The Goose Girl
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The Story
“Anidori Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of
Kildrenree, was born with her eyes closed and a word on her tongue. She spent
the early years of her life listening to her aunt’s stories and learning the
language of swans. Then a colt was born with a word on his tongue--- his name,
Falada--- and when Ani spoke it, she found the key to his language, too. But as
Ani’s gift grew, so did others’ mistrust of it, and soon her mother felt she
had no choice but to send her away to be the queen of a foreign land.”
A retelling of the Brothers’ Grimm Fairytale.
Recommended Age 14 and up.
My Thoughts
I love the feel of Shannon Hale’s prose. Warm, earthy, and
rich. She builds the worlds of Kildenree and Bayern carefully and lovingly, in
such a way that I felt homesick when I was finished with the book. If an author
is able to accomplish such a feat, it’s a big mark in her favour.
Ani is a heroine that I latched on to from the beginning. Her
great fear of failure, knowing that she doesn’t measure up to the standards of
her mother or the people she’s destined one day to rule, her desperate need for
the love of those around her, make her lovably flawed and human. She’s born
with the gift of animal-speaking, but that only estranges her from the people
in her life. She has to learn to both trust and be trustworthy. Her character
arc takes her from timid and aloof, to someone who fiercely loves her home and
is fiercely loved in return, even after she’s been uprooted and thrust aside.
Every single character is many-layered, from our
poison-tongued villain and her band of mutineers, to the outcast Forest-born,
loyal to the core. Enna, Razo, and dear old Talone were some of my favourites.
I think the first time I read The Goose Girl, I finished it in under three hours. The plot is
tight and moving, yet takes time to delve into the world of Bayern and taught
me to love it as much as Ani came to. It is fantasy, but echoes reality in such
a way that I almost expected to be able to hear the language of wind, fire, and
water when I stepped outside.
Some violence and blood, but not gory. Some romantic
elements. Mostly clean, brilliant storytelling. Not really any magical
elements.
The spirituality is this book is somewhat lacking. They
adhere to a basic moral code and believe in a creator god, but he doesn’t have
much of a place in this world. That, unfortunately, is what keeps me from
giving it a full five stars. I love the story-world and the complex characters
and the earthy prose, so all in all I give it four stars.
Have you read The Goose
Girl? Comment with your thoughts below.
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