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I was excited to read this book because I enjoy The Decemberists' storytelling style and visual aesthetic. A fantasy set in the Portland woods, such expectations! And indeed, it is easy to imagine how parts of the story were inspired by the geography of Portland: the east side, the bridges, the zoo, the other features of Forest Park...At the first ominous mention of ivy I pictured the author telling his family a bedtime story after a day of volunteering at an invasive species removal event. But these inspirations are pieced together in a boring pastiche of literary and folk references that sprawls across 541 pages of clunky exposition, cliched dialogue, and stunted character development. I wish someone had convinced Meloy and Ellis to make a picture book instead.
PS Wildwood has been described as Narnia sans religion. Did not Philip Pullman do that much more successfully?
PS Wildwood has been described as Narnia sans religion. Did not Philip Pullman do that much more successfully?