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Travel Light
From the dark ages to modern times, from the dragons of medieval forests to Constantinople, this is a fantastic and philosophical fairy-tale journey that will appeal to fans of Harry Potter, Diana Wynne Jones, and T. H. White’s The Sword in the Stone.
135 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
About the author
Naomi Mitchison
148 books119 followersNaomi Mitchison, author of over 70 books, died in 1999 at the age of 101. She was born in and lived in Scotland and traveled widely throughout the world. In the 1960s she was adopted as adviser and mother of the Bakgatla tribe in Botswana. Her books include historical fiction, science fiction, poetry, autobiography, and nonfiction, the most popular of which are The Corn King and the Spring Queen, The Conquered, and Memoirs of a Spacewoman.
Mitchison lived in Kintyre for many years and was an active small farmer. She served on Argyll County Council and was a member of the Highlands and Islands Advisory Panel from 1947 to 1965, and the Highlands and Islands Advisory Consultative Council from 1966 to 1974.
Praise for Naomi Mitchison:
"No one knows better how to spin a fairy tale than Naomi Mitchison."
-- The Observer
"Mitchison breathes life into such perennial themes as courage, forgiveness, the search for meaning, and self-sacrifice."
-- Publishers Weekly
"She writes enviably, with the kind of casual precision which ... comes by grace."
-- Times Literary Supplement
"One of the great subversive thinkers and peaceable transgressors of the twentieth century.... We are just catching up to this wise, complex, lucid mind that has for ninety-seven years been a generation or two ahead of her time."
-- Ursula K. Le Guin, author of Gifts
"Her descriptions of ritual and magic are superb; no less lovely are her accounts of simple, natural things -- water-crowfoot flowers, marigolds, and bright-spotted fish. To read her is like looking down into deep warm water, through which the smallest pebble and the most radiant weed shine and are seen most clearly; for her writing is very intimate, almost as a diary, or an autobiography is intimate, and yet it is free from all pose, all straining after effect; she is telling a story so that all may understand, yet it has the still profundity of a nursery rhyme.
-- Hugh Gordon Proteus, New Statesman and Nation
Mitchison lived in Kintyre for many years and was an active small farmer. She served on Argyll County Council and was a member of the Highlands and Islands Advisory Panel from 1947 to 1965, and the Highlands and Islands Advisory Consultative Council from 1966 to 1974.
Praise for Naomi Mitchison:
"No one knows better how to spin a fairy tale than Naomi Mitchison."
-- The Observer
"Mitchison breathes life into such perennial themes as courage, forgiveness, the search for meaning, and self-sacrifice."
-- Publishers Weekly
"She writes enviably, with the kind of casual precision which ... comes by grace."
-- Times Literary Supplement
"One of the great subversive thinkers and peaceable transgressors of the twentieth century.... We are just catching up to this wise, complex, lucid mind that has for ninety-seven years been a generation or two ahead of her time."
-- Ursula K. Le Guin, author of Gifts
"Her descriptions of ritual and magic are superb; no less lovely are her accounts of simple, natural things -- water-crowfoot flowers, marigolds, and bright-spotted fish. To read her is like looking down into deep warm water, through which the smallest pebble and the most radiant weed shine and are seen most clearly; for her writing is very intimate, almost as a diary, or an autobiography is intimate, and yet it is free from all pose, all straining after effect; she is telling a story so that all may understand, yet it has the still profundity of a nursery rhyme.
-- Hugh Gordon Proteus, New Statesman and Nation
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Shelved as 'tbr-plans-2021-classics-must-reads'
August 25, 2020i'm only here because it was mentioned in This Is How You Lose the Time War
June 8, 2023
Ever wanted a Tolkeinesque saga with a female lead? Look no further this is it, and from someone close to Tolkein who proof read Lord of the Rings before it was published. This was published in 1952, before Lord of the Rings in 1954.
This really ought to stand alongside The Hobbit and Harry Potter and other such tales to be read as one grows up. For some reason it doesn’t and its remarkable author is not considered part of the canon.
Mitchison lived to be 101 and her life and the scope of her interests and activities is quite remarkable. Part of the Haldane family, her early success was as a geneticist, she then volunteered as a VAD during the war. She was a lifelong feminist and campaigner for birth control, an active socialist and a very prolific writer. She published over ninety books including historical novels (one critic has described her as the greatest historical novelist of the twentieth century), science fiction, politics, sexuality, travelogue, fantasy, memoirs and numerous articles.
Travel Light is the tale of Halla, born to a king but cast out to die, she is raised first by bears and then by a dragon. When she eventually returns to people she has the gift of languages and can speak to all people and animals. Halla has a particular dislike of heroes (especially because they tend to slay dragons) and is known as heroesbane for a while. There is magic here and lots of travel, an appearance from Odin Allfather (who advises Halla to travel light and keep moving), a Valkyrie who keeps popping up when heroes die to carry them off to Valhalla (which is definitely not what the heroes think it is), crooked princes and governors, duplicitous clerics to name but a few. Halla communicates with all kinds of animals and travels for a while with a group of men on a quest for justice. Halla deals deftly with the usual male desire to tie her to home and hearth and continues to travel light. It’s great stuff and Mitchison makes her moral points gently along the way. Halla is an interesting protagonist and is much more Gandalf than Bilbo Baggins. Although this is a fable, it does not have the usual fable structure. There are links to Beowulf; the Grendel family has a walk on part. The word hero is in this tale, a pejorative term for someone who makes their living from killing and murder. Established religion is corrupt and distinct from true belief which is important, but not to be held onto blindly. Mitchison is teaching respect, understanding and tolerance with a light touch.
This is a book I wish I had read when I was younger. My main quibble is that it is too short. One reviewer, a writer of fantasy (Amal El Mohtar) has wondered what would have happened if she had read this as a child;
“But, most crucially for me, I wonder: Where might I have gone if, instead of a middle-aged Hobbit enamored of his pantry, I had embraced a girl who lost three homes before choosing the open road?”
Who knows indeed; this should be a classic.
This really ought to stand alongside The Hobbit and Harry Potter and other such tales to be read as one grows up. For some reason it doesn’t and its remarkable author is not considered part of the canon.
Mitchison lived to be 101 and her life and the scope of her interests and activities is quite remarkable. Part of the Haldane family, her early success was as a geneticist, she then volunteered as a VAD during the war. She was a lifelong feminist and campaigner for birth control, an active socialist and a very prolific writer. She published over ninety books including historical novels (one critic has described her as the greatest historical novelist of the twentieth century), science fiction, politics, sexuality, travelogue, fantasy, memoirs and numerous articles.
