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| ★★★★✰ |
Synopsis: The story begins in London, England, during World War II. It follows the story of young boy named David who struggles with his mother's death and father's remarriage. While David tries to adapt to this new family situation, he begins to hear his books whispering to him and he often faints. He soon finds himself in the fantasy world of his books and must find the king in the hopes that he can return him to his home. While exploring this new fantasy world, David has many adventures and lives out his own fairy tale. The novel takes a different look at traditional fairy tales and follows every child's journey into adulthood.
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Review: I knew from the words ‘Crooked Man in the attic’ that this was the book for me. It had me in tears by page 8, and I read the entire 350 pages in one day. It immediately adheres to the rules of a fairytale: 'Once upon a time - as that is how all stories should begin -'. The tone however is a dark one - very much beginning the novel as it intends to continue. It uses clear and simple language much in the style of a young adult book, and as such is deceptively easy to read. With the occasional dash of horror thrown at you in such simple tones, it’s easy to feel how the deeper story is going to become quite disturbing. If you’ve seen Pan’s Labyrinth, you will be familiar with the dark fairytale style this book achieves so sucessfully - the scariest part is very much the disfiguration of 'innocent children's stories', as they are modernly known. This book draws upon a multitude of myths – Sleeping Beauty, Rumplestiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Hansel And Gretal, The Beauty And The Beast, and other darker Grimm fairytales which may be lesser known, such as that of The Three Surgeons. Each is a metaphor, a representation of something universally psychological we have all experienced as children stumbling into adulthood. This is perhaps what gives the darkness it’s edge - the all-too-real connotations behind what we would rather write off as fairytales. At the same time, there are some darkly humorous and ironic moments throughout, so you don't sink too far into the horror - it will have you giggling occasionally, albeit perhaps nervously.
It is by no means a complex book on the surface – the author himself recommends the reader place his or her own spin on the events. It is just as easy to decipher the metaphors as to not decipher them at all. However, if you choose to read into the undertones and implications, you will finding yourself itching to have a second read. Having read the end notes, I imagine new ideas will emerge each time it is read. These end notes are endlessly helpful, particularly in establishing the author's point of view - which he notes is by no means the 'only' interpretation. They contain notes on every fairytale cited, its original form, how it was changed in the book and the relevance thereof. It also contains in many cases the original Brothers Grimm versions of the stories. You can of course, choose not to read such an in-depth analysis of the story, or you may even wonder why the explanations weren’t somehow included in the plot. However, despite its unusual construction, I think the basic story annotated with an analysis at the end was exactly the right way to go about it.
Ultimately, the book is about the transition from childhood into adulthood, and this will resonate particularly with adult readers. It is certainly what most appealed to me – the crude sexuality, or responsibilites of the adult world being so roughly thrown at a growing child, in contorted versions of the innocent fairytales he loves so much. I think most readers’ own personal experiences will influence their perception of the themes and events as much as Connolly’s own influenced his writing. Particularly, when it comes to the ending, even the author doesn't give all the answers. It will very much come down to the reader to decide what actually happens, which in itself is an interesting excerise in self-psychoanalysis. Overall, I would recommend this book to young adults and adults alike, anyone who loves the thrill of a psychological unsettling, or even just anyone who likes a good fairytale gone bad.
Rating: 4/5
