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brittney_tyler 's review for:
Dragonwitch
by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
I am actually giving this book 4.5 stars, however, I am rounding up to 5 stars due to my overall love of this series. This novel is a complex tapestry of beautiful imagery, memorable characters, and wonderful, multi-layered allusions. I absolutely loved this story, especially because of the many layers that there were to dissect.
The first thing that I noticed about this book is the wonderful writing and the images/atmosphere that Stengl is able to create with it. Within just a few pages, I was thoroughly engrossed in the story and swept away to the world she created. I, sometimes, find it really hard to get into a story, but with Stengl's books, I never have this problem. I am lost in her world by the end of the first page and it doesn't let up until I finish the last page. Her descriptions just make the world come alive and exist outside the pages, creating the escapism that I crave and love from books.
The next thing that I noticed about this tale was the characters, some of which I was just introduced to within the pages of this novel and some that are old favorites. The main characters of this novel are Mouse, Chronicler/Florien, Leta, and Alistair, and this story is mainly about their journey to find where they belong and their place in the world. Mouse, disillusioned with her mundane life on a mountaintop, decides to journey down the mountain and is transported into a figurative and literal hell. Her journey out of it and to the place where she belongs demonstrates one of the core themes of the novel, redemption/finding beauty in the mundane or the ugly. The Chronicler/Florien has been told his entire life that he is not worthy to be alive or even to call himself a man. Throughout the course of this novel, he struggles with his self-worth and self-esteem so much that even when he is told otherwise, it takes multiple examples and experiences to convince him that he is the hero that everyone needs. His quest is the best example of our aforementioned theme and teaches us the lesson that God chooses the unlikely to complete his hardest tasks to show us that no one is worthless. Leta has been trained to be meek and keep her thoughts to herself, but when her entire world is stripped away from her, she decides to stand up and become the warrior that she deserves and is destined to be. Finally, Alistair has been groomed to become King of his nation from the time of his birth, but has been plagued by dreams that call him to a different purpose. His travels to understand the significance of these dreams, again, expresses the running theme of the novel in stunning detail.
Finally, the multi-layered allusions to other fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast and the Bible made this novel so interesting and enjoyable to read. I spent hours thinking about the various connections Stengl made in this book and this significantly increased my enjoyment of this book. I love when a book makes me think and causes me to work to discover its author's motivation and drive because it helps the world they're writing come alive and keeps my mind engaged and focused.
All in all, this is one of the best books I have read and it has earned a spot on my all-time favorites shelf alongside its peers, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. I can't wait to read the next ones in the series or anything else she puts out because she has become one of my favorite authors.
The first thing that I noticed about this book is the wonderful writing and the images/atmosphere that Stengl is able to create with it. Within just a few pages, I was thoroughly engrossed in the story and swept away to the world she created. I, sometimes, find it really hard to get into a story, but with Stengl's books, I never have this problem. I am lost in her world by the end of the first page and it doesn't let up until I finish the last page. Her descriptions just make the world come alive and exist outside the pages, creating the escapism that I crave and love from books.
The next thing that I noticed about this tale was the characters, some of which I was just introduced to within the pages of this novel and some that are old favorites. The main characters of this novel are Mouse, Chronicler/Florien, Leta, and Alistair, and this story is mainly about their journey to find where they belong and their place in the world. Mouse, disillusioned with her mundane life on a mountaintop, decides to journey down the mountain and is transported into a figurative and literal hell. Her journey out of it and to the place where she belongs demonstrates one of the core themes of the novel, redemption/finding beauty in the mundane or the ugly. The Chronicler/Florien has been told his entire life that he is not worthy to be alive or even to call himself a man. Throughout the course of this novel, he struggles with his self-worth and self-esteem so much that even when he is told otherwise, it takes multiple examples and experiences to convince him that he is the hero that everyone needs. His quest is the best example of our aforementioned theme and teaches us the lesson that God chooses the unlikely to complete his hardest tasks to show us that no one is worthless. Leta has been trained to be meek and keep her thoughts to herself, but when her entire world is stripped away from her, she decides to stand up and become the warrior that she deserves and is destined to be. Finally, Alistair has been groomed to become King of his nation from the time of his birth, but has been plagued by dreams that call him to a different purpose. His travels to understand the significance of these dreams, again, expresses the running theme of the novel in stunning detail.
Finally, the multi-layered allusions to other fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast and the Bible made this novel so interesting and enjoyable to read. I spent hours thinking about the various connections Stengl made in this book and this significantly increased my enjoyment of this book. I love when a book makes me think and causes me to work to discover its author's motivation and drive because it helps the world they're writing come alive and keeps my mind engaged and focused.
All in all, this is one of the best books I have read and it has earned a spot on my all-time favorites shelf alongside its peers, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. I can't wait to read the next ones in the series or anything else she puts out because she has become one of my favorite authors.