Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
My Rating: Five out of Five Stars
My Review on Goodreads
This is my first book by T. Kingfisher and it won't be my last.
I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings. I also love stories that reference fairy tales and seem to exist in that world where the logic and the happenings of fairy tales are real and exist. This book falls in that arena. While there are aspects that are very familiar from different stories I've read from the myriad of fairy tale collections I've gotten my grubby hands on, this book feels unique and distinctive.
I listened to the audiobook and I'm glad I did. The narrator is excellent. It starts out very dark and grim, and it's one of those books that you have a knot in your stomach when you read it. Then there is a shift where the humor becomes more apparent. Now, some may find such a shift in tone jarring. There are books where I have felt exactly that way, but with this book, I found it very welcoming. I think in a way, it reflects Mara's mindset. She goes from a place of unending worry and despair to a situation where hope is just there within arms reach. She goes from feeling lonely and helpless to having others who she can rely on, that care about you. I love the concept of found family in fiction, and I'm glad that in a very strange way, she found hers.
I think this book is definitely for fantasy lovers, as Kingfisher has integrated different elements, themes and tropes from the fantasy genre into this story, but it feels like a novel creation. There are so many great aspects to this book that, in the words of my grandmother, tickled me. The author has a gift for writing vivid descriptions that made reading this novel like watching a movie. I felt that same fascination I felt when I watched The Storyteller or The Arabian Nights miniseries or even Hellboy: The Golden Army and The Lord of the Rings movies. I was in an uncertain, scary but beautiful place, going on the journey with its characters. Mara is a worthy companion. She is fearful but hopeful, under-powered, but capable, naive, but knowledgeable, all the contradictions that make her a fully realized character.
I was so pleasantly surprised at the ending. I was bracing for a certain kind of conclusion, but instead, I had a smile on my face when it ended. I needed this book in my life when I read it. I can't recommend it more highly.
I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings. I also love stories that reference fairy tales and seem to exist in that world where the logic and the happenings of fairy tales are real and exist. This book falls in that arena. While there are aspects that are very familiar from different stories I've read from the myriad of fairy tale collections I've gotten my grubby hands on, this book feels unique and distinctive.
I listened to the audiobook and I'm glad I did. The narrator is excellent. It starts out very dark and grim, and it's one of those books that you have a knot in your stomach when you read it. Then there is a shift where the humor becomes more apparent. Now, some may find such a shift in tone jarring. There are books where I have felt exactly that way, but with this book, I found it very welcoming. I think in a way, it reflects Mara's mindset. She goes from a place of unending worry and despair to a situation where hope is just there within arms reach. She goes from feeling lonely and helpless to having others who she can rely on, that care about you. I love the concept of found family in fiction, and I'm glad that in a very strange way, she found hers.
I think this book is definitely for fantasy lovers, as Kingfisher has integrated different elements, themes and tropes from the fantasy genre into this story, but it feels like a novel creation. There are so many great aspects to this book that, in the words of my grandmother, tickled me. The author has a gift for writing vivid descriptions that made reading this novel like watching a movie. I felt that same fascination I felt when I watched The Storyteller or The Arabian Nights miniseries or even Hellboy: The Golden Army and The Lord of the Rings movies. I was in an uncertain, scary but beautiful place, going on the journey with its characters. Mara is a worthy companion. She is fearful but hopeful, under-powered, but capable, naive, but knowledgeable, all the contradictions that make her a fully realized character.
I was so pleasantly surprised at the ending. I was bracing for a certain kind of conclusion, but instead, I had a smile on my face when it ended. I needed this book in my life when I read it. I can't recommend it more highly.
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