A fun and heartfelt retelling of a little known fairy tale. Though similar in several ways to Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun and West of the Moon is very much its own story and Edith Pattou brings it to life very well in her novel.
The characters are fleshed out well. Rose stands out as the main protagonist, even though she is not the only narrator. The white bear is given a great deal of character, despite the fact that he does not get that much time on the page. Even the Troll Queen, who is wonderfully sympathetic, is a fun character to read. The minor characters dont get as much development but still show enough variety and personality to keep them interesting.
The story is engaging. Even the parts that could potentially be very dull, such as the long stretches of silence in the castle where Rose has little to do but explore and work on her needlepoint, still hold the readers attention.
My only complaints are the ending and the frame story. For the entire long and difficult journey that Rose faces to get to the land of the trolls, the Troll Queens defeat is a little too easy. Of course, its following the original tale but for all the liberties to book took, I wish the ending had been a little more exciting. And the frame story gives away the ending! Despite there being a prophecy that says Rose will die, it is completely spoiled when the frame story of Rose writing down her journey at the end of it all is revealed on the very first page.
Despite these minor issues, its still a wonderful story that hooked me. Ive read it twice now, once when I was in high school and now again years later. Oddly enough, I enjoyed more during the second read than I did the first, even though this is a YA book. But whatever my age, I still find this to be a great read, especially for those eager to read a fairy tale they might not be familiar with from their childhood.
EAST is the tale of Rose, who sacrifices her freedom to save her sister, grows to care for the cursed white bear who is her captor, unwittingly betrays him, then goes beyond the ends of the earth to make things right. Its a classic folktale that never fails to move me, but Edith Pattous retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon went above and beyond, astounding me with its magical rendering of a traditional story and simple literary elements.
EAST is not extraordinarily sophisticated in writing style: narration alters between several different voices, and none of them particularly stand out as individual examples of great literariness. However, the magic of EAST lies in how these common elementsstraightforward prose, a retellingfit together. The multiple narrators adds a unique rhythm and scope to the story that makes the whole so much more than the sum of its parts.
Edith Pattou sets EAST in historical Europe, and the story traverses lands, cultures, seas, and languages for an astonishing and engrossing read. This is the second retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon that Ive had the pleasure of reading, and Im astonished at the different directions in which each author took this folktale. Im no history buff, but I was mesmerized by Edith Pattous description of the various people that Rose meets on her journey, by the variety of people and cultures that existed over great distances at the same time.
Words fail me when I try to describe an extraordinary book; indeed, there is no part of this book that was not amazing, and thus there is no part that I can describe well. There is a reason I still see this book in bookstores: it has the rare lasting power that only the most accomplished of fantasy reads possess.
Retelling of Beauty and the Beast
I'm not finished with it yet - but I really enjoyed this story! Normally, I'm not a fan of jumping around between multiple characters, it annoys me, but in "East" its coming together at the end so quickly that I'm afraid to finish it and then there will be no more!
A lovely adaptation of "East of the Sun, West of the Moon".
A fun and heartfelt retelling of a little known fairy tale. Though similar in several ways to Beauty and the Beast, East of the Sun and West of the Moon is very much its own story and Edith Pattou brings it to life very well in her novel.
The characters are fleshed out well. Rose stands out as the main protagonist, even though she is not the only narrator. The white bear is given a great deal of character, despite the fact that he does not get that much time on the page. Even the Troll Queen, who is wonderfully sympathetic, is a fun character to read. The minor characters dont get as much development but still show enough variety and personality to keep them interesting.
The story is engaging. Even the parts that could potentially be very dull, such as the long stretches of silence in the castle where Rose has little to do but explore and work on her needlepoint, still hold the readers attention.
My only complaints are the ending and the frame story. For the entire long and difficult journey that Rose faces to get to the land of the trolls, the Troll Queens defeat is a little too easy. Of course, its following the original tale but for all the liberties to book took, I wish the ending had been a little more exciting. And the frame story gives away the ending! Despite there being a prophecy that says Rose will die, it is completely spoiled when the frame story of Rose writing down her journey at the end of it all is revealed on the very first page.
Despite these minor issues, its still a wonderful story that hooked me. Ive read it twice now, once when I was in high school and now again years later. Oddly enough, I enjoyed more during the second read than I did the first, even though this is a YA book. But whatever my age, I still find this to be a great read, especially for those eager to read a fairy tale they might not be familiar with from their childhood.
EAST is the tale of Rose, who sacrifices her freedom to save her sister, grows to care for the cursed white bear who is her captor, unwittingly betrays him, then goes beyond the ends of the earth to make things right. Its a classic folktale that never fails to move me, but Edith Pattous retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon went above and beyond, astounding me with its magical rendering of a traditional story and simple literary elements.
EAST is not extraordinarily sophisticated in writing style: narration alters between several different voices, and none of them particularly stand out as individual examples of great literariness. However, the magic of EAST lies in how these common elementsstraightforward prose, a retellingfit together. The multiple narrators adds a unique rhythm and scope to the story that makes the whole so much more than the sum of its parts.
Edith Pattou sets EAST in historical Europe, and the story traverses lands, cultures, seas, and languages for an astonishing and engrossing read. This is the second retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon that Ive had the pleasure of reading, and Im astonished at the different directions in which each author took this folktale. Im no history buff, but I was mesmerized by Edith Pattous description of the various people that Rose meets on her journey, by the variety of people and cultures that existed over great distances at the same time.
Words fail me when I try to describe an extraordinary book; indeed, there is no part of this book that was not amazing, and thus there is no part that I can describe well. There is a reason I still see this book in bookstores: it has the rare lasting power that only the most accomplished of fantasy reads possess.
