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libreroaming 's review for:
The Magician of Tiger Castle
by Louis Sachar
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received a copy from NetGalley for review.
Imagine "The Princess Bride" told from the perspective of Miracle Max. Anatole is a magician/physician in the little kingdom of Esquaveta who has fallen out of favor from the king because his potions and remedies aren't the miracles of turning sand into gold. Then the princess Tullia is discovered having fallen in love with a lowly scribe and not her betrothed prince, leaving him with the opportunity to try a de-love potion on her and regain favor, as well as maybe ease her own conscience since the man she loves is going to be executed for their chaste affair.
Anatole is an interesting choice for a narrator, sometimes pompous but also self-effacing at his own cowardice. He prefers not to get involved with things that don't involve his experiments of various urine/fungi/tears/poultices or interacting with his rats, but his overall passivity is not a problem when he is thrown into situations he can't control, such as dealing with the emotional Princess Tullia and the luckless scribe Pito. There is a framing device as he speaks from the "present," which already tells us that his immortality potion ends up working, and sometimes is used to explain funny terms of phrase through "translation errors" in a style that's very much in tone of "The Princess Bride" narrator. There is a wryness that permeates through the book otherwise, and simple prose that is accessible to younger readers, making it feel more like a Terry Pratchett fantasy than a J.R.R. Tolkien.
The book is divided into three parts, and for most of it the tone honestly resembles more of a Young Adult fantasy, just with an older POV character, but the plot is very much about Tullia and Pito's dynamic more than any slightly mentioned castle politics (the tiger of the title's Tiger Castle barely muster up as more than plot contrivances). When Anotle is entangled in their drama, the story flows from one crisis to another, and it was an enjoyable read. Despite the darker subject matter of plague, murder, and political marriages that do not have consensual grounding, it is equal parts bodily humor, especially since Anatole is hairless from a previous experiment gone wrong. However, the third part is titled "A Long and Drawn Out Ending" and it really feels like a warning that the denouement is going to be a lengthy disappointment.
Anatole is separated from Tullia and Pito, captured and thrown into the castle dungeon by the story's villain. The villain had also taken his immortality potion but is described as being killed seventeen years into Anatole's hundred year imprisonment. He gives a long list of other historical moments that led to his freedom in the present day. However, this feels like someone glossing over an overly long story in an attempt to wrap it up because they know it's not interesting, and the reader is likely to feel the same way. And to preempt anyone saying "well, children's literature needs a happy ending, adult literature can be dark" let me say that Sachar had previously given upsetting endings to characters, like Kissin' Kate Barlow in "Holes." But Anatole's imprisonment is really treated like an inconvenience, and his journey back to the castle in the present day is only there to connect him to the time when he was with Tullia and Pito. The main problem isn't that it is a bittersweet/less than happy ending, it is that Anatole is, at his base self, a passive and boring character without someone to instigate things for him. And the ending of him spending 400 years later having a mundane life is something many might wish for, but it's not a satisfying ten pages to end on. (hide spoiler)]
Considering Louis Sachar wrote the best Newbery book, "Holes," as well as other humorous classics, I was excited to read his first foray into adult literature. It holds a lot of the twists and charms that makes his books so good, but I do think he is better suited to children's and young adult. There is a strong story in here, and I do think it will find some readers who are absolutely delighted by something with a low magic system and straightforward characters. I would have given it 4/5 if the ending were stronger.
Imagine "The Princess Bride" told from the perspective of Miracle Max. Anatole is a magician/physician in the little kingdom of Esquaveta who has fallen out of favor from the king because his potions and remedies aren't the miracles of turning sand into gold. Then the princess Tullia is discovered having fallen in love with a lowly scribe and not her betrothed prince, leaving him with the opportunity to try a de-love potion on her and regain favor, as well as maybe ease her own conscience since the man she loves is going to be executed for their chaste affair.
Anatole is an interesting choice for a narrator, sometimes pompous but also self-effacing at his own cowardice. He prefers not to get involved with things that don't involve his experiments of various urine/fungi/tears/poultices or interacting with his rats, but his overall passivity is not a problem when he is thrown into situations he can't control, such as dealing with the emotional Princess Tullia and the luckless scribe Pito. There is a framing device as he speaks from the "present," which already tells us that his immortality potion ends up working, and sometimes is used to explain funny terms of phrase through "translation errors" in a style that's very much in tone of "The Princess Bride" narrator. There is a wryness that permeates through the book otherwise, and simple prose that is accessible to younger readers, making it feel more like a Terry Pratchett fantasy than a J.R.R. Tolkien.
The book is divided into three parts, and for most of it the tone honestly resembles more of a Young Adult fantasy, just with an older POV character, but the plot is very much about Tullia and Pito's dynamic more than any slightly mentioned castle politics (the tiger of the title's Tiger Castle barely muster up as more than plot contrivances). When Anotle is entangled in their drama, the story flows from one crisis to another, and it was an enjoyable read. Despite the darker subject matter of plague, murder, and political marriages that do not have consensual grounding, it is equal parts bodily humor, especially since Anatole is hairless from a previous experiment gone wrong. However, the third part is titled "A Long and Drawn Out Ending" and it really feels like a warning that the denouement is going to be a lengthy disappointment.
Considering Louis Sachar wrote the best Newbery book, "Holes," as well as other humorous classics, I was excited to read his first foray into adult literature. It holds a lot of the twists and charms that makes his books so good, but I do think he is better suited to children's and young adult. There is a strong story in here, and I do think it will find some readers who are absolutely delighted by something with a low magic system and straightforward characters. I would have given it 4/5 if the ending were stronger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Misogyny, War
Minor: Drug use, Sexual violence, Death of parent