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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
This is possibly the greatest book I read in 2015. The writing is absolutely beautiful, and had the feeling of a fairy tale in a way that most modern books just don't have.
slow-paced
THE KING OF ELFLAND'S DAUGHTER is one of the building blocks of fantasy. A novel in fairytale format, Lord Dunsany writes about the village of Erl, that asked for a magic lord to rule over them. To fulfill their wishes, their current lord sends his son to Elfland, to marry the king's daughter and bring magic to the land of Erl. Of course, like with all wishes made involving magic, this does not go quite as planned. This book is for any fan of magic, of fairytales, and of wonder. And if you don't trust me about this, you can always look at some of the blurbs. Arthur C. Clarke, William Butler Yeats, and Neil Gaiman can't all be wrong.
There are truly lovely moments in this; there are also moments that drag, although the loveliness gains momentum after the beginning. This is a story of fairy tales, more than of world-building, and the characters' logic reflects that. Still, one of the most fascinating and fun things about is that since it predates much of the standard fantasy canon we know today, it's genuinely not in dialogue with Tolkien or any of the later tropes, and as such it's a very different reading experience from most. Definitely worth a read for that alone.
A truly beautiful book. The story is a familiar one; it's the lyrical language that makes this special.
Much like the way time passes in Elfland, is the writing of this book.
The main thing I learned from reading this is that if you come upon a man drawing water from a well, who is wearing a conical hat and has a mystical air, he's probably a wizard.
Okay, I'll actually review the book now. Honestly, this book was somewhat disappointing. It all comes together, sort of, but here's how it goes:
First Few Chapters:
Start out a bit slowly because one is getting used to the language and writing style.
Next Few Chapters:
Extremely interesting, excitement builds as Alveric looks for the princess.
A Few Chapters Later:
Getting into the book, a few more exciting things happen.
Huge Long Middle Section
... Uh, guys... Guys. Um... Who is running Erl while Alveric runs around with the loonies looking for Elfland and Orion spends all his time hunting unicorns
Getting Towards the End
And now the trolls are talking. What was the point of that chapter even?
The Three Chapters
um... okay... I guess I get the moral of the story. Sort of.
It's supposedly a grand-daddy of the fantasy genre, but I just found it really disappointing. Perhaps it is because I am from the fields we know and have nothing Elfin in me.
The main thing I learned from reading this is that if you come upon a man drawing water from a well, who is wearing a conical hat and has a mystical air, he's probably a wizard.
Okay, I'll actually review the book now. Honestly, this book was somewhat disappointing. It all comes together, sort of, but here's how it goes:
First Few Chapters:
Start out a bit slowly because one is getting used to the language and writing style.
Next Few Chapters:
Extremely interesting, excitement builds as Alveric looks for the princess.
A Few Chapters Later:
Getting into the book, a few more exciting things happen.
Huge Long Middle Section
Getting Towards the End
And now the trolls are talking. What was the point of that chapter even?
The Three Chapters
um... okay... I guess I get the moral of the story. Sort of.
It's supposedly a grand-daddy of the fantasy genre, but I just found it really disappointing. Perhaps it is because I am from the fields we know and have nothing Elfin in me.
Definitely the precursor to most fantasy stories out there. Descriptive without being confusing.
This one comes down to a matter of personal taste, I think. All the glowing praise this book has gotten and all the accolades about its longstanding impact on the fantasy genre are true. It's gorgeously written, to the point where I had to stop and reread lines because they were so poignant and beautiful. This book reads like poetry.
What keeps this from being a favourite for me is the distance at which the narrative holds its characters. I can't love a story unless I love the characters, and I couldn't love the characters in The King of Elfland's Daughter. I felt some draw to the mysteriousness and magic surrounding Orion, and the moment in which he reunites with his mother is the most emotionally rewarding moment of the novel, but otherwise, I struggled to emotionally connect to the characters. The novel takes on much of the narrative style of a fairytale, in which the narrator is detached and objective, without any psychological access to any of the characters. It suits the tone of the story, but it isn't a narrative style I particularly enjoy or feel engaged by.
If you're invested in fantasy as a genre and want to experience one of its pre-Tolkien classics, then please read this book. It's groundbreaking, and impactful, and beautiful, and it is criminally under-appreciated both as a literary classic and as a foundational text of modern fantasy. I enjoyed my time reading it, but my inability to emotionally access the characters keeps it from being a lasting favourite.
What keeps this from being a favourite for me is the distance at which the narrative holds its characters. I can't love a story unless I love the characters, and I couldn't love the characters in The King of Elfland's Daughter. I felt some draw to the mysteriousness and magic surrounding Orion, and the moment in which he reunites with his mother is the most emotionally rewarding moment of the novel, but otherwise, I struggled to emotionally connect to the characters. The novel takes on much of the narrative style of a fairytale, in which the narrator is detached and objective, without any psychological access to any of the characters. It suits the tone of the story, but it isn't a narrative style I particularly enjoy or feel engaged by.
If you're invested in fantasy as a genre and want to experience one of its pre-Tolkien classics, then please read this book. It's groundbreaking, and impactful, and beautiful, and it is criminally under-appreciated both as a literary classic and as a foundational text of modern fantasy. I enjoyed my time reading it, but my inability to emotionally access the characters keeps it from being a lasting favourite.
Amazing. Fantastic. Pure poetry in an epic and classic novel.
A little difficult at times to get through Dunsany's flowing prose. Not extremely interesting, very little if any excitement.