Raven Girl by Audrey NiffeneggerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a fairy tale, written and illustrated by Audrey Niffenegger, author of "The Time Traveler's Wife", which I loved. In this tale, a postman falls in love with a raven, and they have an egg, from which hatches a girl who is human in appearance, but who feels like a raven. She grows up feeling shy and out of place, until finally, she goes off to college and meets a surgeon whom she asks to change her into a bird. Despite a hue and cry from classmates with no stake at all in the matter, she goes ahead. The doctor tells her that even if she is given wings, she won't be able to fly, because she is too heavy. Then it is discovered that she has hollow bird bones; that she is quite literally a bird on the inside, just as she has always known.
How does it all turn out for the raven girl? Read it and find out!
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This sounds like one of your poems, Shay-the mad doctor sort. You are reading up a storm of late.
ReplyDeleteThis certainly sounds intriguing, and I loved both of her novels.
ReplyDeleteShay, is this an adult tale?
Sioux--it isn't strictly a children's book, but neither is there anything in it that any ten year old couldn't read.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to like this a lot better than I actually did. I gave it four stars for its imagination and choice of subject, as well as for what a beautiful edition it is. But, it seems more like an outline for a story, than a fully fledged (pun intended) story. It only runs 80 pages, many of those without any text, so she really doesn't go into depth, and the ending is too sudden and easy, though cute. It's good, but not nearly as good as it could have been.
This sounds really cool.
ReplyDeleteGreat book review...and you set it up so nicely where now I have to get my hands on it and find out how it ends.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, this gave me chills! I have to read this.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to read your further review in comment. What an excellent story. Perhaps you could turn it into a poem.
ReplyDeletetransgender,
ReplyDeleteinterracial,
trueblood,
and now THIS!
Your work flourishes in this magical realism real life cultural politics
time of ours like a Belle Weather. They used to be called Weatermen; they threw bombs - so last century!
Thanks for being a channel of all this in my world, Shay.
ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
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What an unusual story idea. Thanks for spotlighting it, Shay. I'll put it on my reading list.
ReplyDeletePat
Critter Alley
you has inspired me, Sis. i's gonna do a few book reviews. the first one might be... what's the name of it again? um, Germs/Sperms/Confirms? no, no.... i'll think of it... Girls/Squirrels/Curls?.... no, that's not it....
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