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A review by theesotericcamel
In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente
5.0
Fantastic is the way to describe this book, it all senses of the word. Very reminiscent of the stories from the Arabian Nights, but with a slightly modern and more Occidental flavour. I am quite sure that Valente took many an inspiration from this ancient collection of stories. Many are the similarities between "In the Night Garden" and "Arabian Nights," but they are all a clear homage rather than a retelling.
The main feature shared by both "anthologies" is that they are a collection of stories within stories, all told within an overarching story. But Valente uses this format to her literary advantage and interweaves the stories. It is a veritable patchwork of stories with some stories left half finished only to be unexpectedly completed in another character's story. Some characters also reappear in other stories further down the line too. As this is only the first book of a two book series, I expect that I have yet to see the full picture that Valente is painting.
Another similar quality between the two works is the propensity for the fantastic. And each story only gets even more fantastic. Yes, this is a fantasy book, but the fantasy that is evoked here is more reminiscent of myths and legends. The kind of stories that you can imagine were told and passed through many generations. The element of Storytelling is constantly brought up, and the girl who is initially telling all of these stories keeps promising the young Prince and even more amazing story next time, very much like Sheherazade did of the Sultan.
Which brings me to my third observation of Valente's book that amused me. There are a lot of clear gender and role reversals that take place in the stories that turn the tables on the classic fantasy tropes. In this case, It is the mysterious storytelling girl, who is an outcast living in the gardens, who has to "rescue" the Prince. A female Satyr finds herself a Selkie husband. Hunters becomes the hunted...
If you love Arabian Nights (as I do), you will enjoy this book immensely.
The main feature shared by both "anthologies" is that they are a collection of stories within stories, all told within an overarching story. But Valente uses this format to her literary advantage and interweaves the stories. It is a veritable patchwork of stories with some stories left half finished only to be unexpectedly completed in another character's story. Some characters also reappear in other stories further down the line too. As this is only the first book of a two book series, I expect that I have yet to see the full picture that Valente is painting.
Another similar quality between the two works is the propensity for the fantastic. And each story only gets even more fantastic. Yes, this is a fantasy book, but the fantasy that is evoked here is more reminiscent of myths and legends. The kind of stories that you can imagine were told and passed through many generations. The element of Storytelling is constantly brought up, and the girl who is initially telling all of these stories keeps promising the young Prince and even more amazing story next time, very much like Sheherazade did of the Sultan.
Which brings me to my third observation of Valente's book that amused me. There are a lot of clear gender and role reversals that take place in the stories that turn the tables on the classic fantasy tropes. In this case, It is the mysterious storytelling girl, who is an outcast living in the gardens, who has to "rescue" the Prince. A female Satyr finds herself a Selkie husband. Hunters becomes the hunted...
If you love Arabian Nights (as I do), you will enjoy this book immensely.