The Midnight Folk by John Masefield
Apr. 7th, 2008 05:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyThe Midnight Folk was a recommendation from a book review community. I enjoy young adult books, and fantasy, and older works, so this seemed like it would be interesting. It's the story of a young boy named Kay who has a series of magical adventures while looking for a treasure that rumor says his great-grandfather stole. It was first published in the nineteen twenties, and has the feel of being written even earlier.
"Waking up, he rubbed his eyes. It was broad daylight, but no one was there. Someone was scraping and calling inside the wainscot, just below where the pistols hung. There was something odd about the daylight - it was brighter than usual. All things looked more real than usual. 'Can't you open the door, Kay?' the voice asked. There never had been a door there, but now that Kay looked, there was a little door, all studded with knops of iron. Just as he got down to it, it opened towards him. There was Nibbins, the black cat." p 15
This is remiscent of Water Babies, although with far fewer illustrations and much less moralizing. Fans of children's fantasy will enjoy the old toys come to life, the mermaids, and the talking animals. Modern sensibilities might find the governess punishing the little boy's "impudence" by starving him to be a bit upsetting, and the songs in the book to be a bit drivel-ish. But the villains (and some side characters) are unabashedly wicked, which is pleasing, and the book overall has a sweet dreamlike quality that will remind many of us of our childhoods. Three stars.
"Waking up, he rubbed his eyes. It was broad daylight, but no one was there. Someone was scraping and calling inside the wainscot, just below where the pistols hung. There was something odd about the daylight - it was brighter than usual. All things looked more real than usual. 'Can't you open the door, Kay?' the voice asked. There never had been a door there, but now that Kay looked, there was a little door, all studded with knops of iron. Just as he got down to it, it opened towards him. There was Nibbins, the black cat." p 15
This is remiscent of Water Babies, although with far fewer illustrations and much less moralizing. Fans of children's fantasy will enjoy the old toys come to life, the mermaids, and the talking animals. Modern sensibilities might find the governess punishing the little boy's "impudence" by starving him to be a bit upsetting, and the songs in the book to be a bit drivel-ish. But the villains (and some side characters) are unabashedly wicked, which is pleasing, and the book overall has a sweet dreamlike quality that will remind many of us of our childhoods. Three stars.