A review by ayushinayak
Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner
4.0
I am always intrigued with women authors who chose the fantasy genre to write in. The sheer volume of imagination is complementary to best storytelling. Sylvia Townsend is a pure literature genius and is in the first generation of fantasy authors in the league. It shows. While every Gaiman draws pure inspiration from her, his work often comes out to be polished and has tended to many readers. Sylvia's work is further as it is rich in raw content. While we are on this subject, the humour in this book ranges from murky to dark and probably why I AM RATING THIS BOOK 4/5.
Now there's also the discontinuation among the stories. Suddenly, a character is seen amid a different setting while the talk was somewhere else just a paragraph ago. While I love the whimsical nature that the book tends to be, it has lost all relevance in today's reading experience. Glamour has more merit now. Despite the last two arguments, this book has aged well, especially its value as a magical realism masterpiece.
More on magical realism. It has a Lord of the Rings vibe but is quite different. The adventures have an abstract narration throughout the book. All pieces in the book are edgy, and they paint a picture that could transfer you to a courtyard, then a royal court hearing, the palace gardens and the highroads within flashes of seconds. As a modern fantasy reader, I would point out that there's more to explore, and I also want to point out that parallelism to Biblical fantasies has limited the book's potential. I am tending towards 3.5/5 stars with this realisation.
This book commands your attention. So, be ready to focus plenty and don't forget to let me know how you found this book to be!
Now there's also the discontinuation among the stories. Suddenly, a character is seen amid a different setting while the talk was somewhere else just a paragraph ago. While I love the whimsical nature that the book tends to be, it has lost all relevance in today's reading experience. Glamour has more merit now. Despite the last two arguments, this book has aged well, especially its value as a magical realism masterpiece.
More on magical realism. It has a Lord of the Rings vibe but is quite different. The adventures have an abstract narration throughout the book. All pieces in the book are edgy, and they paint a picture that could transfer you to a courtyard, then a royal court hearing, the palace gardens and the highroads within flashes of seconds. As a modern fantasy reader, I would point out that there's more to explore, and I also want to point out that parallelism to Biblical fantasies has limited the book's potential. I am tending towards 3.5/5 stars with this realisation.
This book commands your attention. So, be ready to focus plenty and don't forget to let me know how you found this book to be!