Travel Light is the tale of Halla, born to a king but cast out to die, she is raised first by bears and then by a dragon. When she eventually returns to people she has the gift of languages and can speak to all people and animals. Halla has a particular dislike of heroes (especially because they tend to slay dragons) and is known as heroesbane for a while. There is magic here and lots of travel, an appearance from Odin Allfather (who advises Halla to travel light and keep moving), a Valkyrie who keeps popping up when heroes die to carry them off to Valhalla (which is definitely not what the heroes think it is), crooked princes and governors, duplicitous clerics to name but a few. Halla communicates with all kinds of animals and travels for a while with a group of men on a quest for justice. Halla deals deftly with the usual male desire to tie her to home and hearth and continues to travel light. It’s great stuff and Mitchison makes her moral points gently along the way. Halla is an interesting protagonist and is much more Gandalf than Bilbo Baggins. Although this is a fable, it does not have the usual fable structure. There are links to Beowulf; the Grendel family has a walk on part. The word hero is in this tale, a pejorative term for someone who makes their living from killing and murder. Established religion is corrupt and distinct from true belief which is important, but not to be held onto blindly. Mitchison is teaching respect, understanding and tolerance with a light touch.
This is a book I wish I had read when I was younger. My main quibble is that it is too short. One reviewer, a writer of fantasy (Amal El Mohtar) has wondered what would have happened if she had read this as a child;
“But, most crucially for me, I wonder: Where might I have gone if, instead of a middle-aged Hobbit enamored of his pantry, I had embraced a girl who lost three homes before choosing the open road?”
Who knows indeed; this should be a classic.
September 16, 2019
This was really beautiful. It's a meditative fairy tale that turns into something else entirely by the end. I'm a fast reader these days, and even though this book was short, it made me slow down and take my time. I appreciate that a lot.
Like a lot of other readers, I found this one thanks to Amal El-Mohtar's NPR review: https://www.npr.org/2014/01/01/258384...
And I'm so glad I did! There's a lot of heavy subject matter but a gentle touch, and no matter how grim things got, I always felt strangely soothed?
There's a wonderful focus on language and the power of communication. I wish more fantasy would take up that challenge so thoughtfully. Overall, it's hard to believe this came out in the early 50s, since it still feels so fresh today.
Also, the dragons were incredible. And the magic was excellent.
Really, all of it was just so good.
Now I want to read everything else that Mitchinson wrote.
Like a lot of other readers, I found this one thanks to Amal El-Mohtar's NPR review: https://www.npr.org/2014/01/01/258384...
And I'm so glad I did! There's a lot of heavy subject matter but a gentle touch, and no matter how grim things got, I always felt strangely soothed?
There's a wonderful focus on language and the power of communication. I wish more fantasy would take up that challenge so thoughtfully. Overall, it's hard to believe this came out in the early 50s, since it still feels so fresh today.
Also, the dragons were incredible. And the magic was excellent.
Really, all of it was just so good.
Now I want to read everything else that Mitchinson wrote.
December 6, 2020
Una fiaba senza tempo davvero carina e piena di rimandi e citazioni di varie mitologie e vari luoghi più o meno storici.
Consigliata se vi piacciono le storie un po’ oniriche e bizzarre e se cercate una lettura che parli del trovare il proprio posto nel mondo.
Consigliata se vi piacciono le storie un po’ oniriche e bizzarre e se cercate una lettura che parli del trovare il proprio posto nel mondo.
July 26, 2014
Travel light my child, as the Wanderer travels light, and his love will be with you."(57)
Travel Light
Travel Light tells the story of Halla, a girl born to a King, who will also take the very same gift that was given, for he casts her out into the wilds before any words could be spoken. She is nursed by bears and raised by dragons. But the time of dragons has come to past and magic is waning, our dear Halla is destined to make a choice. Who will she be? Halla Bearsbairn? Halla Heroesbane? or Halla Godsgift?
But this is not what Travel Light is simply all about.
And indeed it was never the story, just as Travel Light is not a simple children's book. It is about 'traveling light' in a muddled and muddied world, defining your own destiny and in the process finding yourself.
Indeed the story moves with Halla's narrative. The episodic story moves between and beyond conventions and structures of the literary landscape. It seemingly starts out as a didactic fable with Halla’s bearish infancy. In this episode Mitchison grounded the work to Nordic Mythos with the occasional appearances of Valkyries and passing mentions of other Nordic legends. But this didactic fable violently veers off to a dragonish fire-proof adolescence, and with it, the very nature of the narrative. Aside from an amusing discussion of dragons’ distinctive hoarding nature, Mitchison delves into human nature and philosophy and moves from Scandinavian landscape of Paganism to the heart of Constantinople and of Christianity. It is important to note that the Nordic Mythos facet of the tale is never lost as the Valkyrie seems to keep appearing intermittently. As the tale which did not provide a clear span and flow of time (for it would seem that a hundred, thousand years even, have come to past) comes to a close, Halla is seen as a mythic figure herself and the nature of the narrative ends where it starts, Nordic mythology.
As one can see, so much is in work here. Mitchison talks about human nature, beliefs systems and religion, but never, as I felt, did she shove it up to me. I felt that she kept true to the one thing she wanted to impart, ‘Travel Light’ and do so by being good to all. It has no form and defies the traditional linear progressions but I still enjoyed its exceptional and unprecedented transition from a fable-like story to a socio-political examination of human belief and dynamics, again in a sense, by ‘travelling light’, by simplifying matters and driving at its core.
I highly recommend this book, and do so while weeping that it suffers in relative obscurity considering how good it is. Perhaps because it was publish in the era of Tolkien and Lewis? The shadows they have cast have inadvertently and yet effectively laid down a shroud of obscurity over works like this, which is interesting in light of Mitchison’s relation to Tolkien. She was a dear friend to Tolkien, was among the first to read the unpublished The Lord of the Rings, and when the said book suffered from poor reception compared to the then anticipated sale, Mitchison was asked to do blurbs for its marketing promotions.
Naomi Mitchison
Mitchison must have been an exciting and principled individual too! She traveled the world engaging in social activism mostly fighting for Indigenous Communities, to which end, she was adopted as adviser and mother of the Bakgatla Tribe in Botswana. She died in 1999 at the age of 101, if anything; Mitchison herself indeed, ‘traveled light’.
Travel light!
Travel LightTravel Light tells the story of Halla, a girl born to a King, who will also take the very same gift that was given, for he casts her out into the wilds before any words could be spoken. She is nursed by bears and raised by dragons. But the time of dragons has come to past and magic is waning, our dear Halla is destined to make a choice. Who will she be? Halla Bearsbairn? Halla Heroesbane? or Halla Godsgift?
But this is not what Travel Light is simply all about.
“Perhaps she did not die,” said Halla, “perhaps her nurse turned into a bear and carried her away into the forest. Perhaps she was brought up by bears and dragons. Perhaps it was better for her in the end than being a king’s child.”
“That was never the story,” said Modolf.
“Forget the story,” said Halla.(139)
And indeed it was never the story, just as Travel Light is not a simple children's book. It is about 'traveling light' in a muddled and muddied world, defining your own destiny and in the process finding yourself.
