Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by silky_octopus
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint
4.0
This was a delight, and a much quicker read than I expected; while the book's more than 200 pages long, a fair number of the pages are art plates, or have illustrations interwoven into the text, and Charles Vess' artwork is gorgeous. I'm not sure how much of the tale is based on contemporary folklore and how much of it's original, but the premise is charming. Set in the Ozarks, which are a familiar stamping ground for stories that fall under the Newford umbrella of tales, the story is about Lillian, a 12 year old girl growing up in a small rural community at the edge of Tanglewood Forest and close to the local Kickaha reservation. She lives with her aunt, who runs one of the small farms in the area, and spends her days working, learning, and playing - her imagination populates the woods with a mix of characters like the Apple Tree Man, the spirit of the oldest apple tree in her nearby orchard, and characters from tales her Aunt and others tell about others like the Father of Cats.
One day, Lillian's sleeping in the woods near an ancient beech tree when she gets bitten by a snake - and the local feral cat population, who she regularly leaves food out for, decide to save her using cat magic, despite knowing that the Father of Cats will be upset with them. Their magic turns Lillian into a tortie kitten, saving her from the snakebite - but also leaving her with all her memories, and trapped somewhere between both worlds; while she looks like a kitten and can now talk with other animals, her reflection is that of her human self.
With help and advice from others - including Mother Possum, a dashing fox whose mother named him T. H. (for Trustworthy and Handsome, we're assured) and others, Lillian tries to change things back to where they were, and learns about unforseen consequences, how to change her life, and how to battle challenges she never imagined facing. There's a nice dose of magic and mythology in here; I particularly liked the story about how the stars came to appear in the night sky, and I need to find out if there's a sequel, so I can find out what Lillian's promise ended up costing her...
One day, Lillian's sleeping in the woods near an ancient beech tree when she gets bitten by a snake - and the local feral cat population, who she regularly leaves food out for, decide to save her using cat magic, despite knowing that the Father of Cats will be upset with them. Their magic turns Lillian into a tortie kitten, saving her from the snakebite - but also leaving her with all her memories, and trapped somewhere between both worlds; while she looks like a kitten and can now talk with other animals, her reflection is that of her human self.
With help and advice from others - including Mother Possum, a dashing fox whose mother named him T. H. (for Trustworthy and Handsome, we're assured) and others, Lillian tries to change things back to where they were, and learns about unforseen consequences, how to change her life, and how to battle challenges she never imagined facing. There's a nice dose of magic and mythology in here; I particularly liked the story about how the stars came to appear in the night sky, and I need to find out if there's a sequel, so I can find out what Lillian's promise ended up costing her...