i decided to read this, or rather, to borrow this from the library because someone made a comment in passing that this was a good book, and that someone's opinion was something i could trust. the cover gave me a slight bit of pause, and the summary on the back cover made it sound very juvenile.. but i plowed on.
i plowed on, that is, to then discover that this was really a book written for children, and i don't exactly fit into that category. a lot of the characters were very one-dimensional, villains were fairly straightforward, and obstacles were often very black-and-white, which i found somewhat annoying at times. for instance, the bully in this book must have a lot of issues with himself to be behaving that way--but nope, they don't come to any kind of understanding. our main character just gives him a good ass-kicking and he's out of the story. this is likely the satisfactory conclusion that kids would be looking for, since it's easy, and the blame is assigned and resolved, but not exactly what i would be looking for. but that's alright, because by then i had taken that fact into account anyway, that it's written to appeal to that specific age range.
what i didn't appreciate is that her characters seem to accomplish fairly remarkable deeds simply by bumbling around, or acting in an irresponsible and idiotic way. it's like watching a horror movie, and trying to scream at the heroine who obviously can just turn tail and run instead of standing, staring, and just screaming in mindless horror. if this is truly aimed at children, then it also sets a terrible example: many times adults will say, no, don't do this! and they will go ahead and do it anyway, despite it obviously being a stupid thing to do. and our main character, alanna, is supposed to be a really intelligent child, while at every turn she simply demonstrates by her choices that she's not. her characters simply couldn't have spoken to me, a 23-year-old. they seemed one-dimensional and unreal, and many times adults will have very unlikely behavior not befitting that of.. well, adults.
but i don't fault these things, because i can understand that it's written solely in te viewpoint of a child, or one a child might have of the world. at that, i should probably also note that i probably shouldn't have read it, but the good part is that the pacing was definitely done well, because i had no problem reading it straight through. i would say this is more a book for an elementary schooler, to encourage reading for leisure, rather than any masterpiece in itself.
well, alanna supposedly grows up into a legend, so maybe i'll read on despite myself. :) we'll see.
i will start this off by saying that having read "the hero and the crown" and "the blue sword" both, i felt i had a taste of what this author has to offer in her earlier style of writing. i guess the main problem in that little conclusion is that both those earlier books were strictly written for a YA readership; this starts off stating that it is based on a fairy tale (if you can call it that) written by charles perault called donkeyskin, and so i expected it to be similarly aimed at YA readers.
i was really, really wrong.
sure enough, the novel starts off with a fairly fairy-tale setting; it doesn't quite do the "Once upon a time" route, but the invisible words were apparent in the way the story was told. lissar, the main protagonist, has two perfect parents, who are very much in love with each other (or so it seems), that she is completely invisible in their eyes altogether. the people, who love how perfect their king and queen are aesthetically, don't seem to recall the existence of a princess. at this point, i was settling back for a leisurely read, and was completely thrown off by everything that occurs afterward.
i also went and read the original fairy tale, and while disturbing, it is a walk in the park in comparison. i duly appreciate the work put into writing the back cover summary, because it does little to prepare me for all the horror contained within that it hits me that much harder. i feel i shouldn't mention exactly what it is that happens in here, but i should note that i found myself cringing away from the book at times, or wincing and having to put the book down. i simply don't find myself doing that often, and having so much sympathy for the character at the same time.
so, moving on, there are VERY adult themes contained in the book, which include incest and rape. the foreshadowing was done very well for both, and the handling of the subject was very delicate also. or maybe delicate isn't the word exactly, but.. it feels real, and raw, and nothing in the way of pretense in the presentation of such a hard topic. following lissar through her journey almost feels like watching someone go through surgery without anesthesia, but you can't look away because the writing grips you, and compels you to watch, if only in respect, as she overcomes her various demons. i've read some other reviews where the main commentary is that the content is "too dark"; i feel that that is not a fair appraisal at all, because in the darkness there is also light, because you are kept reading at a sense of hope at the end of the tunnel. and there is indeed some sense of closure of the matter, or that "light," because by the time the novel closes there is a sense of justice dealt, and perhaps a not quite happy ending, but a bit of peace and quiet for our heroine, and obstacles overcome, and victory won.
either way, i know i'm likely not doing this book any justice; it has to be experienced to be understood. and i really enjoyed how despite all the dark themes, it is still told much in the way of fairy tales, like the way the story is structured and how the characters come into play with each other--or even the different types of character involved. it gives one much study of the format of fairy tales if one cares to look at it, i guess, and it sort of makes this a truer fairy tale than any that i've read in childhood, and it seems that much more impressive and fascinating because of that. i think it would've held me even more in sway if i hadn't already been spoiled by what happens by reading some of the comments on amazon, but either way it was a mesmerizing read.
