I finished Enchantment by Orson Scott Card during my layover in Charlotte today and I loved it through and through. Of what I have read so far it's by far his best work. In fact, this is one of the best novels I've ever read, and that includes all the classics that I read in high school and as an English Literature major in college.
An extremely creative retelling of the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, this novel is both very well researched and very well written. The character development is intense, though gradual and skillfully arranged so that it's believable and compelling. The plot is enthralling and the pace perfect: not too slow, not too fast, everything happens in due time. There were no logical gaps, no loose ends, and though (since it's a retelling of a common fairy tale) you more or less know that the good guys win, the details of how and why are brilliantly executed.
The audience is definitely adult-focused: true to fairy tale form, there is a limited amount of graphic violence and similarly Card makes is very frank when describing human anatomy and sexuality. However the language in the narration of the story is readily accessible to young adults, and it can easily be argued that Card's frankness is neither calloused nor is his depiction of violence and sex in any way gratuitous or titillating, but rather skillfully used and tactfully handled.
Finally, while the novel is a really good read with a wonderful blend of action, romance, and the wonder of fantasy, it also offers up many, many deep lines of thought on the nature and order of our universe and our limited understanding of it; the similarities and differences in Christianity and Judaism; and the roles of men and women in marriage and society through the ages.
It's an excellent novel that I highly recommend.
An extremely creative retelling of the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, this novel is both very well researched and very well written. The character development is intense, though gradual and skillfully arranged so that it's believable and compelling. The plot is enthralling and the pace perfect: not too slow, not too fast, everything happens in due time. There were no logical gaps, no loose ends, and though (since it's a retelling of a common fairy tale) you more or less know that the good guys win, the details of how and why are brilliantly executed.
The audience is definitely adult-focused: true to fairy tale form, there is a limited amount of graphic violence and similarly Card makes is very frank when describing human anatomy and sexuality. However the language in the narration of the story is readily accessible to young adults, and it can easily be argued that Card's frankness is neither calloused nor is his depiction of violence and sex in any way gratuitous or titillating, but rather skillfully used and tactfully handled.
Finally, while the novel is a really good read with a wonderful blend of action, romance, and the wonder of fantasy, it also offers up many, many deep lines of thought on the nature and order of our universe and our limited understanding of it; the similarities and differences in Christianity and Judaism; and the roles of men and women in marriage and society through the ages.
It's an excellent novel that I highly recommend.
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