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roseparis's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mehitabels's review against another edition
3.0
"There is a type of young woman we have all either known or been; who worships at the alter of the Romantic; plays old border ballads on pennywhistle, recorder, or hammer dulcimer; tacks a hand-lettered sign reading MAGIC IS AFOOT on her dormitory room door; reads the Tarot for friends and The White Goddess for pleasure; and treasures a hundred obscure books by measure of how close they come to an ideal world in which gypsies and scarecrows, old marbles and long skirts, elves, quilts, candles, hot chocolate with cinnamon, feathered caps, rainy days, and snug houses with big fireplaces are part of a single, inexpressibly significant enterprise."
books_and_pups27's review against another edition
4.0
The story centers around two friends who, in their childhood wrote several fantasy stories about a land called Cloud, with complex worlds and characters. Over time these young women, Ariane and Sylvie, grew apart, but have now reunited. However, their seems to be a mysterious outside force that is about to meddle into their lives and is connected to these supposedly made up stories. One night while they play their game again in the woods, Sylvie disappears into Cloud. Ariane then follows her and discovers that Cloud is real, and unlike anything they imagined.
The plot itself is rather slow. Besides Sylvie disappearing into the Cloud world and Ariane following her, Cloud appears to be caught up in a battle between two ancient witches. Also, there are beings called the light born, which are hard to define, who are being hunted by these witches and having their souls stolen by them. Along the journey to find Sylvie Ariane must also fight these witches and restore Cloud to what it’s supposed to be.
The world building is, by today’s standards, non-existent. Still, we are introduced to its magic and people as the characters are . Again it’s hard to understand much of what is happening because of the stylistic prose and the bouts of Old English dialect. I wish this book had been illustrated, or would’ve been such a brilliant addition.
The language in the book is filled with alliterations, personifications, and metaphors. It can be hard to follow, but a reader has to use their imaginations to figure out what exactly is being referenced. There are also many references to old ballads and old literature. Some of it is recognizable, some isn’t at least to me.
The only thing I’ve had difficulty with so far is that the move is also filled with old English words that a reader has to derive the meaning of through context clues.
Still in spite of that, the reader can still follow the story pretty well. It takes place in the modern day (well it was written in the 90s) so the transition from flowery poetic language to modern day slang is a little bit jarring. However it does help the reader follow the story with minimal guesswork. It’s almost like reading Shakespeare or another old English writer, you have to sort of subconsciously read along and not take each word for its literal meaning.
Both Sylvie and Ariane have very different reactions to being in their childhood “fantasy”. Sylvie arrives and just starts right off to enjoy herself, and take everything at face value. Sylvie never seemed to grow out of this make believe game, and because of that takes it all in stride, even after seeing that things there aren’t well. Ariane on the other hand has trouble following Sylvie, and as a result continues to struggle through Cloud in spite of getting help from its native peoples. This is likely because unlike Sylvie, Ariane had to grow up quicker and make her own way in the world.
There is not much else I can say about the book without spoiling it. The resolution doesn’t come until the last 70 or so pages, and it’s a little difficult to figure out. I will say overall the language in this book is beautiful. I feel like I need to take a course on folklore to really understand everything in it. It is definitely NOT for everyone, and while it is something I would recommend to those who love folklore and balladry, the best way to comprehend it is to have prior knowledge of those things.
The plot itself is rather slow. Besides Sylvie disappearing into the Cloud world and Ariane following her, Cloud appears to be caught up in a battle between two ancient witches. Also, there are beings called the light born, which are hard to define, who are being hunted by these witches and having their souls stolen by them. Along the journey to find Sylvie Ariane must also fight these witches and restore Cloud to what it’s supposed to be.
The world building is, by today’s standards, non-existent. Still, we are introduced to its magic and people as the characters are . Again it’s hard to understand much of what is happening because of the stylistic prose and the bouts of Old English dialect. I wish this book had been illustrated, or would’ve been such a brilliant addition.
The language in the book is filled with alliterations, personifications, and metaphors. It can be hard to follow, but a reader has to use their imaginations to figure out what exactly is being referenced. There are also many references to old ballads and old literature. Some of it is recognizable, some isn’t at least to me.
The only thing I’ve had difficulty with so far is that the move is also filled with old English words that a reader has to derive the meaning of through context clues.
Still in spite of that, the reader can still follow the story pretty well. It takes place in the modern day (well it was written in the 90s) so the transition from flowery poetic language to modern day slang is a little bit jarring. However it does help the reader follow the story with minimal guesswork. It’s almost like reading Shakespeare or another old English writer, you have to sort of subconsciously read along and not take each word for its literal meaning.
Both Sylvie and Ariane have very different reactions to being in their childhood “fantasy”. Sylvie arrives and just starts right off to enjoy herself, and take everything at face value. Sylvie never seemed to grow out of this make believe game, and because of that takes it all in stride, even after seeing that things there aren’t well. Ariane on the other hand has trouble following Sylvie, and as a result continues to struggle through Cloud in spite of getting help from its native peoples. This is likely because unlike Sylvie, Ariane had to grow up quicker and make her own way in the world.
There is not much else I can say about the book without spoiling it. The resolution doesn’t come until the last 70 or so pages, and it’s a little difficult to figure out. I will say overall the language in this book is beautiful. I feel like I need to take a course on folklore to really understand everything in it. It is definitely NOT for everyone, and while it is something I would recommend to those who love folklore and balladry, the best way to comprehend it is to have prior knowledge of those things.
gilldaniels's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I don’t understand everything that happened, but I enjoyed the journey.
hdungey's review
1.0
More like failed to read. Twice. Could not get past the first 30 pages. Too much effusive description before you know anything about the characters.
aquariansunchild's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
4.0
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