i guess, to finish off, if i do have to find anything negative to say about it, i would have to say that the relationship that blossoms between ossin and lissar is just a tad bit sudden, and i didn't see much development in that area. but generally that's not much of a complaint, since i was so buried in lissar's own inner struggle, and there were plenty of other puppy antics to distract me. a mild, random thing that i didn't expect to pop up was a reference to aerin and dragon slaying, and malak, which gives me a sort of sense of things coming full circle--these are all tied in the same world, somehow. i was giddy and excited when i read that one line, and just in general glad for the brief tie-in, because it gives me room to fill out what kind of universe this might be. and all things considered, i really enjoyed this a LOT, probably mostly because i wasn't expecting much from this book with its odd title and somewhat odd cover. i guess now i'll likely not enjoy anything else much because i will have to keep comparing them to this.
this is a prequel to the book "the blue sword," but written and published after, which is the main reason i picked this up to read. i enjoyed the adventures of harry considerably, and figured that having a prequel about the legendary hero mentioned in "the blue sword" is a pretty great idea. this is both true, and not, i guess, and i'll proceed to explain.
first of all, the mood set in "the hero and the crown" is a lot more epic, and it's not apparent from the get-go.. since the majority of the beginning is used solely to develop aerin's character, and give background. the plot doesn't quite start until the second half of the book, and this, to me, jars the pacing of the book somewhat, but not enough to really matter in the long run. more on this later.
the main problem i had with this book was that sometimes the sentence structures were written oddly, and it takes a couple of passes to understand the content of the specific line. i should be used to it by now, considering this is just mckinley's style in general, but seeing as this is how her writing first used to be, it wasn't quite as pronounced as her later works.. and so i guess sometimes i just don't see it coming. the character of aerin doesn't seem quite as heroic and strong as she was made out to be in "the blue sword," as she seems much more human, and i can't help being fascinated by that. it would make sense that her legend would be blown out of proportion, but seeing as this is the realm of fiction i guess i never really thought it through, and i thoroughly appreciate it that aerin was brought back down to earth a bit. having a perfect hero for a main character would've been awfully preachy, i guess, and it was a smart move to do so.
now, more on the pacing: the intro detailing aerin's childhood and her always not having been a part of the kingdom was done very nicely, and it showcases her loneliness well; the problem i sort of had was that once i adjusted to that pacing, part one ends. when part two begins, ALL the epic legendary action begins as well. i was completely thrown off the course i was riding, and had to put it down repeatedly because i simply never got back into the groove completely after being thrown off like that. then comes luthe out of nowhere, which, i suppose, is to add a bit more depth to aerin's character, but that was pleasant, if somewhat jarring, as well. the little bit revealed about aerin's true lineage was sort of interesting in that i didn't see it coming, but aerin's devotion to her country i did not get at all. i kept wondering, why does she care? the first portion of the book ensured that she had no real reason to do this, and i didn't entirely trust her motives.
so, moving on.. the ending has her marrying, and that's a bit of a stretch too, considering the guy she marries was out of the book for almost half of the book that, by then, i simply couldn't care. there was no real closure, i felt, to the relationship between her and luthe, and i still have no notion how the story of aerin turned to legend. it was somewhat explained by saying that eventually the people of the country forgot about the old aerin thanks to dragon poison or whatever.. so all they remembered was the good new aerin. it seemed like too easy a way out to me, and i'm not sure i completely bought it.
granted, i do like this better than "the blue sword"... but i suppose in a strange sort of way, since i knew i would be reading about a heroine of epic proportions, i was expecting the book to be the same, which isn't all that realistic. my biggest problem with it is the disjointed pacing, but other than that, i have nearly no complaints. there is one instance in which a little editing may have been necessary (she claimed in one scene she couldn't taste anything, then almost right after that scene she said that milk dulls down the taste of a drink called malak--inconsistency). those i do not hold into account unless there's an endless pile of them, which just screams lack of effort.
in conclusion, i really did enjoy "the hero and the crown," and despite knowing mckinley writes better later on, i really appreciated the universe she introduced in these two books. i will be moving on to read some of her others soon, and i do believe i have a copy of "deerskin" on hand. these should tide me over until i get my hands on some new releases.