Indeed the story moves with Halla's narrative. The episodic story moves between and beyond conventions and structures of the literary landscape. It seemingly starts out as a didactic fable with Halla’s bearish infancy. In this episode Mitchison grounded the work to Nordic Mythos with the occasional appearances of Valkyries and passing mentions of other Nordic legends. But this didactic fable violently veers off to a dragonish fire-proof adolescence, and with it, the very nature of the narrative. Aside from an amusing discussion of dragons’ distinctive hoarding nature, Mitchison delves into human nature and philosophy and moves from Scandinavian landscape of Paganism to the heart of Constantinople and of Christianity. It is important to note that the Nordic Mythos facet of the tale is never lost as the Valkyrie seems to keep appearing intermittently. As the tale which did not provide a clear span and flow of time (for it would seem that a hundred, thousand years even, have come to past) comes to a close, Halla is seen as a mythic figure herself and the nature of the narrative ends where it starts, Nordic mythology.
As one can see, so much is in work here. Mitchison talks about human nature, beliefs systems and religion, but never, as I felt, did she shove it up to me. I felt that she kept true to the one thing she wanted to impart, ‘Travel Light’ and do so by being good to all. It has no form and defies the traditional linear progressions but I still enjoyed its exceptional and unprecedented transition from a fable-like story to a socio-political examination of human belief and dynamics, again in a sense, by ‘travelling light’, by simplifying matters and driving at its core.
I highly recommend this book, and do so while weeping that it suffers in relative obscurity considering how good it is. Perhaps because it was publish in the era of Tolkien and Lewis? The shadows they have cast have inadvertently and yet effectively laid down a shroud of obscurity over works like this, which is interesting in light of Mitchison’s relation to Tolkien. She was a dear friend to Tolkien, was among the first to read the unpublished The Lord of the Rings, and when the said book suffered from poor reception compared to the then anticipated sale, Mitchison was asked to do blurbs for its marketing promotions.
Naomi Mitchison
Mitchison must have been an exciting and principled individual too! She traveled the world engaging in social activism mostly fighting for Indigenous Communities, to which end, she was adopted as adviser and mother of the Bakgatla Tribe in Botswana. She died in 1999 at the age of 101, if anything; Mitchison herself indeed, ‘traveled light’.
Travel light!
December 19, 2020
Scottish author and poet Naomi Mitchison’s Travel Light draws on an impressive variety of Norse myth, literature and legend in her thoughtful, entertaining twist on a traditional fairy tale. It’s centred on a bold, unorthodox heroine Princess Halla born into an age of change where magic and the old gods are losing their sway. Cast out as a baby by her stepmother, Halla’s first raised by bears then adopted by a dragon. The dragon community educates Halla in their customs and beliefs, introducing her to magical beasts, giants and trolls, until she experiences the world in ‘dragonish’ ways. But Halla’s halcyon days among the dragons are numbered, their very existence is under threat. The time of lavish tributes is coming to an end, a glut of plundering heroes roams their sacred lands, intent on disrupting dragon behaviour and stealing away their precious hordes. Someday soon Halla will be set adrift to find her own path in the wider world, her journey will take her to far-off lands across the seas but she has the warrior spirit of a bear and the wisdom of dragons to guide her.
Originally published by Faber in 1952, Travel Light was rescued from obscurity by Virago in the 80s, and more recently reissued by an American indie press. I thought it was a wonderfully inventive fantasy, sharply-drawn, atmospheric, laced with droll, witty passages and an undercurrent of wistful melancholy. The early stages have a light playful feel but as the narrative progressed it took on a more mature flavour and a richer texture. It doesn't reach the heights of books like Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea but it does have something of its sensibility. I really enjoyed this one, far more than I anticipated. I’m also fascinated by its author, feminist, anti-fascist and prolific writer, Mitchison was part of circles that included Stella Benson, Dylan Thomas, J. R. R. Tolkien and Andrew Lang; she specialised in fiction that reworked aspects of folklore and ancient history, something I find particularly appealing so I’m looking forward to exploring her writing further.
Rating: 3.5
The publisher Small Beer Press has a useful resource page with links to extracts from the novel, a potted biography and other details about the book and its author:
https://smallbeerpress.com/books/2005...
Originally published by Faber in 1952, Travel Light was rescued from obscurity by Virago in the 80s, and more recently reissued by an American indie press. I thought it was a wonderfully inventive fantasy, sharply-drawn, atmospheric, laced with droll, witty passages and an undercurrent of wistful melancholy. The early stages have a light playful feel but as the narrative progressed it took on a more mature flavour and a richer texture. It doesn't reach the heights of books like Ursula K. Le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea but it does have something of its sensibility. I really enjoyed this one, far more than I anticipated. I’m also fascinated by its author, feminist, anti-fascist and prolific writer, Mitchison was part of circles that included Stella Benson, Dylan Thomas, J. R. R. Tolkien and Andrew Lang; she specialised in fiction that reworked aspects of folklore and ancient history, something I find particularly appealing so I’m looking forward to exploring her writing further.
Rating: 3.5
The publisher Small Beer Press has a useful resource page with links to extracts from the novel, a potted biography and other details about the book and its author:
https://smallbeerpress.com/books/2005...
January 3, 2014
I came across this because of Amal El-Mohtar's NPR review; the idea of a book in dialogue with Tolkien, by one of the women around him who he encouraged and listened to, definitely appealed: I think just recently I was asking if anyone's written anything about Tolkien's female students, about whom I know very little except that I'm sure I have been told they existed. (Time for a woman to write a biography of Tolkien? Move over, Humphrey Carpenter, Tom Shippey?)
And this book delivered. It is rather slight -- it's short, and on first glance, rather fable-like. Naomi Mitchison resisted any urge to insist on a moral, though: while there are religious people in the story, and Hella's travelling light seems a virtue in her, there are good people who struggle with faith, good dragons who keep out of the gods' way, and though for a while it looks as though there might be a moral about Christianity in there, then there's also a bit of a wry look at the church in Constantinople, and it ends with some more Norse mythology. I don't think she honestly ever pushes any moral except finding your way through life and being good to people and creatures, and in the meantime she has an intriguing wander through different cultures and traditions.
Mitchison is a lot less sure than Tolkien about the period and the people she wants to write about, I think. Tolkien talked about creating "a mythology for England", and I've argued elsewhere that Susan Cooper succeeds, but I don't think Mitchison is as rooted in a place, an idea. Like her protagonist, she's willing to wander. I wonder what a difference it'd have made to genre fiction now if Mitchison had a greater role, and Tolkien a lesser? Maybe we'd have less to worry about from the constant onslaught of medieval European fantasy.
It won't scratch the same itch as The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, for sure. It's a different sort of story -- if you're a fan of Le Guin, perhaps, it's more like the stories of Earthsea. Or it's like a more fantastical, more female Rosemary Sutcliff. Don't read it for The Hobbit 2.0 -- it's something all its own.
Oh, and it can be quite amusing, too: Dragon Economics 101...
