A review by ohnoflora
The Dollmaker by Nina Allan

4.0

Such a strange and beguiling book. Made up of letters, snippets of narrative and fairy tales by a fictional writer, the latter of which seem to act as a reflection or counterpoint to the events in the rest of the book. After a while, identities seem to blur together and the characters, whether they are "real" or fictional all seem to be potentially alive, just in different universes. A dream-like book in which stock characters and archetypes (princesses to be rescued, jealous lovers) coalesce and gain solidity to become actual, complex people. I had no idea what to make of this book when I first started and I still don't really, but I loved its strangeness.