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EUROPE'S MOST VISITED SF/F WEB SITE |
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Far Enough Window: The Reclaiming Of Fairland by John Grant and illustrated by
Ron Tiner check out: www.bewrite.net and www.hometown.aol.com/thogatthog
Under the guidance of Robin Goodfellow, waiting for her beside
it, she peers farther than the eye can see to transport herself
to Fairyland." (Back cover)
She is an innocent, but not ignorant - her books and videos have
made sure of that - and her parentage remains something of a mystery
until the end of the book. The story proposes that Fairyland, while a real 'place', is shaped and formed by the belief of humans. It has two distinct structures - the original, mythical and mythological Faerie, perilous and unpredictable, with its Fae Folk who steal away human babies and replace them with Changelings, its Wild Hunt, its wailing bean sidhe and underground courts where a hundred human years can pass in a single night - and the cute, twee, 'pixies on toadstools and fairies in flowers' Fairyland of Victorian England. At the moment, the two are clashing, with very dangerous results.
Joanna has been called into Fairyland to help put things right. Of course, that's a very simplistic way of describing the story... There's time travel here and a refreshing disregard of the so-called 'laws of nature'. Well, this IS Fairyland, after all. Normal laws don't apply here. There's a surreally lyrical description of a unicorn ride (alone worth the price of the book, in my opinion). The revelations at the end may come as something of a shock but
by then the glamour of the story, its multi-layered 'realities',
will have seduced the mind of any sensitive reader... It's a very satisfying, if occasionally uneasy, read. The language is unpretentious, contrasting well with the improbable (in human terms) story being told. The characters unexpected and oddly complex. Joanna herself, for all her childlike nature, is no helpless victim, but an intelligent individual determined to choose her own destiny - once she's discovered what they are. There are lessons to be learned from 'The Far-Enough Window', about not taking anything for granted, about self-determination, about seeing beyond the surface of things. But it can also be read purely for enjoyment. A
fine and very unusual book. Recommended for everyone over the age of eighteen. Joules
Taylor
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OTHER REVIEWS - February 2003
NEW NOVELS The
Dead Sea Scrolls Deception by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh Buffy
The Vampire: The Cordelia Collection Volume 1 by Nancy Krulik Tourniquet
Heart edited by Christopher C. Teague The
Devil In Green (Book One of The Dark Age) by Mark Chadbourn Angel: The Longest Night by Pierce Askegren Dark
Angel: Before The Dawn by Max Allen Collins Guilty
Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton The
Divine Comedies: Here Comes The Sun & Odds And Ends by Tom Holt The
Drawing Of The Dark by Tim Powers. Fantasy Masterworks # 33 The
Far Enough Window: The Reclaiming Of Fairyland by John Grant and illustrated
by Ron Tiner The
Ruins of Ambrai (Exiles Volume 1) by Melanie Rawn The
Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson (SF Masterworks # 51) HARDBACKS INTO PAPERBACKS Wizard's
Funeral (The Red Pavilions Book Two) by Kim Hunter Wanderers
And Islanders (Legends Of The Land Book One) by Steve Cockayne Effendi (The Second Arabesk) by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
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"Joanna
has lived in solitude for as long as she can remember. One day,
when she goes to write up her diary, she discovers that she seems
already to have done so - and this discovery leads her to the Far-Enough
Window. 
Subtitled
'A fairy tale for grown-ups of all ages', 'The Far-Enough Window'
is a fascinating read. Joanna isn't a child, although she's been
treated like one for all of her 17 years. 
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