lived longer as a changeling than he lived as Henry day. His counterpart also felt a push-and-pull between remembering his past, trying to make connections with it and accepting that his life in the here and now required his attention. It was kind of cathartic when we got the moment when our two MCs let go and decided to finally live the life they each now had.

embereye's review against another edition

4.0

This book tells the stories of a changeling child and the child he replaced. Set in originally rural 1950s US, the stories are both rather compelling as both of them deal with guilt, fear, self discovery, and everything it takes to being human. Definitely an enjoyable read, although the plot as it is is not exactly traditional and I've found it more satisfying a few days later as it's percolated in my subconcious. One of those kinds of books.