MADreads

Orphans tales

August 25th, 2008 Liz C. - Alicia Ashman

Reminiscent of Scheherezade and her need to tell a story in order to live one more night, The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden begins with an orphan with no name or history telling stories to the son of the Sultan.  Catherynne Valente has written a very intricate novel portraying another world inhabited by fantastic creatures and races, each with their own culture and traditions. 

Using multiple short chapters or vignettes that allow her characters to tell bits and pieces of their own stories Valente spins and intriguing web.  It is not until almost the middle of the book that the reader realizes that those bits and pieces are slowly coalescing into a unified picture of a world and its peoples. 

Winner of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award this is a fantasy full of vivid imagery and a wonderful use of language.  My only quibble is the author does not tell us enough about the orphan storyteller to make her a character strong enough to carry the reader into the story, and my hope is that the second book The Orphan’s Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice will improve on that aspect.  An unusual fantasy that requires some perseverance by the reader but one that rewards with a rich and multi-textured tale.

Entry Filed under: Fantasy