I should
start out by saying that I have always been passionate about a good story. If
it’s also a creepy or unusual story, I usually like it even more. This is a
large part of what I love about one of my favorite bands, The Decemberists.
Their songs tell beautiful, sad, haunting stories, and sometimes they even need
multiple songs to tell the story, like with “The Crane Wife”, and they’ve even used
a whole album (The Hazards of Love, my
favorite of their albums to date) to focus on one story from beginning to end.
So,
naturally, I was quite excited when I learned that Colin Meloy, the frontman
for The Decemberists, had written a children’s book. I immediately set out to
get my hands on an Advanced Readers Copy, and it was well worth the effort.
Since its release in September 2011, I’ve convinced many booksellers and family
members to read it as well, and everyone seems to get a feel of an old
childhood classic from the story. One person compared it to Alice in Wonderland, as the protagonists
stumble upon a different world hidden in the woods. Another compared it to the
Narnia books because of the talking animals. One bookseller said the story
reminded her of the movie Labyrinth,
since it begins with the heroine’s baby brother being stolen and taken into
another realm, and she must go to this realm in order to bring him home.
For my part,
I was too caught up in the story to think of these comparisons until after I
had finished. The language and characters captivated me, and the Impassable
Wilderness felt familiar but also unlike any place I’ve been. However, once
finishing Wildwood, my first thought
was of the elements of the story that felt familiar to me because I’d heard
similar elements in Decemberists songs; The feel of the late 19th
century, some of the roguish characters, the horror of war, the thirst for
revenge, and of course the lyrical language.
In addition to Colin’s wonderful words, I loved the lush illustrations
from his wife, Carson Ellis, who also illustrated The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Her artwork gave flavor and spirit
to the text without changing the mental images I already had of the characters
and the setting. Rather, her work enhanced the story experience, giving more
scope and depth to the world I had imagined.
Needless to
say, I loved Wildwood and eagerly
awaited the sequel, Under Wildwood. And
it was so worth the wait. While I loved Prue (our main heroine) in the first
book, I didn’t feel that I saw the same type of development in her that I saw
in Curtis (our main hero), who really blossomed and discovered his potential in
Wildwood. I was very happy to see
this development in Prue in Under
Wildwood, and I felt her development was just as wonderful as Curtis’s
development. I found book 2 of the
Wildwood Chronicles to be just as beautiful and haunting as book 1 – in fact, I’m
still haunted by a scene at the end of the book that involves two hooks and a
horrible sound. I won’t say more about it here, you’ll just have to read the
book, and I promise you’ll know which scene I’m talking about.
I am now
eagerly awaiting the final book in the series. As such, I plan to do my best to
weasel plot points for the finale out of them when they are at BBS on Saturday,September 29th at 4:00pm. So far, the only thing I don’t like about Under Wildwood is that I don’t have the
next book to read right now.
So why should
you read these books? Because I’ve
talked to so many adults who have read and fallen in love with the series. Because
I’ve overheard a 9-year-old girl in our Children’s Department tell a friend of
hers that she’s read Wildwood nine
times. Because it has the same classic feel as so many other beloved children’s
stories, and I think the Wildwood Chronicles has the sort of staying power that
will keep children reading it for years to come. And because Colin Meloy and
Carson Ellis are both wonderful people who very politely listened to me ramble
on about how much I love their book and were willing to talk to me about literature
instead of looking at me like I’m crazy (yeah, that’s right, I’ve met them
before). So do yourself a favor – read these books, and come meet Colin and
Carson next Saturday. I’ll definitely be there.
Posts
For Book store