And this book delivered. It is rather slight -- it's short, and on first glance, rather fable-like. Naomi Mitchison resisted any urge to insist on a moral, though: while there are religious people in the story, and Hella's travelling light seems a virtue in her, there are good people who struggle with faith, good dragons who keep out of the gods' way, and though for a while it looks as though there might be a moral about Christianity in there, then there's also a bit of a wry look at the church in Constantinople, and it ends with some more Norse mythology. I don't think she honestly ever pushes any moral except finding your way through life and being good to people and creatures, and in the meantime she has an intriguing wander through different cultures and traditions.
Mitchison is a lot less sure than Tolkien about the period and the people she wants to write about, I think. Tolkien talked about creating "a mythology for England", and I've argued elsewhere that Susan Cooper succeeds, but I don't think Mitchison is as rooted in a place, an idea. Like her protagonist, she's willing to wander. I wonder what a difference it'd have made to genre fiction now if Mitchison had a greater role, and Tolkien a lesser? Maybe we'd have less to worry about from the constant onslaught of medieval European fantasy.
It won't scratch the same itch as The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, for sure. It's a different sort of story -- if you're a fan of Le Guin, perhaps, it's more like the stories of Earthsea. Or it's like a more fantastical, more female Rosemary Sutcliff. Don't read it for The Hobbit 2.0 -- it's something all its own.
Oh, and it can be quite amusing, too: Dragon Economics 101...
November 1, 2020
I first learned of this book while reading This Is How You Lose the Time War. I can certainly see why the idea of Traveling Light would resonate with Red and Blue. This is a very well done story in a traditional myth style. However, that is not a style I tend to click with. It was very straightforward without an overabundance of plot or character development. However, if you like Norse mythology, independent women, dragons or tales of traveling and a life of simplicity, this is a very good read. If you appreciate a more traditional story, this is very likely a five star read. For my own preferences, it’s a three.
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April 12, 2024Naomi Mičison je živela sto godina, uzbudljivim i bogatim životom, i napisala stotinak knjiga, a iz nekog razloga kod nas nikad ništa njeno nije prevedeno. Nije mi baš najjasnije zašto i evo navijam da se to promeni (pre godinu-dve dočekali smo i prevod Nensi Mitford, ne znam što bi ovo bilo manje verovatno).
Travel Light je vrlo kratak roman iz 1952. koji bih preporučila svima koji vole sažetu i razigranu fantastiku. Dakle, ne Martin ili Rotfus nego T. H. Vajt ili čak Poslednji jednorog Pitera Bigla. Ali istovremeno bih preporučila da se ne upoznaju sa sadržajem nego da krenu u knjigu onako naslepo uz preskakanje blurbova i predgovora; radnja je vijugava, promene tona i književnog konteksta divno neočekivane, sve u svemu ovo je prelepa, duhovita, na momente parodična, ali često i setna pa i vrlo tužna knjižica s nakrivo naherenim zapletom i mnogo malih iznenađenja-dragulja razbacanih po tekstu. Neki smatraju da bi mogla da prođe kao knjiga za decu, ja iskreno nisam sigurna; tj. dete bi svakako moglo da je pročita (deca čitaju i Andrićevu "Decu" pa ostanu živa iako možda malo oštećena), pojedini delovi bi mu se svakako dopali, ali mislim da bi do kraja ostalo s više pitanja nego odgovora BAŠ KAO ŠTO SE I MENI DESILO.
PS Naslovnica ovog izdanja koje sam čitala je grozna i ič ne pogađa ton knjige
PPS problem s idiomatskim naslovima jeste što se nikad ne zna šta će se još tako nazvati, i u mojoj glavi se sad bore pesma Tinderstiksa i spoznaja da bi se naša verzija zvala Putnica bez prtljaga što je na korak od klasik narodnjaka
PPPS Naravno da je nemački izdavač problem naslova ladno razrešio tako što je original zamenio frazom koja spojluje otkriće koje se desi pet strana pred kraj knjige??? Zašto zaboga???
Travel Light je vrlo kratak roman iz 1952. koji bih preporučila svima koji vole sažetu i razigranu fantastiku. Dakle, ne Martin ili Rotfus nego T. H. Vajt ili čak Poslednji jednorog Pitera Bigla. Ali istovremeno bih preporučila da se ne upoznaju sa sadržajem nego da krenu u knjigu onako naslepo uz preskakanje blurbova i predgovora; radnja je vijugava, promene tona i književnog konteksta divno neočekivane, sve u svemu ovo je prelepa, duhovita, na momente parodična, ali često i setna pa i vrlo tužna knjižica s nakrivo naherenim zapletom i mnogo malih iznenađenja-dragulja razbacanih po tekstu. Neki smatraju da bi mogla da prođe kao knjiga za decu, ja iskreno nisam sigurna; tj. dete bi svakako moglo da je pročita (deca čitaju i Andrićevu "Decu" pa ostanu živa iako možda malo oštećena), pojedini delovi bi mu se svakako dopali, ali mislim da bi do kraja ostalo s više pitanja nego odgovora BAŠ KAO ŠTO SE I MENI DESILO.
PS Naslovnica ovog izdanja koje sam čitala je grozna i ič ne pogađa ton knjige
PPS problem s idiomatskim naslovima jeste što se nikad ne zna šta će se još tako nazvati, i u mojoj glavi se sad bore pesma Tinderstiksa i spoznaja da bi se naša verzija zvala Putnica bez prtljaga što je na korak od klasik narodnjaka
PPPS Naravno da je nemački izdavač problem naslova ladno razrešio tako što je original zamenio frazom koja spojluje otkriće koje se desi pet strana pred kraj knjige??? Zašto zaboga???
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January 18, 2021DNF
Abbandono la presa a pagina 94, purtroppo non mi interessa della sorte dei personaggi e mi stava annoiando.
Abbandono la presa a pagina 94, purtroppo non mi interessa della sorte dei personaggi e mi stava annoiando.
September 14, 2018
Note: If you have the Smallbeer Press edition, DO NOT read the Introduction. It doesn't "spoil" the book, it entirely ruins it by telling the whole thing, elements, denouement and all. Why editors do this consistently I cannot tell you, but it seems to be a new fashion when resurrecting older texts from oblivion.
Not my usual sort of read but I found myself really enjoying it. Mitchison blends Nordic myth with her personal perception of early Christianity, adding a pinch of fairy tale to tell the story of Halla, an unwanted child of the king's first marriage who is rescued by a were-bear nurserymaid (like they do) and begins a life of wandering.
I've always wondered how these fairy tale kings can run a kingdom and fight battles and such, and yet are totally unable to stand up to their second wives. In some stories, Wife 2.0 turns out to be a witch, which would explain her power over the king (pun intended) but in others he just turns into a wuss on his second marriage. Of course, without that there would be no story.
