You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
British writer Graham Joyce’s latest novel is set in the English countryside near the foreboding Outwoods, which happen to be on a geological anomalie. many of the nearby residents are afraid of the Outwoods, and rightly so, it would seem. 15 year old Tara Martin disappeared from the Outwoods, only to magically return 20 years later, looking the exact same age as when she first disappeared. Her answer for where she’s been for the past 20 years seems insane and yet strangely plausible, if you believe in fairies, that is. Her reappearance uncovers old wounds between her brother, Peter, and Ritchie, her boyfriend at the time of her disappearance. Both men are in their 40s now, and only Peter had been able to move on. Will Tara’s reappearance give Ritchie a fresh start with the girl he never stopped loving, or will it prove to be his undoing? Joyce takes us on a psychological journey of heartbreak and healing and leaves us with the ultimate question of what is fantasy and what is reality?
This is the first novel by Joyce I’ve read, and while it was relatively predictable, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Joyce’s writing is clean and measured and his characters feel like they could be the people down the street. Only Tara felt somewhat hollow, but that was probably due more to her role in the narrative and plot than a poorly drawn character. My favorite character was actually a minor one; Dr. Vivian Underwood, the shrink hired to examine Tara, who belongs more to the fairies than anyone else in the novel. This was a fairly quick read, and not terribly deep or probing. It would be good for an afternoon at the beach or a cloudy evening at home. While reading, I had the strong urge to drink some Earl Grey, since everyone is always drinking tea, which can apparently fix almost anything. One final thing I loved about the novel was the short quotes preceding each chapter. My favorite is by Marina Warner: “Wonder has no opposite; it springs up already doubled in itself, compounded of dread and desire at once, attraction and recoil, producing a thrill, the shudder of pleasure and fear.”
This is the first novel by Joyce I’ve read, and while it was relatively predictable, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Joyce’s writing is clean and measured and his characters feel like they could be the people down the street. Only Tara felt somewhat hollow, but that was probably due more to her role in the narrative and plot than a poorly drawn character. My favorite character was actually a minor one; Dr. Vivian Underwood, the shrink hired to examine Tara, who belongs more to the fairies than anyone else in the novel. This was a fairly quick read, and not terribly deep or probing. It would be good for an afternoon at the beach or a cloudy evening at home. While reading, I had the strong urge to drink some Earl Grey, since everyone is always drinking tea, which can apparently fix almost anything. One final thing I loved about the novel was the short quotes preceding each chapter. My favorite is by Marina Warner: “Wonder has no opposite; it springs up already doubled in itself, compounded of dread and desire at once, attraction and recoil, producing a thrill, the shudder of pleasure and fear.”
One day, Tara disappeared into the Outwoods. Her family and the police searched for months and suspicion landed on her boyfriend. No body was ever found. Twenty years have past, and suddenly Tara reappears, looking barely older than when she left, and claiming she was stolen away by fairies. Old wounds break open as those she left behind struggle to accept her story and reintegrate her back into their lives.
This was a wild card book for me. No idea what to expect, no idea if it would be any good. Luckily, I really enjoyed it! The style shifts from chapter to chapter as the story is filtered through each character's perspective: the dad, the brother, the boyfriend, Tara, the shrink, the nephew, the sister-in-law. It moves from 1st person to 3rd person as the story's needs dictate. The post-modern lack of quotation marks at random intervals is a pet peeve of mine, but it certainly dictated tone and pace.
The family's stories are meaty and intricate, especially through the eyes of the brother and the boyfriend. Peter struggles with reconnecting with a sister who may be crazy, who still acts like a teenager while he has grown up. Richie, the boyfriend, was abused by the police and abandoned by Tara's family, almost convinced that he had murdered Tara and buried it in his unconscious. When Tara re-emerges, Peter and Richie, once best friends, struggle to re-find their friendship after so much pain. This is where the real heart of the story lies, I think, and where the author shines.
Peter's family is messy and poor and full of love. His wife, Genevieve is an amazing mother (almost super-humanly so) as she deals with the chaos matter-of-factly and selflessly.
However, the story falls apart with Tara. For one thing, I did not like her as a character. I felt she was reckless and flighty. Granted, she is a teenager, but I feel even a teenager should know not to get on a strange man's horse. Also, the story would work if fairy land was a desirable place to live. If you honestly felt you might be drawn to it. But nope. It is a weird hippy commune where they have orgies and gain strange knowledge of time and there are trippy bug flowers. It sounds awful. And yet Tara is drawn to it.
I did enjoy the overarching use of fairy tales and fairy tale imagery, though. The story is chock full of symbols: a bar called The White Horse, Jack (the son)'s e-mail as jackthegiantkiller, etc. The psychologist analyses Tara's story as if it is a fairy tale, finding archetypes and symbols that will hopefully unlock her subconscious to reveal what really happened to her. It is an interesting exploration of fairy tale analysis and if we can apply it to real life, or if that is absolutely absurd.
Despite it's flaws, I do recommend it for it's unique perspective. We usually hear the story of the girl who goes into fairy land. Very rarely do we get to hear the story of those she left behind.
This was a wild card book for me. No idea what to expect, no idea if it would be any good. Luckily, I really enjoyed it! The style shifts from chapter to chapter as the story is filtered through each character's perspective: the dad, the brother, the boyfriend, Tara, the shrink, the nephew, the sister-in-law. It moves from 1st person to 3rd person as the story's needs dictate. The post-modern lack of quotation marks at random intervals is a pet peeve of mine, but it certainly dictated tone and pace.
