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This month The Edge of the Forest reviews two fantasy novels in
which the landscape plays a central role. From its country fields to the shores of Cornwall, England itself is a character in
this month's fantasy.
The Stones Are Hatching
Geraldine McCaughrean
reviewed by Michele Fry, Scholar's Blog
Geraldine McCaughrean's The Stones Are Hatching reminded me (in positive ways) of both Diana Wynne Jones
(the way the folklore is fully integrated into the story) and Alan Garner (the way the landscape is hugely important to the
story).
Phelim Green is eleven years old and in the care of his older sister Prudence (who is actually off-stage until the very end of
the book); his mother is dead, and his father left them a few years earlier. His sister paints lead soldiers to earn a
living, and once a month she goes off to the toy company's headquarters to deliver the latest batch.
One day, during her
trip away, Phelim discovers that the "ghost cat" he thought he'd been feeding with a nightly saucer of milk is actually a
Domovoy, a household spirit who protects Phee's cottage. He finds the Domovoy and the Glashans (spirits who protect the
fields) in the house. The spirits want him to protect them and the world at large from the Hatchlings of the Stoor Worm. The
Stoor Worm is being awakened by the guns of World War One, and as a consequence the stones are hatching all sorts of strange and malevolent
creatures, such as dracs (large, fearsome, winged sea-serpents), the barguest (a large black dog), nuckelavee (a creature
with no skin, so its yellow veins, muscle structure and sinews, can clearly be seen to be covered in a red slimy film), and
other gruesome horrors, all of which are bent on destroying humanity.
The Domovoy calls Phee "Jack o' the Green" and
believes he will be able to save them, using his magical powers. Phee, on the other hand, believes they need his father, and
he continues to resist Alexia (his Maiden), Sweeney (his Fool) and the Obby Oss (his Horse) when they tell him that he is
the Green Man and only he can save the world.
There is a painful undercurrent to Phee's interactions—he keeps recalling
his sister's nasty names for him, and these undermine his confidence in himself and the confidence the others have in
his ability to complete his task. In spite of his lack of confidence, however, Phee succeeds—although there is a
moment when he's carrying it out when he doubts the wisdom of his actions, and whether the Stoor Worm is really at fault.
The way Phee has been treated by his sister gives him a remarkable level of sympathy with others. Phee's revenge on his
sister and his discovery of his father's whereabouts are joyous closing moments in this beautiful book.
Ingo
Helen Dunmore
reviewed by Kelly Herold, Big A, little
Have you ever enjoyed a book so much you've read it slowly? That was my experience with Ingo. Ingo drew me in as the tide
does its protagonist, Sapphire Trewhella.
Sapphire (Sapphy) lives in Cornwall, on a hidden cove, with her older brother, Connor, and her parents. Sapphy's father is
drawn to the sea and sings of Ingo to his children. Connor and Sapphy know the sea, their cove, and the tides like a suburban kid knows the rhythm of her own street. One day
their father disappears on his boat without a trace.
Matthew Trewhella's disappearance upsets daily life for Sapphy and her family. Mom has to work out of town, and Connor makes
a new friend, a girl from the sea. When Connor, ordinarily the best big brother you could ever have, abandons his sister to
meet his new friend, Sapphy follows him into the ocean. There she meets Faro, a Merperson and brother of Connor's new friend,
Elvira. Sapphy is drawn into the world of Mer, losing all sense of earth and earthly time.
Connor brings Sapphy out of the sea, and she struggles with the impulse to return. It turns out that Sapphy and Connor have
some Mer in them, each to varying degrees. Sapphy is ready to give up earth and to become one with the Mer, but Connor, more
grounded in earth, holds her fast.
As Ingo is the first in a trilogy, we don't learn everything about the Mer, their world, Sapphy and Connor's relationship to
Ingo, and what happened to Mr. Trewhella. I know I'll be waiting anxiously for books two and three to find out.
The beauty of Ingo is in Dunmore's lyrical prose and the atmosphere she creates. You can feel the pull of the tide and the
song of the Mer when you read the novel. Sapphire's struggle to resist their pull is tangible and, as a reader, you hope she
succeeds.
Ingo will not be released until September in the U.S. I recommend purchasing it through a distributor (they are freely at work
on Amazon) if you can't wait for this tale of the Mer, Cornwall, and the sea.
The Stones Are Hatching, by Geraldine McCaughrean. HarperTrophy, 2002. ISBN: 0-0644-7218-3.
Ingo, by Helen Dunmore. Harper Collins, 2006. ISBN: 0-0608-1852-2.
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