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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
I probably should give this a lower rating, but I feel bad doing so. It feels like Lord Dunsany has taken the antiquated fairytale writing style (in which events occur quickly) and expanded it into a full book-length work. But like most fairy tales, it's devoid of any distinctive personality traits in characters and any immersive details (with the major exception of the beautiful, poetic descriptions of nature). The natural settings certainly seemed like characters in their own way. And several characters were cute, loveable, and entertaining. It was surprisingly funny. And I was also surprised by nearly every twist the plot took. I just felt a bit disappointed because my surprise was a little easier to achieve, as the story had no real direction/plot for the large majority of the characters to follow.
I find this same narrative style so easy to get through in LOTR because of the songs, descriptions of food, greater attention to personal interactions, and the very clear direction for the plot. But while I really liked certain aspects of this story, it was difficult to get through.
I find this same narrative style so easy to get through in LOTR because of the songs, descriptions of food, greater attention to personal interactions, and the very clear direction for the plot. But while I really liked certain aspects of this story, it was difficult to get through.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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
I can't really praise the plot of this novel. It starts out solid, and is in some ways quite grand in scale. But then meanders too much. I couldn't help but feel like it would've made a near perfect short story. No, the story isn't what makes this novel, but I would say it is one of the best fantasy novels I have read in quite some time. The reason for this is the atmosphere Dunsany creates. As I read it I felt like I was being incorporated into Elfland. It's perhaps the most 'faerie' faerie story I've read, in recent memory, at least.
There's one other storyteller that came to mind quite often while reading this. Every time I pictured a character, place, or scene I pictured them in the style of Hayao Miyazaki, expecially the scene in the marsh and the ending scene. I think that's significant, because much like some of my favorite Miyazaki films, the thing that draws me to them is less the story but the atmosphere--the world--he creates.
Oddly enough, when I think of authors to compare Dunsany to, I don't think of Tolkien, despite how often I've read this being compared to Lord of the Rings. Instead, it brings to mind an author who heavily influenced Tolkien and mostly likely influenced Dunsany: [a:William Morris|8127|William Morris|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1346602401p2/8127.jpg]. They both write in a mock-antiquated style, and both excel at creating that tone of other-worldliness--not that Tolkien doesn't, but he does it in a different way, I think. But it could also be that when I bought this, oh so many years ago, I bought it along with a book by Morris.
It's a shame it took me so long to get around to reading this, but now that I have, I'll be on the look out for more of his books.
There's one other storyteller that came to mind quite often while reading this. Every time I pictured a character, place, or scene I pictured them in the style of Hayao Miyazaki, expecially the scene in the marsh and the ending scene. I think that's significant, because much like some of my favorite Miyazaki films, the thing that draws me to them is less the story but the atmosphere--the world--he creates.
Oddly enough, when I think of authors to compare Dunsany to, I don't think of Tolkien, despite how often I've read this being compared to Lord of the Rings. Instead, it brings to mind an author who heavily influenced Tolkien and mostly likely influenced Dunsany: [a:William Morris|8127|William Morris|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1346602401p2/8127.jpg]. They both write in a mock-antiquated style, and both excel at creating that tone of other-worldliness--not that Tolkien doesn't, but he does it in a different way, I think. But it could also be that when I bought this, oh so many years ago, I bought it along with a book by Morris.
It's a shame it took me so long to get around to reading this, but now that I have, I'll be on the look out for more of his books.
Written in 1924, it's cool to recognize how some of the themes and imagery pioneered in this "fairytale for adults" (not in a sexy way), as Gaiman dubs it, are reflected over and over again in newer fantasy works. That being said, pretty slow. Also despite the name, the husband and son of the king of elfland's daughter were the more central characters.
Really a great book, and a must read for fantasy readers who appreciate the roots of the genre. Its prose are beautiful and the story is simple. I think a lot of modern fantasy work suffers from getting that formula exactly wrong, pushing through a convoluted storyline weighted down with dense or mediocre writing. I gather this is a largely forgotten classic, but it remains a good model.
I didn't like the story until I got to the last chapter. It was a tedious, repetitive read.
This sounded to be everything I love when reading and unfortunately it wasn't.
For some reason it just didn't click with me, I did finish it but it took me much longer than expected.
For some reason it just didn't click with me, I did finish it but it took me much longer than expected.