There are many possible "messages" to find in this story; the one I took away is that life is in the living. It's not about waiting for some marvellous event that will make everything wonderful and start a new life for you; it's about kindness to those around us and living each day. Now where did I put that cloak? (Is. 61:10)
Not my usual sort of read but I found myself really enjoying it. Mitchison blends Nordic myth with her personal perception of early Christianity, adding a pinch of fairy tale to tell the story of Halla, an unwanted child of the king's first marriage who is rescued by a were-bear nurserymaid (like they do) and begins a life of wandering.
I've always wondered how these fairy tale kings can run a kingdom and fight battles and such, and yet are totally unable to stand up to their second wives. In some stories, Wife 2.0 turns out to be a witch, which would explain her power over the king (pun intended) but in others he just turns into a wuss on his second marriage. Of course, without that there would be no story.
There are many possible "messages" to find in this story; the one I took away is that life is in the living. It's not about waiting for some marvellous event that will make everything wonderful and start a new life for you; it's about kindness to those around us and living each day. Now where did I put that cloak? (Is. 61:10)
November 16, 2020
Per leggere la recensione in blog cliccare qui:
https://ilconfinedeilibri.blogspot.co...
https://ilconfinedeilibri.blogspot.co...
August 25, 2016
(Read because it was highly recommended at an Arisia panel on forgotten classics by women back in January, and also because it was part of the Small Beer Press Humble Bundle.)
A few weeks ago I went and saw a one-man show called Transmission. It was about ideas, and values, and how the books we read in childhood worm their way into our conscious (and conscience) and affect us years and decades down the line--and it was a cry to reject that, to examine our received beliefs and rebuild them anew. Story, the performer said, was dangerous, because story makes our brains suspend disbelief, and in the process uncritically accept not just the events of the tall tale but the moral behind it.
I wonder what the performer would have made of this book. It has morals, certainly, but they're quicksilver, slippery things. There's criticism of money, greed, capitalism--but also acknowledgement that we live within a system that can sometimes only be changed from inside. There's a paean to freedom, but also to settling down; Halla's embrace of her itinerant, mendicant path is never without doubts, nor is it a path most characters can or want to tread. And as to story, well.
"That was never the story," said Modolf.
"Forget the story," said Halla.
In short, this is a book about letting go, of accepting that nothing--not material things, not values or beliefs, not hatreds ("It is difficult to keep one's enemies") or even friendships--will serve you forever. And that includes its own message; it's a book that would, I think, in the end be proud to be set aside, superseded by a newer and more useful viewpoint.
I wish I'd read it as a child. I will be sending copies, I think, to children that I know when the time is right--and maybe to the performer of Transmission as well.
A few weeks ago I went and saw a one-man show called Transmission. It was about ideas, and values, and how the books we read in childhood worm their way into our conscious (and conscience) and affect us years and decades down the line--and it was a cry to reject that, to examine our received beliefs and rebuild them anew. Story, the performer said, was dangerous, because story makes our brains suspend disbelief, and in the process uncritically accept not just the events of the tall tale but the moral behind it.
I wonder what the performer would have made of this book. It has morals, certainly, but they're quicksilver, slippery things. There's criticism of money, greed, capitalism--but also acknowledgement that we live within a system that can sometimes only be changed from inside. There's a paean to freedom, but also to settling down; Halla's embrace of her itinerant, mendicant path is never without doubts, nor is it a path most characters can or want to tread. And as to story, well.
"That was never the story," said Modolf.
"Forget the story," said Halla.
In short, this is a book about letting go, of accepting that nothing--not material things, not values or beliefs, not hatreds ("It is difficult to keep one's enemies") or even friendships--will serve you forever. And that includes its own message; it's a book that would, I think, in the end be proud to be set aside, superseded by a newer and more useful viewpoint.
I wish I'd read it as a child. I will be sending copies, I think, to children that I know when the time is right--and maybe to the performer of Transmission as well.
Read
March 16, 2021I would’ve loved this when I was a kid. Lots of Norse mythology references and a great lead character in Halla.
November 17, 2019
I finished this book in an evening (it's only 135 pages), put it down, and thought, "Huh. That was......different?" It's clearly a book kind of meant for children, with with some startlingly violent moments that made me wonder if it was supposed to be a fairy tale book for adults written in the style of a children's story...? Or something?
It's about an unwanted princess named Halla who is taken by her nanny to be raised by bears (which the nanny turns into). When it becomes clear that her human biology can't quite match up to the bears' instincts to hibernate, they convince a dragon to adopt her as part of his treasure. After the dragon clan makes her fireproof, her formative years are spent living in a dragon's cave, helping him organize his treasure, learning dragon customs and folklore (princesses are honored to be sacrificed to dragons and heroes are wicked men who want to kill innocent dragons to take their gold!), and befriending other creatures like mermaids and Valkyries. When a tragic event forces Halla to strike out on her own, the "All Father" (Odin, based on the description) gives her a piece of his cloak and some advice to "travel light". She eventually finds her way among some new (human) friends, visits Constantinople, and has much adventures along the way.
The writing style was definitely from a different time (written in 1952), and it reminded me strongly of old fairy tale books I've read in the past, especially "A Book of Princess Stories" by Kathleen Adams & Frances Elizabeth Archinson (a book I read over and over as a child). Like a classic fairy tale, this had some nonsensical events and those moments of casual violence that make the modern reader think, "Wait, this is for children??" There aren't many fairy tales written for children these days that mention brains being smashed out or that a character looks "like a little village slut." (Seriously, that line made my eyebrows shoot up. Whoa now, can you even say that??)
The tone was generally light, even when it was sad, in such a way that felt almost humorous without being directly funny. There were so many lines that I want to quote, especially with Halla's dragon-like views about treasure, but I especially loved this one when Halla is trying to learn about a different city by asking various animals: "But there were cranes and herons circling who had news of a kind, and sometimes beavers, though they were much too busy for light conversation, since logs of wood were their treasure and their plans all had to do with the getting of it." I don't know why this kind of phrasing delights me, but I loved it.
I also loved this long sentence right from the first page, when Halla's nurse decides to save her from her cruel stepmother: "So she turned herself into a black bear then and there and picked up the baby in her mouth, blanket and all, and growled her way out of the Bower at the back of the King's hall, and padded out through the light spring snow that had melted already near the hall, and through the birch woods and the pine woods into the deep dark woods where the rest of the bears were waking up from their winter sleep."
Doesn't that sound like a story you want to envelop yourself in?
I will admit that I loved the beginning of this book, when she's among the bears and dragons, more than the second part where she's among humans. Halla joins a small group of men who were traveling to see the Emperor, and I frankly had a hard time telling them apart, even though their names were nothing alike. I think I was secretly hoping they'd go away and leave Halla to resume talking to bears and dragons and such. She still gets a chance to chat with horses and rats, but I want dragons!
