Scan barcode
A review by jan603dd
Boneland by Alan Garner
4.0
Had I read the first two novels of this trilogy as a child, this book would be my favourite thing ever. As it stands I came to Garner as an adult and only read the previous novels as preparation for this one. I therefore have to say that, of his adult novels, "Strandloper" slightly edges this one out - dealing as it does with Australia, my adopted home - though this rates a very close second, dealing as it does with my favourite thing: stories and storytelling.
I love "meta" fiction. I love stories that examine why we tell stories whilst telling us a story. I love stories about the power of fiction - be they the stories we consume or the stories we tell privately to ourselves, the stories that make up our lives. To be fair, regarding reading the first two novels, while they were certainly written with skill, and curious from a historical aspect, they were stories for children and in places quite plain and of the "... and then this happened and then this happened and this happened too" variety, but to have the author, after 50 years, write an examination, a re-contextualisation is a wonderful treat and does put the earlier books in a better light - I thought the most interesting aspect of the original books was (surprise!) the way they discussed stories; stories of the land, stories of the people, stories we've forgotten and how dangerous that forgetfulness can be, having read the third book I can humbly assume that Garner felt the same.
Is this book for everyone? No. Is this book for die-hard fans of the originals hoping to recapture childhood magic and wonder? Not all of them, no. Is this book an absolute treasure? Most assuredly.
I love "meta" fiction. I love stories that examine why we tell stories whilst telling us a story. I love stories about the power of fiction - be they the stories we consume or the stories we tell privately to ourselves, the stories that make up our lives. To be fair, regarding reading the first two novels, while they were certainly written with skill, and curious from a historical aspect, they were stories for children and in places quite plain and of the "... and then this happened and then this happened and this happened too" variety, but to have the author, after 50 years, write an examination, a re-contextualisation is a wonderful treat and does put the earlier books in a better light - I thought the most interesting aspect of the original books was (surprise!) the way they discussed stories; stories of the land, stories of the people, stories we've forgotten and how dangerous that forgetfulness can be, having read the third book I can humbly assume that Garner felt the same.
Is this book for everyone? No. Is this book for die-hard fans of the originals hoping to recapture childhood magic and wonder? Not all of them, no. Is this book an absolute treasure? Most assuredly.