Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Wood Wife

I can't believe how far behind I am - is it really May already? Actually almost June and June is when I have to go back to work... sigh. Maternity leave went by so fast!!

I read Terri Windling's The Wood Wife several months ago and I think I should have jotted down my thoughts back then... Now all I remember is that it was fantastic. It won the World Fantasy Award so it was bound to be good, but I was surprised HOW good it was.

It's about Maggie, a writer who inherits a house in the desert from a writer she corresponded with. The circumstances of his death are very strange and Maggie gets more and more curious about him and his life. What she uncovers is magical, incredible and absolutely real.

What I really loved about this book is what I loved about Neil Gaiman's American Gods, the notion that old myths are true. I believe in the pagan Gods and I love the idea that what people believed in before organized religion was real and that the magical being of old tales live among us. Neither Gaiman nor Windling romanticize these stories - not everyone is good and pure... Great stuff.

Definitely a book for any fantasy lover, but it's also a quality book in itself so I'd recommend to anyone!