I also started to worry for a while that this was going to turn out to be a Christian allegory, in the vein of Narnia, when she arrived in Constantinople (ie, the center of the Roman Catholic church at the time) and there was much talk from other characters about who was and who wasn't a true Christian. However, Halla doesn't seem to pay this much mind, and she's clearly more attached to the All Father/Odin and her Valkyrie friend, so I definitely don't think the author was writing a Christian story. This is just a little fable about a girl traveling from a Medieval-ish Germanic-ish region through time (literally, as we learn that Odin had boosted her ahead a few centuries) to witness the spread of Christianity and thus the subsequent loss of older beings like dragons and giants. She herself never shows the slightest inkling that she wants to convert. And in fact in the end which is not exactly in keeping with Christian mythology. I also checked the author's Wikipedia page, which talked a lot about her feminism, birth control activism, and how one of her books was criticized for not emphasizing Christianity....which confirmed for me that this book was definitely NOT intended as a Christian story. Good, I don't want no stinkin' allegorical life lessons, I just want DRAGONS, VALKYRIE, and BEARS, oh my!
All in all, I found this book to be a pretty delightful little tale. Definitely for fans of old-school fairy tales and fables, or for fans of newer books like Catherynne Valente's Fairyland series. I'm definitely going to look into their author's other works as well.
It's about an unwanted princess named Halla who is taken by her nanny to be raised by bears (which the nanny turns into). When it becomes clear that her human biology can't quite match up to the bears' instincts to hibernate, they convince a dragon to adopt her as part of his treasure. After the dragon clan makes her fireproof, her formative years are spent living in a dragon's cave, helping him organize his treasure, learning dragon customs and folklore (princesses are honored to be sacrificed to dragons and heroes are wicked men who want to kill innocent dragons to take their gold!), and befriending other creatures like mermaids and Valkyries. When a tragic event forces Halla to strike out on her own, the "All Father" (Odin, based on the description) gives her a piece of his cloak and some advice to "travel light". She eventually finds her way among some new (human) friends, visits Constantinople, and has much adventures along the way.
The writing style was definitely from a different time (written in 1952), and it reminded me strongly of old fairy tale books I've read in the past, especially "A Book of Princess Stories" by Kathleen Adams & Frances Elizabeth Archinson (a book I read over and over as a child). Like a classic fairy tale, this had some nonsensical events and those moments of casual violence that make the modern reader think, "Wait, this is for children??" There aren't many fairy tales written for children these days that mention brains being smashed out or that a character looks "like a little village slut." (Seriously, that line made my eyebrows shoot up. Whoa now, can you even say that??)
The tone was generally light, even when it was sad, in such a way that felt almost humorous without being directly funny. There were so many lines that I want to quote, especially with Halla's dragon-like views about treasure, but I especially loved this one when Halla is trying to learn about a different city by asking various animals: "But there were cranes and herons circling who had news of a kind, and sometimes beavers, though they were much too busy for light conversation, since logs of wood were their treasure and their plans all had to do with the getting of it." I don't know why this kind of phrasing delights me, but I loved it.
I also loved this long sentence right from the first page, when Halla's nurse decides to save her from her cruel stepmother: "So she turned herself into a black bear then and there and picked up the baby in her mouth, blanket and all, and growled her way out of the Bower at the back of the King's hall, and padded out through the light spring snow that had melted already near the hall, and through the birch woods and the pine woods into the deep dark woods where the rest of the bears were waking up from their winter sleep."
Doesn't that sound like a story you want to envelop yourself in?
I will admit that I loved the beginning of this book, when she's among the bears and dragons, more than the second part where she's among humans. Halla joins a small group of men who were traveling to see the Emperor, and I frankly had a hard time telling them apart, even though their names were nothing alike. I think I was secretly hoping they'd go away and leave Halla to resume talking to bears and dragons and such. She still gets a chance to chat with horses and rats, but I want dragons!
I also started to worry for a while that this was going to turn out to be a Christian allegory, in the vein of Narnia, when she arrived in Constantinople (ie, the center of the Roman Catholic church at the time) and there was much talk from other characters about who was and who wasn't a true Christian. However, Halla doesn't seem to pay this much mind, and she's clearly more attached to the All Father/Odin and her Valkyrie friend, so I definitely don't think the author was writing a Christian story. This is just a little fable about a girl traveling from a Medieval-ish Germanic-ish region through time (literally, as we learn that Odin had boosted her ahead a few centuries) to witness the spread of Christianity and thus the subsequent loss of older beings like dragons and giants. She herself never shows the slightest inkling that she wants to convert. And in fact in the end which is not exactly in keeping with Christian mythology. I also checked the author's Wikipedia page, which talked a lot about her feminism, birth control activism, and how one of her books was criticized for not emphasizing Christianity....which confirmed for me that this book was definitely NOT intended as a Christian story. Good, I don't want no stinkin' allegorical life lessons, I just want DRAGONS, VALKYRIE, and BEARS, oh my!
All in all, I found this book to be a pretty delightful little tale. Definitely for fans of old-school fairy tales and fables, or for fans of newer books like Catherynne Valente's Fairyland series. I'm definitely going to look into their author's other works as well.
May 21, 2019
I think this would be considered a Y/A novel. Mitchison was ahead of her time. She was turning Fantasy inside-out back in the 50's, before the genre was even well-worn. First, she throws everything in - a bit of the feel of Beowulf, with the wonderful hyphenated phrases (flame-fringed, gold-collared, bracelet-giver), the Norse lore (Valhalla, Valkyries), the names (she goes through a series of life-twists that are marked by name changes = Halla Bearsbairn, Halla Heroesbane, Halla God's-gift), a unicorn or three, a heroine raised by bears and dragons who (my favourite) can speak the language of most animals and peoples (this adds all kinds of interest to the plot), and who having spent most of her life on Dragon Mountain, sees "heroes" as evil. There's a wonderful point where the whole St. George and the Dragon story gets turned inside out, and the dragon rescues the maiden from the hero. The plot doesn't follow the usual fantasy lines - Halla is definitely the heroine, but she is finding her way, listening to animals, people, watching for where she fits in. At certain points she sees that it's not haphazard. The Valkyrie tells her, "It's all there, it's all in the weaving." But it takes the entire book for her to find where she fits.
Mitchison really bucks expectation.
"Perhaps she did not die," said Halla,"perhaps her nurse turned into a bear and carried her away into the forest. Perhaps she was brought up by bears and dragons. Perhaps it was better for her in the end than being a king's child."
"That was never in the story," said Modolf.
"Forget the story," said Halla."
Well, isn't that something. I mean, we know that being a king's child is an important element of fantasy, but Halla is, and doesn't take it up.
Interesting.
I enjoyed the Other-Perspective that Halla has. She really does think like a bear and a dragon a lot of the time. Here are some of her thoughts when Tarkan is in pain.
"If he could sleep, she thought, sleep through the unhappy months, the heart's hunger, the months of death and cold and not having what you most want, and wake with time gone past and blurred and a new year coming. But perhaps it is too early in the year, she thought after that, and besides, he is not a bear."
Yeah. I could see the good of being a bear once in a while.
1952, folks. Naomi Mitchison. Way back then, already.
Mitchison really bucks expectation.
