Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
A somewhat dissatisfying book...didn't love any of the characters, and the ending was disappointing.
Set in a mildly gritty modern day Britain (i.e. they are working class and use a lot of bad language), this is the story of Tara Martin, who returns home after being missing for twenty years, looking not a day older, and essentially says the fairies took her. Through the middle of the book, the author makes what happened ambiguous, although he does make it clear at the end what really happened (might have been better to leave it ambiguous?). The book was more interesting than it might have been since the story gets told from multiple points of view--you hear Tara's voice, her brother's, her boyfriend's, and her psychiatrist's.
The ending pleased me. A very easy book to read and become lost within, except for the clinical entries from the psychologist (which was the point, I believe). My first Graham Joyce book, but not my last.
While I was not thrilled with the ending, perhaps because I wanted to know more about some of the characters, I really enjoyed this book. I was intrigued by the old lady and definitely would have liked to hear more of her story! I liked the interwoven Irish fairy folk contrasted with the reality of science and proof. I would venture to guess that there are many times when others believe something to be true, and it would be best if we would all act "as if" it were for the time being, in order to achieve any communication or progress. This would be a great book club book, as there are many aspects of it that could lead to disparate opinions. I read The Tooth Fairy, by the same author, and I liked this one much better.
I'm a fan of Graham Joyce and this one pulled me in as quickly as all of his others. It's a story about a woman who disappears for 20 years--six months to her--and returns with a story of abduction into fairy land. And the beauty of the story is that regardless of what you think really happened to her (more than one view is possible), the story tells the truth about what that is like, leaving and returning. And about what odd things can happen with time--how we can grow up, embrace change, and experience so much beauty in our lives or how we can shut down, go into hibernation in our lives and lose years. About fairy land, well, you won't learn much about it from Graham Joyce. But he's such a master of detailing human life, family life and love.
A woman turns up 20 years after having gone missing and she can only account for 6 months of her disappearance. This would seem to be the set up for a standard procedural mystery except, the woman in question, Tara, seems to not have aged in the intervening decades, physically she appears to be 16 years old. Only her young nieces sense something odd about Aunt Tara. Some Kind of Fairy Tale reminded me of the one Charles de Lint book I have read in its mix of realism and folklore, which isn’t surprising since the author not only quotes from de Lint, but also notes his influence in the acknowledgments. I enjoyed reading the book, which is told from a variety of perspectives: Tara, her brother, the boyfriend she left behind, her psychologist, etc. But what was missing, for me at least, was any sense of ambiguity or mystery about what really happened past the first 70 pages or so. Read for The Readers November book club selection.
I would have preferred it if the ambiguity was still there as to whether the fairytale was real or not. Having the old lady say that it happened to her sort or confirmed it to me. I liked the psychological aspect and think it would have been better to have turned out to be a psychological issue than true. It reminded me of Life or Pi.
I loved this book right up until the ending which left me frustrated and unsatisfied. It is a unique and clever twist to the subject matter of Fae. I've read many Fae novels and this is the first time I've seen a story approached from this angle which opened a rich landscape of psychological thought on how others deal with unexplained disappearances. As a psychological drama it was excellent. The research was detailed and expertly weaved into the telling of the tale. The characters were richly developed. The voice was exquisite. Unfortunately the mystery of who is telling the story which bookend the book was very frustrating and unexplained. Why tell the reader this is a mystery which will explain everything and then give no clues who it is or even allow the reader to have any idea who the narrator is after finishing?! In the end the story is hauntingly sad leaving me aching for unrealized dreams.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
I've read 3 books by Joyce now, the first was the Silent Land which I absolutely loved - think it's up there in my top 10. The second was something about Ladybirds - wasn't taken with it at all hence not remembering the title.
I really enjoyed this one but I'd say it was kind of in the middle of these two. I don't think it's one I'll remember in great detail in a few months time, but while I was reading it I was gripped and wanted to keep reading to find out what became of Tara. I would definitely recommend this but I'd be more likely to recommend The Silent Land.
I really enjoyed this one but I'd say it was kind of in the middle of these two. I don't think it's one I'll remember in great detail in a few months time, but while I was reading it I was gripped and wanted to keep reading to find out what became of Tara. I would definitely recommend this but I'd be more likely to recommend The Silent Land.