neuroticdog
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 44
I finished "King of Elfland's Daughter" last night and, as expected was completely wow'ed by it! Honestly, I didn't want it to end but, I felt that taking it in in small doses was better than reading 50 page chunks. It's the sort of book that almost beckons you to make yourself comfortable, forget everything else in your life that might be on your mind, no matter if it's good or bad, and basically, just surrender yourself to.
Dunsany's descriptive prose I consider, at this point in my rediscovery of fantasy and sf is second to none. Example, without quoting it verbatim, there was a passage about the ebbing of elfland from the "fields we know" (earth) that was achingly beautiful in it's ability for my mind to visualize as well as igniting emotions. The sense of loss and sadness it conveyed was uncanny. Dunsany talks about ancient happy memories strewn on the desolate wasteland of what used to be elfland in the form of old toys left abandoned that once brought joy to a child, and will always be fondly remembered. The writing here (as in the whole book) was so precise and crystal clear that I actually had to stop, think about it, feel it, and re-read it again.
And this happens many, many times throughout the course of the book. The descriptions of elfland, of the hunts, of "the fields we know" of earth, the seasons, the characters themselves are all brought to vivid life, usually by just using a few very well placed words and punctuation. The simple plot, that in the hands of a lesser writer would fall flat, moved along smoothly...right up to it's inevitable (and actually somewhat sad) conclusion.
Reading this book was a pleasure from start to finish and won't be forgotten anytime soon! In fact, it will probably get a second read sooner rather than later.
I'm thinking about reading "The Charwoman's Shadow" as my next Dunsany, but first I'm probably going to delve into Algernon Blackwoods "Incredible Adventures"
Dunsany's descriptive prose I consider, at this point in my rediscovery of fantasy and sf is second to none. Example, without quoting it verbatim, there was a passage about the ebbing of elfland from the "fields we know" (earth) that was achingly beautiful in it's ability for my mind to visualize as well as igniting emotions. The sense of loss and sadness it conveyed was uncanny. Dunsany talks about ancient happy memories strewn on the desolate wasteland of what used to be elfland in the form of old toys left abandoned that once brought joy to a child, and will always be fondly remembered. The writing here (as in the whole book) was so precise and crystal clear that I actually had to stop, think about it, feel it, and re-read it again.
And this happens many, many times throughout the course of the book. The descriptions of elfland, of the hunts, of "the fields we know" of earth, the seasons, the characters themselves are all brought to vivid life, usually by just using a few very well placed words and punctuation. The simple plot, that in the hands of a lesser writer would fall flat, moved along smoothly...right up to it's inevitable (and actually somewhat sad) conclusion.
Reading this book was a pleasure from start to finish and won't be forgotten anytime soon! In fact, it will probably get a second read sooner rather than later.
I'm thinking about reading "The Charwoman's Shadow" as my next Dunsany, but first I'm probably going to delve into Algernon Blackwoods "Incredible Adventures"
