BOOK REVIEW: The Language of Thorns - Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo; preview sampler courtesy of Pansing Malaysia
We all grew up with fairy tales, of wily foxes tricking crows into giving dropping grapes from trees, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. All of these stories mesmerized us and held our rapt attention with its sheer imaginary worlds and the possibility of talking animals and other flora and fauna. What if these stories were given a whole new sinister light, a grown-up light that we never imagined could lurk in an innocent fairy tale?
Since this is just a preview copy, it contained three out of six short stories from the original. Just these three kept me rooted to my seat. The first short story, The Too-Clever Fox, has influences from Red Riding Hood as well as the fairy tale I mentioned earlier about the wily foxes wanting grapes. An ugly but intelligent fox tries to find out the reason that a hunter and his sister are able to hunt down his friends without leaving a trail or even letting out a sound. The fox comes upon the sister of the hunter crying in the woods and takes pity on her. The fox even gives a plan to steal away the spell that is kept by the hunter that helps in his hunting. Little does the fox know that the sister is about to turn the tables on him and the fox almost loses its life.
The Witch of Duva is the second story in this preview with influences from Hansel and Gretel. Nadya, her father, Maxim, brother, Havel, and Nadya's mother are living together happily until a famine leads to starvation and the death of Nadya's mother. Karina weds Maxim soon after that and she becomes Nadya's and Havel's stepmother. Havel leaves for military service so Nadya is left behind with a wicked stepmother, or so she thinks, without realizing that Karina is trying to safe her from a dark secret. Nadya takes refuge in an old witch's house and after a few days, Nadya wants to return home. She finds out that her father is behind the disappearance of many young girls and that he has been raping and killing them. This short story ends morbidly with the gruesome death of her father. Nadya return to the old witch and learns the ropes of magic.
The last story in this preview is Little Knife. This story tells about how a duke tries to find a suitor for his daughter who is unnaturally beautiful and is the apple of every man's eye. A water magician (who is able to control water) commands the river to do his bidding in order to complete all the tasks set by the duke to marry his daughter. However, the magician incurs the wrath of the water spirit who then magically convinces the duke's daughter to marry it and it whisks her off to a far away shoreline.
Inspired by myth, fairy tales and folklore, the author has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice and love. I personally would give this book a 9/10 even after reading just 3 stories out of it. Highly recommended for those who want a taste of childhood with an injection of darkness.....
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