The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, 1)

I've been slowly making my way through a long list of books recommended by a librarian I follow on social media. Next up on the chopping block was a story I've had on my docket for literal years---a book that my friend continuously praised as one of the best fairy tales she ever read. Well, better late than never, and at long last, I finally sat down to see what all the hype was about. And while I wasn't blown away nearly as much as my friend, this is still a very creative and imaginative adventure that can stand up to the likes of "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Wizard of Oz".At some point during the 1940s (it's never specified, but the mention of men at war and women working in factories hints that it's World War 2), a 12 year old girl named September grows increasingly tired of her lonely, boring life, and longs for a grand adventure. Her prayers are soon answered when an entity known as the Green Wind arrives at her window---inviting her to come with him to visit Fairyland. Without any hesitation, September allows herself to be whisked away to a land filled with an endless amount of magical wonders. But all isn't well in this alternate universe, for a tyrant known as the Marquess rules with an iron fist---instilling all sorts of oppressive rules and banning anything she personally dislikes. Very quickly, September finds herself roped into stopping this heartless ruler, and with the help of a wyvern, a water spirit, and a sentient lantern, our young heroine will have to find the courage within herself to save this mystical world she wants to call home.To say the worldbuilding is phenomenal would be an understatement. From the moment September crosses the threshold into Fairyland, she enters a world bursting at the seams with all manner of magic and otherworldly creatures. From a forest where it's permanently autumn, to a bathhouse that cleans your soul, to shadow-stealing pirates, anything is possible, and you never know what you're going to encounter next. And though it may seem like nonsense from the outside looking in, there IS a strange logic to it all if you think about it hard enough. Luckily, September is accompanied by A Through L---a wyvern raised in a library who is knowledgeable of a great many things so's long as the words start with letters between A and L. There's Gleam---a paper lantern who hails from an island of sentient, lost objects. And then there's Saturday---a young water nymph who experiences time differently and can grant wishes if one defeats him in battle. And together, these three unlikely friends band together to help September navigate and survive a topsy-turvy landscape that's desperate for a hero to save it.Which leads me to September herself. At first, I found her to be rather bland, with little discernable personality beyond "normal girl who's bored and wants something to do". I realize she's supposed to be an "everyman" type of character that the magical things react to, but none the less, for the first two thirds of the book, it seemed like this generic girl was just being put through one trial after another, leaving me to wonder why she was sent to Fairyland to begin with and "what's the point of all this?" I was just about to write it off as a case where the author got so swept up in the worldbuilding that the main protagonist was left lacking....until I hit the final third. In the span of just a few chapters, the questions I had regarding the Marquess' backstory and the concept of what constitutes a "chosen one" were all answered, and all the seemingly random events from before all served a purpose and clicked together in the end. And best of all, unlike other stories where the protagonist has to choose between living in our normal world or the fantasy world, September gets to have the best of both.Consider this a classic example of "story that was just okay, but was saved by the ending". Though I personally enjoyed books like "Un Lun Dun" and "The Phantom Tollbooth" a bit more, I can see this series becoming another fantasy classic. Now to continue on and see what happens to September's fae friends when she next visits them.