The family's stories are meaty and intricate, especially through the eyes of the brother and the boyfriend. Peter struggles with reconnecting with a sister who may be crazy, who still acts like a teenager while he has grown up. Richie, the boyfriend, was abused by the police and abandoned by Tara's family, almost convinced that he had murdered Tara and buried it in his unconscious. When Tara re-emerges, Peter and Richie, once best friends, struggle to re-find their friendship after so much pain. This is where the real heart of the story lies, I think, and where the author shines.
Peter's family is messy and poor and full of love. His wife, Genevieve is an amazing mother (almost super-humanly so) as she deals with the chaos matter-of-factly and selflessly.
However, the story falls apart with Tara. For one thing, I did not like her as a character. I felt she was reckless and flighty. Granted, she is a teenager, but I feel even a teenager should know not to get on a strange man's horse. Also, the story would work if fairy land was a desirable place to live. If you honestly felt you might be drawn to it. But nope. It is a weird hippy commune where they have orgies and gain strange knowledge of time and there are trippy bug flowers. It sounds awful. And yet Tara is drawn to it.
I did enjoy the overarching use of fairy tales and fairy tale imagery, though. The story is chock full of symbols: a bar called The White Horse, Jack (the son)'s e-mail as jackthegiantkiller, etc. The psychologist analyses Tara's story as if it is a fairy tale, finding archetypes and symbols that will hopefully unlock her subconscious to reveal what really happened to her. It is an interesting exploration of fairy tale analysis and if we can apply it to real life, or if that is absolutely absurd.
Despite it's flaws, I do recommend it for it's unique perspective. We usually hear the story of the girl who goes into fairy land. Very rarely do we get to hear the story of those she left behind.
At times the cliches were a bit much for me but overall this is a good fantasy. It reminded me of some of my favorite, dark fairy tales from childhood.
Keeps you guessing till the end.
This book intrigued me from the beginning. I wasn't sure where it was going through out, I had my hopes though. I'm still not 100% sure what to believe but I think that's part of the appeal. I do recommend this but you have to see it through.
This book intrigued me from the beginning. I wasn't sure where it was going through out, I had my hopes though. I'm still not 100% sure what to believe but I think that's part of the appeal. I do recommend this but you have to see it through.
Tara comes back to her family on Christmas Day after being gone for more than twenty years, but to her only a fragment of time, just six months has passed. 'Where have you been? Who have you been with? Why have you done this to us?' ...all questions her family wants answered. 'How is it possibly twenty years into the future when where I've been only two seasons have changed?' ...the question that Tara herself wants answered.
Hold tight while these questions and so much more are explored in this great story, a time-traveling fantastastical fairy tale you will not soon forget.
Hold tight while these questions and so much more are explored in this great story, a time-traveling fantastastical fairy tale you will not soon forget.
Really a fun book - a fairly realistic look at what would happen if someone went missing and then showed up saying they were kidnapped by fairies. The book gets in to what the family went through both during the years she was missing and dealing with her return, the medical and psychological testing - and you're never sure, even at the end, if her story is true or if she only believes it is true. I really enjoyed getting caught up in the story.
Well. Fairies? Or psychotic episodes and coincidence? Read the book and decide.
The senseless animal violence to further the plot with no real lasting consequences really disturbed me.
The book was not as much to my personal taste since it was very realistic with the actual fairy tale element questionable throughout the book. It focuses more on the grim aftermath for the people who are left behind when someone disappears and how their lives fall apart. Again, not really what I personally enjoy.
The book was not as much to my personal taste since it was very realistic with the actual fairy tale element questionable throughout the book. It focuses more on the grim aftermath for the people who are left behind when someone disappears and how their lives fall apart. Again, not really what I personally enjoy.
I really liked this book. It was my first Graham Joyce book, but it won't be my last!
I've been on an other worlds/adjacent worlds kick lately. There's Mythago Wood, where the other world is generated by a bit of primeval woodland. In King of Morning, Queen of Day, the other world springs from the powerful imagination of a young woman. In Some Kind of Fairy Tale, we're left almost to the end of the book before we know if there even IS really an adjacent/faery world.
It's the story of Tara, who may (or may not) have been carried away by a fairy man. She spends 6 subjective months in a sort of "Elfland" and then returns, only to find that 20 years have passed in our world. The working out of what happened to Tara, and how her return affects her and her family is explored in interesting ways. And we learn that you don't have to be carried away by the fairies to have 20 years of your life lost living in a dream. Good stuff.
I listened to the audio version read by John Lee. He's an excellent narrator, and handles the different voices well. The Scribd audiobook app continues to be a bit problematic when you're offline.
I've been on an other worlds/adjacent worlds kick lately. There's Mythago Wood, where the other world is generated by a bit of primeval woodland. In King of Morning, Queen of Day, the other world springs from the powerful imagination of a young woman. In Some Kind of Fairy Tale, we're left almost to the end of the book before we know if there even IS really an adjacent/faery world.
It's the story of Tara, who may (or may not) have been carried away by a fairy man. She spends 6 subjective months in a sort of "Elfland" and then returns, only to find that 20 years have passed in our world. The working out of what happened to Tara, and how her return affects her and her family is explored in interesting ways. And we learn that you don't have to be carried away by the fairies to have 20 years of your life lost living in a dream. Good stuff.
I listened to the audio version read by John Lee. He's an excellent narrator, and handles the different voices well. The Scribd audiobook app continues to be a bit problematic when you're offline.