pameladlloyd: Alya, an original character by Ian L. Powell (shipwreck)
Pamela D. Lloyd ([personal profile] pameladlloyd) wrote2009-04-03 11:31 am

Book Review: The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente

The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente


My review


rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved the ways in which the many stories in this unique novel were all strands in a woven tapestry. Or, perhaps it was a knitted tapestry, for there were stories, within stories, within stories, all linked. The blend of myth, fairytale, and legend, and the way the stories cross a world that feels at least as big as the one we live in, make this one of the richest novels I've read in a long time.


View all my reviews.

[identity profile] sidhe-etain.livejournal.com 2009-04-03 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
One of my favorite books ever. Have you read book 2 yet?

[identity profile] pdlloyd.livejournal.com 2009-04-03 09:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Not yet. I only just finished the last few pages of the book this morning. I've been working on this one for weeks, which is what I have to do, now that my schedule is so busy.

Oh, for the days in which I might read more than one novel in a single day.

[identity profile] sidhe-etain.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
I dunno...I think The Orphan's Tales is one that even the fastest reader would want to slow down to savor :) It took me a couple of weeks myself too.

[identity profile] pdlloyd.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
It's not so much that I want to zip through the book, as that there are far more books I'd like to read, than I have time to read them. :)

[identity profile] sidhe-etain.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
Hoo boy, don't I know that. I recently had to put about 5 books on my library card back on my "to-read" list on Good Reads, and just return them. Mostly because I'm currently reading Cat Valente's newest, _Palimpsest_...a wonderful book, but one you want to digest slowly too.

[identity profile] pdlloyd.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
That's one of the books on my to-read list, also. Right now, I've got 271 books on my Goodreads to-read shelf. It will be years before I get through them all and, of course, by then I will have added thousands more.

Ah, well. There are worse addictions. ;)

[identity profile] sidhe-etain.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
Holy cow...I thought I was bad with 22 or so! ;)

[identity profile] pdlloyd.livejournal.com 2009-04-04 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
Nah, that's small potatoes. ;>