I have this book for a couple months and was just waiting for the right time to read it, I really wanted to get the full environmental experience, cozy blanky, comfy reading chair, hot cider/glass of wine, and time to actually read! I finally got it all together on a regular basis and got to read the much anticipated
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente and perfect illustrations by Ana Juan. This book is the sequel to
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making which immediately earned a spot on my forever favorites bookshelf. As with all sequels I was a little nervous, a little excited and a lot curious. To see what happened read on as always SPOILERS AHEAD!
These books are a little hard to sum up as far as plot goes because so much of the book is words and imagery, but I will give it my best shot at a bare bones idea, and you will just have to go read it to get the full effect. We find our girl September turning 13, which as anybody who as ever turned 13 knows is a big deal. This is the age where you start your path to adulthood, but can still clearly remember being a child. September is longing to go back to Fairyland and her friends the Wyverary A-Through-L (known as Ell) and her dear Marid Saturday. She also misses her father who is away at war, and her mother who has to spend many an hour working on airplanes. Eventually Saturday makes it back to Fairyland, landing in a glass forest. She is taken in by Hreinn a group of people who can put on and take of a reindeer skin in the style of a
Selkie. They inform September that the shadows are disappearing and magic along with it. It has gotten
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so bad that they are now rationing magic in Fairyland. September figures out that the shadow she had given up in her last adventure to save a child is now ruling Fairyland-Below and is somehow stealing the shadows and magic for herself. September acquires a new red coat (YAY!) goes through a door shaped like a girl and heads down to Fairyland-Below. She immediately runs into the shadow of Ell and quickly meets up with the shadow of Saturday. They both seem very similar to their unshadowed counterparts, but with a dark wild streak. September starts her journey at the Duke of Tea and the Vicereine of Coffees family abode, here she learns about Prince Myrrh who sleeps in an unbreakable box at the bottom of the world, and is destined to rule when he is awakened. September runs into a traveling Goblin market and acquires a friend in the shape of a DoDo named Aubergine who is skilled in Quiet Magik and a beautiful copper Watchful Dress. September finally meets up with her shadow, the Hollow Queen who uses a creature called the Alleyman to siphon of shadows from Fairyland-Above. The Hollow Queen and September talk about the shadows and magic. Halloween (as the Shadow September is also called) states that she is merely freeing the shadows to live their own life, finally having choices and freedom, that fact that she is slowly killing Fairyland-Above and by proxy (since Fairyland-Below is dependent of Above) the eventual demise of Fairyland-Below does not change the
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Hollow Queens mind. September embarks on a journey to find the sleeping Prince Myrrh and goes on a spectacular adventure, culminating in meeting up with the shadow of Maud, formerly known as the Marquess, formally known as Good Queen Mallow from the first book. Above Maud is sleeping to prevent her return to the Human World, but below her shadow is free to move around. Taking Maude and the shadow of Iago the Panther of Rough Storms with her September enters the labyrinth and after more adventure finally awakens the sleeping Prince Myrrh. It is discovered that he is actually Maud's son (it all makes sense in the book I promise) and he refuses to reign over Fairyland-Below just because some story says he is supposed to. September goes back to Halloween and discovers a way to put her shadow and herself back together, but Halloween begs her not too, asking to be allowed to continue to live a separate life. A plan is made for the shadows to return to their Above counter parts on occasion, replenishing the magic and ensuring that Fairyland-Above and
Below remain magic and separate from the mundane Human world. September also discovers that the dreaded Alleyman is the shadow of her father, brought by the Hollow Queen to try and recreate her family. September takes her fathers shadow back with her to the Human world, where she discovers her father has returned (injured but alive) from the war. The family and shadows (well most of them anyways) reunited ends our tale...until next time.
Again a mere synopsis cannot capture even a billionth of the story, because the story does not come from a single plot, but a ton of mini stories, little adventures, quick moments, and various encounters. This book is just as wonderful in a different way from the first one. In the first one everything was wondrous, September had no experience with these strange worlds, but used her young and practical mind to adapt and grow. In this book September thought she knew what to expect, but did not count on things changing in such a drastic way between visits, especially herself. I read in an
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interview with the author that she wanted to write the September series about the girl growing up, each book seen from an older perspective and I think this book shows that wonderfully. To me September longing to go back to Fairyland, giving it the patina of nostalgia, remembering the best parts and glossing over the bad and then finding it not at all what she remembered is like going back to a childhood home and realizing that the magic apple tree is just a tree, that may have even been removed by the new owner. As before, amidst the magic, impossible characters and stunning imagery there is a story of a little girl who is now a teenager and trying to understand what that means. Aside from September there were some other really cool things unique to this book. In the first book September is told that she will come back once a year because she ate Fairy food. In this book we take it one step further and many underworld myths are referenced. Especially the myths of the Greek Underworld.
Persephone and her pomegranates are mentioned several times and the tale of
Orpheus is alluded to a couple of times. The river of
Lethe has been turned into the Forgetful Sea and there is even a
Minotaur.
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These references were all there, relevant and usually twisted into something unique to Fairyland-Below. The zillions (I know I'm in a big number mood today) of tiny details and characters that come together to make this a whole is perfect fodder for later imaginationing (that is totally a word, I swear). I did find (and I felt this way about the first book too) that this book was more conducive to reading 1 or 2 chapters at a time and letting all of the glorious words and imagery sink in. This is not a bad thing, 1) it makes the book last longer (YAY) 2) it is such a packed book that almost every word produces a whole scene in your head and if you just plow through it you will get overwhelmed. Ok so I am rambling again, in case you can't tell I adored this book just as much as the first one, as much for its differences as for its similarities. If you loved the first one you will love this one, if you have not read either of them, then STOP AND GO READ THEM RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! Oh and also the illustrations are again the perfect touch. I give this book 10 out of 10 Cups of Elephant's Fiery Heart!
What was your favorite part of this book? How excited are you for the third one? Am I the worlds pickiest places/times to read certain books reader ever?
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