[books 2012] Alan Garner
Jan. 18th, 2012 01:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inulro2. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
This month's book club book. It's an early children's fantasy novel.
I first read this when I was about 8 or 9 and loved it. I re-read it when I was stuck at home and heavily medicated when I was living in Manchester, at which point I learned that the locations in the book are all real places, although that's real places that today bear no resemblance whatsoever to what they were like in the 50s, when this book is set.
I have to say it hasn't aged well. It has good points, and I love the use of real geography (the fact that it's all millionaires, WAGs, Ferrari dealerships etc. nowadays makes me giggle), but the pacing is weird, and the ending just - well, ends.
If I had kids I'd probably recommend that they read it; for adults I say go read The Owl Service, which is much better and has more ideas to think about in it.
This month's book club book. It's an early children's fantasy novel.
I first read this when I was about 8 or 9 and loved it. I re-read it when I was stuck at home and heavily medicated when I was living in Manchester, at which point I learned that the locations in the book are all real places, although that's real places that today bear no resemblance whatsoever to what they were like in the 50s, when this book is set.
I have to say it hasn't aged well. It has good points, and I love the use of real geography (the fact that it's all millionaires, WAGs, Ferrari dealerships etc. nowadays makes me giggle), but the pacing is weird, and the ending just - well, ends.
If I had kids I'd probably recommend that they read it; for adults I say go read The Owl Service, which is much better and has more ideas to think about in it.