"Perhaps she did not die," said Halla,"perhaps her nurse turned into a bear and carried her away into the forest. Perhaps she was brought up by bears and dragons. Perhaps it was better for her in the end than being a king's child."
"That was never in the story," said Modolf.
"Forget the story," said Halla."
Well, isn't that something. I mean, we know that being a king's child is an important element of fantasy, but Halla is, and doesn't take it up.
Interesting.
I enjoyed the Other-Perspective that Halla has. She really does think like a bear and a dragon a lot of the time. Here are some of her thoughts when Tarkan is in pain.
"If he could sleep, she thought, sleep through the unhappy months, the heart's hunger, the months of death and cold and not having what you most want, and wake with time gone past and blurred and a new year coming. But perhaps it is too early in the year, she thought after that, and besides, he is not a bear."
Yeah. I could see the good of being a bear once in a while.
1952, folks. Naomi Mitchison. Way back then, already.
December 3, 2021
Travel Light was the first book of the Food Court Book Club. We chose this book after reading This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Travel Light was mentioned in this book and we became intrigued after finding out there were only several copies of the text available in all of New Zealand. While marked as a title for eleven to twelve year olds, it provided lively conversation for a group of adults as well. For me this book did not represent the best fantasy fiction I have ever read but it was cosy, feminist, and understandably progressive. I enjoyed the fact that Halla acted as an empty vessel throughout the narrative, first as a bear, then a dragon, then a traveller under the influence of the All-Father. But despite all fantasy tropes Travel Light feels fresh. This is an achievement given it was originally published in 1952. Small Beer Press has brought this text back into print for a new generation of readers to enjoy. My favourite relationship in this book the one between Halla and Steinvor the Valkyrie, their female friendship takes precedence over all male influences. In fact those that would marry Halla back off once they realise she is a strong independent lady. This is a progressive text for its time, and arguably even today.
March 3, 2021
Un libro difficile da definire 🙇🏽♀️
⠀
Sembra quasi un libro per bambini, un racconto lungo da leggere di sera, come favola della buonanotte, ma considerando alcune scene un po’ più crude (che non mi aspettavo) forse non è il caso 😂🙈
⠀
Naomi Mitchison mescola elementi della mitologia nordica (soprattutto nella prima parte del libro) con elementi appartenenti al mondo fantasy in senso stretto come la presenza di draghi e magia di vario tipo 🐉✨
⠀
Halla, figlia di un re che decide di abbandonarla nei boschi, verrà cresciuta prima dagli orsi, poi dai draghi. Sa tutte le lingue umane e animali. È una bambina prima, e una ragazza poi, indipendente, che pensa con la sua testa, coraggiosa e leale. Una principessa che non ha bisogno di un principe per essere salvata 👸🏽
⠀
Il viaggio di Halla è un libro che ho letto velocemente, sia per la sua brevità, sia per lo stile molto semplice e lineare (come vi dicevo, se non fosse per qualche scena violenta potrebbe essere adatto ai bambini).
Mi ha entusiasmato? No.
L’ho trovato un libro nella media, carino, che intrattiene, non dico divertente, ma più di qualche volta mi sono ritrovata a sorridere; insomma, è godibile, ma non un capolavoro.
⠀
Sembra quasi un libro per bambini, un racconto lungo da leggere di sera, come favola della buonanotte, ma considerando alcune scene un po’ più crude (che non mi aspettavo) forse non è il caso 😂🙈
⠀
Naomi Mitchison mescola elementi della mitologia nordica (soprattutto nella prima parte del libro) con elementi appartenenti al mondo fantasy in senso stretto come la presenza di draghi e magia di vario tipo 🐉✨
⠀
Halla, figlia di un re che decide di abbandonarla nei boschi, verrà cresciuta prima dagli orsi, poi dai draghi. Sa tutte le lingue umane e animali. È una bambina prima, e una ragazza poi, indipendente, che pensa con la sua testa, coraggiosa e leale. Una principessa che non ha bisogno di un principe per essere salvata 👸🏽
⠀
Il viaggio di Halla è un libro che ho letto velocemente, sia per la sua brevità, sia per lo stile molto semplice e lineare (come vi dicevo, se non fosse per qualche scena violenta potrebbe essere adatto ai bambini).
Mi ha entusiasmato? No.
L’ho trovato un libro nella media, carino, che intrattiene, non dico divertente, ma più di qualche volta mi sono ritrovata a sorridere; insomma, è godibile, ma non un capolavoro.
January 6, 2022
Volete trovare Odino, Gesù e un drago nello stesso fantasy?
Bene, questo fa al caso vostro e se, tutto dovesse sembrarvi fuori dalle righe, ci sarà sempre qualcosa nella pagina successiva a sorprendervi ancor di più!
Bene, questo fa al caso vostro e se, tutto dovesse sembrarvi fuori dalle righe, ci sarà sempre qualcosa nella pagina successiva a sorprendervi ancor di più!
May 17, 2022
Princess Halla is sentenced to death by her stepmother when she is only a baby, but is saved by her nurse and brought up by bears and dragons. This is an inventive fantasy, with a mythic quality and a sense of timelessness. Halla encounters creatures from Norse myth, such as Valkyries and winged horses, as well as meeting Odin, but her story also brings her to ancient Byzantium. "Travel Light" is a central theme: what we carry with us, what we should put down, and what is important. It's also about having an openness towards other cultures, and touches on Mitchison's anti-fascist politics. It's entertaining, surprising, and completely captivating. I loved it.
July 5, 2024
Che fatica.
November 6, 2020
Questo è un libro che molti lettori, ne sono certa, avrebbero voluto leggere o farsi leggere da piccoli. Per me lo è stato di sicuro.
Il viaggio di Halla non è solo fantasy, è un cammino.
Per tutte le pagine veniamo condotti attraverso la crescita fisica e spirituale della protagonista, una bambina che viene al mondo con il piede sbagliato: non è voluta, è indesiderata, è di troppo.
In seguito, si ritroverà a vivere diverse esperienze: prima allevata da orsi, poi draghi, sino ad inoltrarsi davvero all’interno della vita umana con tutte le sue contraddizioni.
Il romanzo è ricco di riferimenti alla cultura nordica e alla religione cattolica, mescolati assieme a creature fantasy: un cocktail di elementi che, lo ammetto, raramente vedo convivere così bene assieme.
Anche da grandi penso sia un viaggio che vale la pena affrontare. E, chissà, forse in futuro sarete voi a leggerla ai vostri figli.
Il viaggio di Halla non è solo fantasy, è un cammino.
Per tutte le pagine veniamo condotti attraverso la crescita fisica e spirituale della protagonista, una bambina che viene al mondo con il piede sbagliato: non è voluta, è indesiderata, è di troppo.
In seguito, si ritroverà a vivere diverse esperienze: prima allevata da orsi, poi draghi, sino ad inoltrarsi davvero all’interno della vita umana con tutte le sue contraddizioni.
