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A review by yostertag
Wildwood by Colin Meloy
3.0
I accidentally bought the second book in this trilogy at a book sale, thinking Colin Meloy's inaugural jaunt into formal literature to be worth at least $1. Correcting my error, I checked out this volume from the library...and over a year later, my wife and I finally finished it. Not for lack of interest, though the story doesn't move all that swiftly and the world is not nearly as compellingly original as that of similar adventure fare for mature children. Narnia, anyone?
The characters in Meloy's songs are far more mesmerizing in their relatively brief format, and I think I'd have been way more into Wildwood if it were about half as long. Though the book has some dark moments and the body count is high, the sparse macabre in Meloy's lyrics serves the appeal of the narrative. The most common thread between the prose and the albums Meloy has released may be the illustrations. Carson Ellis, Meloy's wife, has created album art for nearly all Decemberists records and her drawings in Wildwood drive home it's cutesy kitsch in an endearing way. I think eventually we will read the follow up, and if we do the illustrations will be a big contributing factor. And, for that matter, they a worthy reason to explore the series at all if you've not yet done so.
The characters in Meloy's songs are far more mesmerizing in their relatively brief format, and I think I'd have been way more into Wildwood if it were about half as long. Though the book has some dark moments and the body count is high, the sparse macabre in Meloy's lyrics serves the appeal of the narrative. The most common thread between the prose and the albums Meloy has released may be the illustrations. Carson Ellis, Meloy's wife, has created album art for nearly all Decemberists records and her drawings in Wildwood drive home it's cutesy kitsch in an endearing way. I think eventually we will read the follow up, and if we do the illustrations will be a big contributing factor. And, for that matter, they a worthy reason to explore the series at all if you've not yet done so.