The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

I finished this beautiful audiobook some time ago, but put off writing about it because I just don't know how I'm going to do it justice.

There are two parts to my love for this book. The first is the book itself, as written by Shannon Hale. The story of Dashti, a lady's maid, and her lady Saren, locked up in a tower because Seran won't marry who has been chosen for her, an evil lord of a neighboring realm. They break out of the tower eventually, but a find a world that is completely changed, destroyed by Khasar, the man Saren refused. Only one realm is still left standing and free from Khasar and that's where the two girls head for. They live, they grow, they change and they discover and they become mature women with difficult choices to make. They survive.

Shannon Hale's language is captivating, as is the story itself. But what I loved most was the character of Dashti -  brave, smart, scarred, overlooked, incredible Dashti, who is one of my favorite heroines ever. This great site has lots of extra information about The Book of a Thousand Days and explains that the story is based on an old Grimm fairy tale called "Maid Maleen" - but the original completely ignores the side of the maid, her feelings, her predicament. What Shannon Hale did with Dashti to rectify that is amazing.  Aside from her character and thought process in general, I love the backdrop of the serving culture, the division between nobility and muckers. Dashti understands that she was created to serve her Lady but questions it too, at some point. She is an intelligent character and I am certainly not doing her justice here so you'll just have to go meet her yourself.

Another thing I loved about the characters was the development of Dashti and Saren. The way they both evolve, the way all their experiences shape them, Hale describes is so, so well. The women they become really show all they've been through, everything they'be learned. So amazing.

And I loved the role of Gods in the story. That the eight realms of the world were named after Gods, that the Gods influenced so much that went on. They didn't make appearances like in the Greek myths, but they were really a strong presence.

Apparently the setting was inspired by Mongolia, how cool is that??
Which bring me to the second part of my love of this book. I can't imagine that a better audio recording could ever be created. The Book of a Thousand Days was narrated by Chelsey Nixon as Dashti and she was absolutely amazing. She had the perfect voice for this part and her acting was superb. Plus, the whole thing is a Full Cast Audio recording, meaning that different people play different parts. Like in a theatre play. It adds SO much to the experience, the cast really made the book come alive for me. Special mention has to go to Chelsey Nixon's singing - Dashti knows the healing songs and uses them to help those around her. So whenever the text goes: "I sang the song for sadness, which goes :" Chelsey Nixon actually sang the excerpt. Incredible. I'd add more 'incredibles', I want to, but that would be just plain silly. :-)

There's so much more I want to say about this wonderful story, but I'll stop now and let you go discover it for yourself. The only other Shannon Hale book I've read was The Goose Girl and I thought it was only ok. The Book of a Thousand Days makes me want to read everything she's ever written.

Challenges: Seconds Challenge, What's in a Name 4

The Book of Lost Things

Wow, I managed to finish another book! I'm SUCH a slow reader these days, I can't concentrate on anything... To all of you reading this who believe in positive energy/thinking, I need some of both desperately this week. It's a waiting week for me and I am SO not good at waiting.

Anyway, the book - John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things. It was a huge hit in the blogosphere last year, I think, and it's been on my shelf for ages. It's the story of David, who is very lonely and angry and lost after his Mom dies and his Dad starts a new family with Rose. David loves stories (he learned that from his Mom) and ends up in a world where some of these stories exist. The twists and turns aren't all happy though, the tales have taken on darker aspects and the story world isn't as cheery as it should be.

The Book of Lost Things is a fairy tale for adults. I'm sure children read it too, but I don't think they can get all the messages and I also think that they'd be really scared in some parts! I wasn't too crazy about the book until David actually found the book of lost things. It all came together for me then, I understood the story more I guess and I really enjoyed reading it until the very end. I even read the extras, including the authors comments on the fairy tales included in the book.

I marked two quotes somewhere at the beginning of the book, both about stories:

Stories wanted to be read, David's mother would whisper. They needed it. It was the reason they forced themselves from their world into ours. They wanted us to give them life.

and

The stories in books hate the stories contained in newspapers, David's mother would say.

I enjoyed the book in the end - and now want to read more about the origins/meanings of fairy tales. Any recommendations?

Challenges: Once Upon a Time III, Dewey's Books

Sleeping Beauty and Other Stories

This beautifully illustrated collection of fairy tales was given to me when I was 9 or 10 and I loved it. I haven't read it since, but recently found it again and here we are.

The book includes 10 stories, most of which are apparently by a Frenchman called Charles Perrault, who lived in the 17th century. His stories were published in the 1680s and 90s and have been translated, adapted and retold frequently since then.

The stories are retold here by Susie Saunders and the edition is illustrated by Monique Gorde.

I had one big shock when re-reading this collection - it concerned the ending to Sleeping Beauty. I remember the ending as the prince kissing the sleeping princess and her waking up. Have I been wrong all these years? I was very disturbed to read on and find that the prince's mother came from a family of ogres and that she'd go on to try and eat the princess and her children! Did anyone else know about this??

Aside from this, I greatly enjoyed getting a bedtime story again. :-)

Challenges: Centuries Challenge, Childhood Favorites, Once upon a Time III