(no subject)

[skygiants]

elspeth_vimes has been recommending me Franny Billingsley's The Folk Keeper for ages, and, as always, she is a person worth listening to!

So The Folk Keeper begins with Corin, who is actually Corinna, a solitary orphan whose job is to sit in the cellar all day keeping the Folk fed and at bay. (Traditionally only boys do this job, which is why Corinna is being Corin.) Suddenly, a wild YA plot device appears! A mysterious and wealthy old man descends to carry our heroine off into a life of luxury!

MYSTERIOUS AND WEALTHY OLD MAN: To everyone's shock, Corinna, you actually have a secret noble heritage! And I have promised your tragically deceased parents to carry you off and provide you with a life of luxury, you'll be just like Sara Crewe, and be a noblewoman and have lots of pretty dresses and . . . why aren't you looking excited?
CORINNA: Thanks, but no thanks.
MYSTERIOUS AND WEALTHY OLD MAN: . . . I don't follow.
CORINNA: See, I actually really like being the person who sits in the cellar all day with the creepy supernatural figures. It gives me power and leverage and makes people afraid of me. In fact, I traumatized a small boy in order to get this job. And you want me to give that up to be a powerless noblewoman? As I said: no thanks.

So that's our heroine, who eventually does get convinced to go off to the mysterious old man's castle, but only if she's allowed to stay Corin and sit in their cellar and be their Folk Keeper. Which seems simple, except that the Folk there turn out to be significantly more difficult to handle than the ones she's used to and there's a very real possibility that they might literally eat her alive, and there are creepy background secrets among the castle noblefolk, and there's also this guy who just keeps insisting she do things like go for boat rides and have fun and what is this, she's not sure she's okay with this! Especially not when she has to worry about things like being eaten alive.

I really love Corinna as a narrator; she's ruthless and independent and invested in power, and runs her life on principles like "Find out what other people love the most, so if they threaten you, you can threaten them back." She's somewhat humanized over the course of the story, but not penalized. The feel of the book reminded me of Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Perilous Gard more than anything else - it has that kind of dark fairy-tale quality, and while the ending is happy, there's always a price for things. I love The Perilous Gard, and I loved this, too.

Comments

[aamalie]

Well, you went and brought up The Perilous Gard which is probably one of my most favorite YA books OF ALL TIME, so I guess I'll have to check this out.

[skygiants]

AS IS ONLY RIGHT AND JUST. I mean, I will freely admit I have a weakness for Tam Lin stories, but also The Perilous Gard is just EXCELLENT.

[genarti]

Oooh.

[skygiants]

This would be one I would definitely lend to you . . . if I owned it. >.>

[genarti]

You taunt me cruelly. :(

[skygiants]

It is my goal in life always.

[sublunarfields.livejournal.com]

My sister got this for Christmas so I'll probably get to read it eventually. That means I didn't dare to read this for fear of spoilers, but I'm looking forward to reading it later, after I've read the book.

[skygiants]

I hope you enjoy it! It's an excellent book.

[pseudo_tsuga.livejournal.com]

It's like this book was tailor-made for my fictional kinks.

[skygiants]

Haha, it totally hits several of mine. Cross-dressing! Creepy things that live underground! Girls who are not afraid to be ruthlessly hardcore!

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

lj has also taken my Folk Keeper icons, BUT I AM LATE TO THIS POST AS IT IS, I REFUSE TO WAIT FURTHER

I am so happy you liked it! ...not surprised, but very happy!

I really love how this book manages to be wonderfully lyrical and really unflinching all at once. That the elements are balanced so well and feel so right really speaks to the strength of Corinna as a character and Billingsley as a writer. (I particularly love how Corinna recognizes that there's very little difference between her and Edward in many ways, and there's sort of an embedded respect for him because of that, in spite of their opposition.)

[skygiants]

Yeah, the prose and the plot and the voice all work together wonderfully well - it is just the right length for itself, and strikes just the right balance of lyricality and prosaicness, which is something that I find really important in this kind of story. I kind of want to hunt down Billingsley's other books now to see if there are any that can match it! (Me too. And I love that Corinna is so clear-eyed about herself as to realize that. Corinna is one of the least nice heroines in YA, and it's amazing.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

(Sometimes nice just doesn't work!)

After I read The Folk Keeper I read her previous book, Well-Wished. I didn't like it that much at the time, but I've kept my copy for...oh wow it is over ten years now...because it's one of those things I suspected I should give a second chance to. Maybe I will do that soon! I actually seem to remember a good bit of it, because a lot of the ideas were very dark and striking.

Also Amazon tells me she has a new book coming out this month! And from the descriptions, I am probably going to find myself buying it the week it comes out.

[skygiants]

I keep misreading reading that as Well Witched, which is another dark and striking book by another YA author named Frances! Clearly I need to add to the collection.

- oooooh. I should investigate this. :O

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

And clearly, I should look into Well Witched!

Becca it is called Chime (http://www.amazon.com/Chime-Franny-Billingsley/dp/0803735529/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299272005&sr=1-1), it has starred reviews from Booklist and Publisher's Weekly, and apparently involves magic with serious consequences that must be kept secret and and unwanted, arsenic-addicted suitor.

[skygiants]

You really should! Well Witched (also known as Verdigris Deep, though I forget which is the UK and which is the US title) is excellent - like DWJ at her moodiest, all about responsibility and wishes gone wrong and growing into being a complete person.

. . . *_____* THIS IS GOING TO BE A BOOK I NEED.

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

I find this relevant to my interests.

I KNOW, RIGHT?