A good while ago Carl launched his second Once Upon a Time reading challenge. And I think I’ve finally made my decision and a going to go with the second option:

Quest the Second
Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology.

• Fantasy - Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint, and it turns out that this is the first in the Newford series, which is nice.
• Folklore - The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce. The tooth fairy counts as a character from folklore right?
• Fairy Tale - Tithe by Holly Black. It is subtitled a modern faerie tale so it must fit.
• Mythology - this one I have yet to decide on. I’ve one or two in mind, but I’m not certain exactly what I’ll be reading.

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Author: Graham Joyce
ISBN: 0575072318 DDC: 823.914
See also: LibraryThing ; Agony column ; Joyce discusses his book ;

If I could tell you this in a single sitting then you might believe all of it, even the strangest part.

I’m quite a fan of Graham Joyce and his writing. He really knows how to suck you into the worlds he creates. His are novels that tend to straddle the “genre” divide. You could as easily class them under general fiction as under fantasy. And I’m sure some genre snobs would never think of him as a fantasy writer. Me, I see the teeniest bit of magic and it is going under sff. This novel, The Limits of Enchantment, is set in rural England in the 1960’s, when modern medical practices are taking over the role traditionally held by women like Mammy Cullen.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Author: Graham Joyce
ISBN: 0753818426

I’ve read a few books now by Joyce, and this has to be my favourite so far. Set during, and just after the London Blitz of WWI, this book tells the story of Cassie, her family, and her son Frank.

We first meet Cassie as she is about to give up her child to another family. She has already had a daughter who was taken in by a childless couple. But as she watches the minutes tick by, she decides to keep her son. Arriving home to her family she tells them all she is keeping Frank. Her mother, Martha, decides that maybe there is something special about Frank, so she agrees, provided the six other daughters help out with raising Frank.

As a result we see the lies of this family through Frank’s eyes as he moves from sister to sister, from farmlife to the almost pristine house of his twin aunts, to a commune. It soon becomes clear that Frank has inherited some of his mother’s feyness and some of his grandmother’s ability to talk to the dead.

There is some wonderful writing in this book, when Frank tries to imitate his pregnant Aunt peeing for example. Comic touches can be found everywhere, as can potential threats to Frank and the family.

I really enjoyed this one

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