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A review by anna_hepworth
Elidor by Alan Garner
4.0
I don't know whether it is that the early parts of this book haven't stood the test of time, whether I've actually read too many books with similar enough underlying ideas, or if it is that the early sections so strongly imprinted on my memory that it just feels like a really obvious start to a story. But I found myself, while enjoying the writing, rolling my eyes at bits of the first third or so.
Which might also be my Gen X cynicism showing. Of course the adult in the alt world is making the kids do all the work. What else are we expecting of the Boomer generation. And no, I don't quite live my life that much in black and white, but it was some of what I was finding irritating here. Unlike other stories with the oblivious adults trope, this one was really hard to get through sections where adults could have stepped up, and there were sections where I had to walk away from the book for hours (or days) until I could deal with continuing reading.
Despite me having somewhat grown past it, this is still a strongly written powerful story. I love the ambiguity of the ending, and the cypher of the alternative world -- the viewpoint character(s) really don't have the sophistication/maturity to comprehend what is happening, and the narrative voice doesn't fill that in for the reader.
Which might also be my Gen X cynicism showing. Of course the adult in the alt world is making the kids do all the work. What else are we expecting of the Boomer generation. And no, I don't quite live my life that much in black and white, but it was some of what I was finding irritating here. Unlike other stories with the oblivious adults trope, this one was really hard to get through sections where adults could have stepped up, and there were sections where I had to walk away from the book for hours (or days) until I could deal with continuing reading.
Despite me having somewhat grown past it, this is still a strongly written powerful story. I love the ambiguity of the ending, and the cypher of the alternative world -- the viewpoint character(s) really don't have the sophistication/maturity to comprehend what is happening, and the narrative voice doesn't fill that in for the reader.