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laurendubs's review against another edition
5.0
Comforting ‘90s fantasy that hits the soft Halloween spooky spot. 10/10
pixelina's review against another edition
4.0
Re-reading it for the book club. Was 15 years since the last time, will be nice to see if I love it as much this time around.
weremallard's review against another edition
5.0
This book has been sitting on my night siand for a while. I love Terri Windling, and love fairy tales, so I'm not sure why. It stated a bit slow, maybe, but by halfway through the book I couldn't put it down. Amazing story, and highly recommended.
unevendays's review against another edition
4.0
I'm vacilating between four and five stars so I suppose I want to give it four and a half, as I did really love this but didn't quite want to give it full marks.
My edition has a quote from fellow mythic fantasy author Robert Holdstock on the cover - which is entirely appropriate, as the book isn't a million miles away, thematically, from Holdstock's Mythago Wood series. They're both about the magic in the land, and how we can shape it into forms we can understand and interact with. As this was part of Brian Froud's Fairielands project - where authors would write novels inspired by particular paintings - Froud's art is a theme running through the novel, along with a complement of fictional and real artists, poets and musicians.
The Wood Wife of the title is a collection of poems by Davis Cooper, an alcoholic poet who dies mysteriously and leaves his cabin and personal effects to a correspondant of his, poet Maggie Black. Maggie has always assumed that the poems were inspired by the English woodland of Cooper's childhood (Ryhope?) but as she arrives on the Mountain, just outside of Tucson, she begins to realise that the poems - and the paintings of his lover Anna Naverra - were inspired by the Sonoran Desert where he had chosen to live. As she learns more, she comes to believe that the poems and paintings were not just symbolic, but reflect some deeper truth about the Mountain as well.
My edition has a quote from fellow mythic fantasy author Robert Holdstock on the cover - which is entirely appropriate, as the book isn't a million miles away, thematically, from Holdstock's Mythago Wood series. They're both about the magic in the land, and how we can shape it into forms we can understand and interact with. As this was part of Brian Froud's Fairielands project - where authors would write novels inspired by particular paintings - Froud's art is a theme running through the novel, along with a complement of fictional and real artists, poets and musicians.
The Wood Wife of the title is a collection of poems by Davis Cooper, an alcoholic poet who dies mysteriously and leaves his cabin and personal effects to a correspondant of his, poet Maggie Black. Maggie has always assumed that the poems were inspired by the English woodland of Cooper's childhood (Ryhope?) but as she arrives on the Mountain, just outside of Tucson, she begins to realise that the poems - and the paintings of his lover Anna Naverra - were inspired by the Sonoran Desert where he had chosen to live. As she learns more, she comes to believe that the poems and paintings were not just symbolic, but reflect some deeper truth about the Mountain as well.
robyotter's review against another edition
5.0
This book is like comfort food for me, and I suspect I'll be reading it for years to come.
indi72547's review against another edition
4.0
Petit bijou déniché par hasard par mon cher et tendre !
Comme lui, j'ai été attirée par sa sublime couverture ! (Merci à l'auteure de m'avoir fait découvrir Brian Froud ♥)
Suite à la mort étrange de son ami poète, Maggie Black, elle-même écrivaine, hérite d'une maison dans le désert montagneux de l'Arizona. Sur place, elle y découvre un monde auquel elle ne s'y attendait pas et au fil de son enquête pour retracer la vie de Cooper, elle y découvre bien des secrets.
Ce fut un réel plaisir de lire L'épouse de Bois. J'ai beaucoup aimé cet univers de réalisme magique où règne la poésie. J'ai particulièrement apprécié le mélange de divers folklores. Le livre reste certes centré sur les légendes amérindiennes mais on y retrouve également d'autres légendes émanant du monde anglosaxon. Et la poésie !!! Toutes ces citations de L'épouse de Bois et de "vraies" oeuvres. Je ne suis pourtant pas une grande fan de poésie mais cette fois-ci, j'étais réellement touchée par l'atmosphère que créaient ces brins de poésie.
J'aurais bien aimé le lire en anglais mais je trouve que la version française est très joliment écrite et je me suis vite laissée emporter par ce récit. Une très bonne surprise !
Comme lui, j'ai été attirée par sa sublime couverture ! (Merci à l'auteure de m'avoir fait découvrir Brian Froud ♥)
Suite à la mort étrange de son ami poète, Maggie Black, elle-même écrivaine, hérite d'une maison dans le désert montagneux de l'Arizona. Sur place, elle y découvre un monde auquel elle ne s'y attendait pas et au fil de son enquête pour retracer la vie de Cooper, elle y découvre bien des secrets.
Ce fut un réel plaisir de lire L'épouse de Bois. J'ai beaucoup aimé cet univers de réalisme magique où règne la poésie. J'ai particulièrement apprécié le mélange de divers folklores. Le livre reste certes centré sur les légendes amérindiennes mais on y retrouve également d'autres légendes émanant du monde anglosaxon. Et la poésie !!! Toutes ces citations de L'épouse de Bois et de "vraies" oeuvres. Je ne suis pourtant pas une grande fan de poésie mais cette fois-ci, j'étais réellement touchée par l'atmosphère que créaient ces brins de poésie.
J'aurais bien aimé le lire en anglais mais je trouve que la version française est très joliment écrite et je me suis vite laissée emporter par ce récit. Une très bonne surprise !
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