Title: UprootedI know you're thinking how could I not give five amazing stars to this highly loved book. So here's the thing, this book IS gorgeous! Naomi Novik's writing is lyrical, descriptive and overall beautiful.
So what's the tiny problem?
The end dragged a bit for me. I felt like Uprooted had two endings and while the second ending is gorgeous the first 'ending' d was expecting if one or two key things had played out differently. That said the last chapter is one of my favourite parts of the book and it maybe couldn't have worked so well if slotted into the 'ending' I was surprised wasn't the ending. That probably makes no sense... let me explain it this way. If you're seen the movie A.I. then you probably know that there was the beautiful 'blue fairy' ending which was serene and romantic; and if you turned off the movie at that moment it would be a really good movie. But instead Spielberg (and his alien obsession) had to add on a second ending. This is how I feel about the way Uprooted played out. Like an extra 40 pages (minus the last amazing chapter!!) could have been cut and it would have been so concise and not so drawn out.
This adult fairy tale (yes it is adult there is a sex scene and a fair bit of violence and some moments of true depression) takes elements from Rapunzel, Cinderella, and other well known fairy tales; and yet it's not like any of them. It is truly its own story.
There are so many themes in this book including: the most unusual but perfect romance, a sisterhood friendship, loyalty to family, and so much more. Uprooted is a book I can imagine being a best friend that I to go to when I hit a reading slump or the world is sucking the life out of me. And maybe when I inevitably re-read it I'll be prepared for the ending and appreciate it more.
Overall my suggestion is if you love fairy tales read Uprooted. Let me clarify, I don't mean Disney fairy tales; I mean the true fairy tales where the end is happy but not perfect. It's like real life. You look back and think, well that didn't go exactly as I'd hoped, but it could have been worse so I'll take it and appreciate all the more the happiness I have been given.
I'm confident most everyone will appreciate the gorgeous stringing of words that Novik has put into Uprooted, alongside believable characters with flaws that fit into an original and well developed fantasy world. Truly a book that every fantasy reader must have.
3 comments:
Beautiful xxx
I read this one as well. Really loved it.
Another one for the wishlist. I love fairytale stories :)
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