A book review by Paul A. Wunderlich
This book has many traits of a fantasy novel. I enjoyed every passing word, and do not mistake me, I liked it. There are a few things that sometimes took me out of context, but as a whole, the novel is very memorable. 5/5 stars.
1.) The very vivid poetic, heroic, and entrancing language used by Grossman is amazing as an experimental tone, but once you get to the real fantasy, to the fairy-tale world, the language gets you out of context once in a while. Some have argued that the realistic language makes the world a bit more believable, which is anyway unnecessary. If you buy a book of fantasy you expect to be warped to the non-tangible world of things that you've dreamed about and imagined. Crude language renders the warp robust and coarse, full of seams but definitely enjoyable. At the same time this language made me enjoy the story page after page; I had a lot of fun with its unnatural and almost unpredictable way of expressing imagery.
2.) Honk! Honk!: To morph and transmute into another being is quite fascinating in this book. The way sensations and senses are described entrapped me in a world were it was plausible. I could easily grasp the reality through the eyes of another animal. Grossman's descriptions of life through another animal's fur was gripping.
3.) The great quest of Quentin Coldwater is amazing. I enjoyed very much the character development and each and every one of them had a quality worth exploring.
4.) The fairy-tale world is much too similar with Narnia and Alice in Wonderland, which made me recognize it immediately and resonated well with me.
5.) Well written and excellent use of language. Grossman really makes good use of language and in part, it's what kept me going until the end. If not entranced by the fantasy realm I was surely pulled in by the many metaphors and surprisingly and almost random language Grossman used. I found this skill fascinating.