Il romanzo è ricco di riferimenti alla cultura nordica e alla religione cattolica, mescolati assieme a creature fantasy: un cocktail di elementi che, lo ammetto, raramente vedo convivere così bene assieme.
Anche da grandi penso sia un viaggio che vale la pena affrontare. E, chissà, forse in futuro sarete voi a leggerla ai vostri figli.
May 7, 2011
I thought this was a bit twee at first but got into it after a while, and ended up liking it a lot. The point at which it gets really good is when she leaves the dragons, and when she meets the men from Marob and what happens to them. And the Valkyries and All-Father and the abrupt-feeling revelation at the end that giants and dragons are getting scarce -- loved it. It had a numinousness it's hard to find in fantasy, though one goes to fantasy precisely for that.
January 4, 2014
I read this before I started posting regularly on Goodreads, but have now reviewed it for NPR and written more about Mitchison here.
August 10, 2023
3.5 stars.
I wasn’t sure what to think of this book. It was both fascinating (at times), and boring (at times).
The story is a fairy tale for adults. The main character is a young girl/woman who is caught between the worlds of humans, bears, and dragons. She is touched by God and told to travel light.
The author appears to garner some respect in literary circles. I would agree with that respect. An interesting, worthwhile, and bemusing read.
I wasn’t sure what to think of this book. It was both fascinating (at times), and boring (at times).
The story is a fairy tale for adults. The main character is a young girl/woman who is caught between the worlds of humans, bears, and dragons. She is touched by God and told to travel light.
The author appears to garner some respect in literary circles. I would agree with that respect. An interesting, worthwhile, and bemusing read.
March 29, 2020
Brilliant.
There is no other word for this book.
A Fairy Tale for adults, before the genre existed.
Seemingly simple sentences like this spark aliveness throughout the book: Halla stretched her arms and the bracelets clinked and the rings flashed in the sunshine. “I’m glad I’m a dragon,” she said.
The best of fantasy, speculative fiction, slides truths into your mind through the back door while the front of your mind is enjoying the story.
for was not the sparkle of treasure implicit in the velvet darkness of a cave?
I take in old wounded dogs, and let them heal me. They light things up I didn't know were there. The whole phenomena surrounding my magic dogs is held in those few words.
The magic of this book is held in those few words.
I am incredibly grateful for the people in my group. They are just weird enough. We read This Is How You Lose the Time War, and that book used Travel Light in the plot. So of course we had to read it.
I looked at the cover and thought it may be a cute little story. I'm not crazy for cute little stories. It is NOT a cute little story. It is -- brilliant. Brilliant in every way possible.
Not only brilliant, the e book was affordable. That is a huge thing for me. Affordability was a thing when e books came out. Publishers hated them. Three of the big publishers were indicted for price fixing. They are doing it again, legally. $14.99 for an e book is criminal. They cost next to nothing to produce, and most publishers "forget" to check the lendable feature. I am not going to pay over $4.99 for something I can't even pass on. Yes, writers should be paid for their work. No, publishers should not try to make themselves rich on the backs' of writers.
Travel Light is a quality work that didn't jump on the greed train.
There is no other word for this book.
A Fairy Tale for adults, before the genre existed.
Seemingly simple sentences like this spark aliveness throughout the book: Halla stretched her arms and the bracelets clinked and the rings flashed in the sunshine. “I’m glad I’m a dragon,” she said.
The best of fantasy, speculative fiction, slides truths into your mind through the back door while the front of your mind is enjoying the story.
for was not the sparkle of treasure implicit in the velvet darkness of a cave?
I take in old wounded dogs, and let them heal me. They light things up I didn't know were there. The whole phenomena surrounding my magic dogs is held in those few words.
The magic of this book is held in those few words.
I am incredibly grateful for the people in my group. They are just weird enough. We read This Is How You Lose the Time War, and that book used Travel Light in the plot. So of course we had to read it.
I looked at the cover and thought it may be a cute little story. I'm not crazy for cute little stories. It is NOT a cute little story. It is -- brilliant. Brilliant in every way possible.
Not only brilliant, the e book was affordable. That is a huge thing for me. Affordability was a thing when e books came out. Publishers hated them. Three of the big publishers were indicted for price fixing. They are doing it again, legally. $14.99 for an e book is criminal. They cost next to nothing to produce, and most publishers "forget" to check the lendable feature. I am not going to pay over $4.99 for something I can't even pass on. Yes, writers should be paid for their work. No, publishers should not try to make themselves rich on the backs' of writers.
Travel Light is a quality work that didn't jump on the greed train.
August 20, 2020
This has to be one of the most beautifully told stories I‘ve read in a long time. It should be way up on the fantasy canon & YA, but it probably got lost in the Tolkien & C. S. Lewis monopoly. That it has a girl as protagonist who is a bear who is raised as a dragon, critiques the hero as saviour-narrative and has a very dim view of Christianity as an authoritarian ideology to legitimate an exploitative and highly hierarchical central state and was written by a left wing female writer has probably helped to sideline it. My summary makes it sound like a piece of propaganda, but it is very not this. It’s a mix of saga, legend (Halla, the protagonist, is seen by a lot of the other human protagonists as a saint or an angel because of her super-natural abilities like speaking in tongues) and travelogue: You get to know dragons and their point of view on the world of humans, valkyries, All-father Odin Who is way more real and caring for his creatures than the nebulous Christian god, rats, dumb unicorns, the emperor of Byzantium, etc. It’s essentially a story of loosing the world of your magical childhood, but never loosing your sense for the magic of being alive and in a world full of strange, beautiful and dangerous creatures - and death. I highly recommend it.
July 8, 2022
Somehow, I thought it would be a good idea to read a book mentioned in another book that I absolutely hated. Obviously, this did not go well.
There really is a lot to like in this book, and I think that if I'd been younger, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. It's whimsically written, and I was really into the first third, with its gentle British humor and charming talking animals, especially dragons. But it takes a turn for the more dramatic, and then another, without putting much effort into convincing the reader why the suddenly raised stakes truly matter.
Plus, it's SO SHORT. If the author had taken 300 or so pages to flesh out these characters instead of not much more than 100, this could have been a 4 star book, easy.
But, as usual, no one asked my advice. At least it's better than the book I hated (the only 1 star review I've given this year)! So that's nice.
There really is a lot to like in this book, and I think that if I'd been younger, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. It's whimsically written, and I was really into the first third, with its gentle British humor and charming talking animals, especially dragons. But it takes a turn for the more dramatic, and then another, without putting much effort into convincing the reader why the suddenly raised stakes truly matter.
Plus, it's SO SHORT. If the author had taken 300 or so pages to flesh out these characters instead of not much more than 100, this could have been a 4 star book, easy.
But, as usual, no one asked my advice. At least it's better than the book I hated (the only 1 star review I've given this year)! So that's nice.
December 29, 2018
ძალიან კაი რამეა და იმსახურებს რომ უფრო ცნობილი იყოს
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