Catherynne Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is her first foray (I think) into YA fiction and it is a wildly inventive and original debut, one which I'm happy to say has already been followed up by the equally inventive The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.September (and tell me that isn't a great name for a character--the cusp of change, the move from summer to fall) is left to her own devices around the house because her father has gone off to war and her mother works during the days at the local aircraft factory. What would have been another dull day is wonderfully transformed by the arrival of the Green Wind, who, seeing that September appears "an ill-tempered and irascible enough child," offers to take her away `Upon the Leopard of Little Breezes . . . to the Perverse and Perilous Sea" that borders Fairland (It turns out that the Green Wind, in his "green smoking jacket, and a green carriage-driver's cloak, and green jodhpurs, and green snowshoes" can't enter Fairyland himself as "Harsh Airs are not allowed," but he dutifully explains a few of the rules to September and escorts her to the threshold where she embarks on her grand journey, followed unbeknownst to her by a very important flying key. In Fairyland, as one might expect, September meets a bevy of wondrous creations (wyverns, golems, marids, witches and werewolves, and a host of more original ones that it would be spoiling the fun of meeting them if I described them here). She also finds herself on a quest forced upon her by the ruler of Fairyland (which is not as happy a place as it could be or once was)--the bratty little tyrannical Marquess. This is a fairyland much more akin to Carrol's Wonderland/Looking Glass worlds or Juster's Phantom Tollbooth than the usual medieval fantasy-world setting. It shares with them that great sense of whimsy and creativity, of surrealism and originality shot through with darker veins. As with all good true fantasy, there's a lot of bitter mixed in with the sweet and Valente doesn't condescend to her young readers by pretending otherwise. Like those other works, it's also more episodic than narrative. While there is a storyline and a goal, the September's journey and the many startlingly wondrous discoveries she makes while on it, as one of the subtitles might put it, is really the joy. Valente doesn't simply make use of fairy tale and storytelling tropes--re-using and refashioning them, along with making up her own, she comments on them as well, sometimes via the characters themselves, as when one subtly and indirectly alludes to a famous pair of shoes. But most often the metafictional or intertexual aspects arrive through the commentary of the enjoyably intrusive narrator, as when September pauses before a large decision:The trouble was, September didn't know what kind of story she was in. Was it a merry one or a serious one? How ought she to act? If it were merry, she might dash after a Spoon and it would all be a marvelous adventure with funny rhymes and somersaults and a grand party with red lanterns at the end. But if it were a serious tale, she might have to do something important, something involving, with snow and arrows and enemies. But no one may know the shape of the tale in which they move . . . Stories have a way of changing faces. They are unruly things, undisciplined, given to delinquency and the throwing of erasers. This is why we must close them up into thick, solid books, so they cannot get out and cause trouble. I'm a big fan of this sort of thing, so I ate it up all the way through. And it's just one of the ways the book, ostensibly for younger readers, can be read on multiple levels. Again, similar to Carrol's Alice books or, in a more recent, different medium, much as most Pixar movies are vastly entertaining both to children and their parents, who if they're honest would admit they are there as much for themselves as because they "had to stay with the kid." For instance, I'm not sure a lot of kids are going to understand a reference to a lecture on hermetics. But just to be clear, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is not an adult book dressed up in children's clothing. Kids will thoroughly enjoy it and like many of the truly great kids' books, it begs to be read aloud, thanks to the various voices, that great narrator, and the playful, lyrical language throughout. Is it perfect? No, though that's hardly much of a complaint. I think sometimes the pacing is a bit off; it does slow here and there. For all the fun involved in watching September's adventures, to be honest I didn't often feel very connected to the character herself or to a strong sense of narrative arc. My guess is the former is going to be the minority response and the latter will bother some more than others. Despite those issues, the payoff was certainly worth it and I was more than happy to pick up book two to see what happened when September returned. But that, as they say, is a tale for another time. Highly recommended to read and to read aloud.

If you like whimsy in your stories, then this is the book for you! It has so many interesting magical elements which make it so much fun. Even though it's classified as middle grade, anyone who likes a fun little magical world will enjoy this.

AAA+++

Il libro è arrivato molto velocemente ed è come descritto in fotografia! Lo consigliava una ragazza su Instagram e mi ha colpito molto!! Ho letto una recensione che ne parlava bene. E' un regalo pertanto spero che possa essere una piacevole lettura per la persona che lo riceverà!

Ler a história de uma menina levada pelo vento para a terra mágica de fadas, que recebe uma missão e faz as amizades mais diferentes é ter todo o tempo O Mágico de Oz pipocando na mente. Não é uma versão, mas parece quase uma homenagem, sendo, é claro, muito mais moderno: a garota, Setembro, se dá mal por diversas vezes, não sabe o que fazer, é enganada, mas sua integridade e inteligência a leva mais longe e lhe dá as saídas mais engenhosas, com ajuda dos amigos, claro. O universo de Fairyland é bem complexo, com várias leis e criaturas diferentes e interessantes. Eu particularmente achei complexo demais, o que tornou o livro cansativo, mas entendo que terá apelo para muitas pessoas (por isso ganhou prêmios e há sequências publicadas).

C'est mon premier titre de Catherynne Valente, et qu'elle belle surprise.Je n'ai aucun doute sur le fait que je vais commander toute la suite :)Je l'ai acheté suite à une recommandation de Patrik Rothfuss sur Goodreads, et franchement belle pioche.Le ton est superbe, l'histoire originale et prenante. J'adore le style de la naration. On s'attache très vite aux personages du livre, on n'a aucun mal à s'imaginer le monde de Fairyland et on dévore les chapitres les uns après les autre.Le seul point négatif, on en voudrait plus :)