Impossibly Good

 One of my favourite authors has done it again. With Impossible Creatures Katherine Rundell has upped the ante on fantasy stories.  

Here the "real" world  overlaps and crashes into one of myth, populated by the eponymous Creatures (each beautifully illustrated and given a brief description at the start of the book), and as many heroes and villains as needed to carry the story along at sometimes breakneck speed, leaving the reader (or this one anyway) breathless.

But there are layers, as in the best of stories. There is the adventure, cracking along full of suspense, and plenty of twists and turns. But there is also high emotion: loss and grief, hope and fulfilment, loyalty and betrayal.

In short order we are introduced to Christopher, sent to spend time with his grandfather in an isolated part of Scotland, to Mal (with her magical `flying` coat), her great-aunt Leonor and ...."the murderer." Who could possibly resist reading on?

Very quickly Christoper and Mal`s worlds collide and the two embark on a mission to, as it says on the fly-leaf of this beautifully produced book, "transform the destiny of the world".

We read about the children`s attempts to halt the potential extinction of species and counter the things that are going wrong in the imaginary world and there is no avoiding seeing the whole story as an allegory. However, the story-telling is so masterful there is no sense of being preached at and ultimately it is a story of hope and love. 

 

"All texts must be open, to all people" (Katherine Rundell)

Katherine Rundell`s book Why You Should Read Children`s Books, Even Though You Are So Old And Wise has been mentioned before here and no doubt will be mentioned again....and again...and again but especially when I`ve read something as enthralling as Jospeh`s Elliott`s Shadow Skye trilogy.

It is both sad and misguided that children`s books are still so often seen as the poor relation of fiction, that borrowers in the library service where I work still feel the need to apologise shamefacedly for having enjoyed a brilliant Young Adult book, never mind one categorized as Junior Fiction. (The categorization of books is a subject for another time😉)

Saddest of all is that some well known figures in the literary world get so snooty about it (no names, no pack drill but I see you), in the process making the problem worse as well as displaying an astonishing ignorance about some of the factors involved in encouraging children to become confident and enthusiastic readers.

So back to the books that prompted that mini-rant:

 

Set on an alternative Isle of Skye, this magnificent saga takes its heroes and heroines to the plague devastated mainland of Scotland, across the water to Norway and eventually to the kingdom of England, ruled by a despotic king and his allies, all in an attempt to defend their clan`s homeland.  There are terrifying shadow creatures known as sgàilean, blood magic, treachery, deceit and even a huge, vaguely familiar Scottish beast. The reader is completely swept up in the pacy narrative but the books real power lies in the three central characters,  Agatha, Jaime and Sigrid and the clever technique of giving each their own distinctive voice and alternating the chapters between them so the story is told from three different points of view.

It works brilliantly: not only is each voice unmistakable (the heading at the top of each chapter to signify who is speaking becomes almost redundant) but their language informs their characters without the need to make explicit observations. Especially delightful is what Elliott refers to in the notes as Sigrid`s "idiosyncratic slang", which absolutely nails her energy and resourcefulness not to mention her wry sense of humour.

Themes of loyalty, trust, love and tolerance run throughout the narrative, challenging our heroes at every turn to make hard choices about what is right and what is wrong. Which is why, when it is handled as well as this, anyone could be proud of saying they`d read it. Or, as Rundell says:

          "...the writing we call children`s fiction is not a childish thing.....(rather it) has childhood at its heart, which is not the same thing."

A genius for story-telling.

Hilary McKay, author of The Swallows` Flight, has that rare gift of writing books for children which, while they often tackle dark and difficult subjects, do so through a lens of compassion, joy, laughter and warmth. She achieves this through the characters she creates and in particular the families that populate her books. In this case the families come from different sides of World War 2 but by the time they connect we are so completely immersed in their respective stories that it turns out there are no "sides" to be taken. 

Instead we watch while essentially decent people, of all ages and personalities, try to negotiate their way through the tragedy and loss that war inevitable brings while embracing whatever happiness can also be found. 

The result is a story, or rather multiple stories, of coping with adversity and opportunity (the latter sometimes even resulting from the former) against a background of family bonds and personal friendships that McKay portrays with such understanding and wit that the reader, or this one anyway, becomes completely invested in "what happens next", surely the hallmark of genius storytelling.

I closed the book with much regret at having to leave the characters behind but then (for the second time in as many months - see previous post) the realisation dawned that The Swallows` Flight is actually the sequel, or, as described on the flyleaf, the companion, to The Skylarks War. Thus I was able to discover the "backstory" to some of the central characters in The Swallows` Flight which only added to the experience.

Perhaps it is worth noting that both books are classified as Junior Fiction and are excellent examples of why (as Katherine Rundell says**) adults should read children`s books. Not only are they beautifully written, they also deal with the traumatic subject of war in a careful, understated but nevertheless honest way and provide a persepective on early 20th century life which must be as far removed from a young person`s life now as it is possible to be!

**Why You Should Read Children`s Books, Even Though You Are So Old And Wise (Never get tired of recommending this book!)

"It is not always sensible to be sensible".

It would be unwise to start a Katherine Rundell story if you have some pressing business to attend to because once started her books are almost impossible to put down.
Within the first few lines of The Good Thieves we are offered the thought that “it is not always sensible to be sensible” and if that doesn`t conjure up the prospect of deeds of derrin` do with a bit of mischief thrown in, nothing will. The intriguing title in any case suggests a slightly sideways look at the world and perhaps that is as good a way as any to describe Rundell`s writing. From The Girl Savage and Rooftoppers, through The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer and Into The Jungle (the latter also reviewed here), her stories swing along with verve, panache and an assemblage of vibrant characters, all of whom you would like to spend some time with, even if you feel you might not be able to keep up with them.
In The Good Thieves we meet Vita, standing alone on the deck of a ship and nodding towards the approaching city of New York “as a boxer greets an opponent before a fight.” How could you not want to know what has brought her and her mother here? Soon you discover she has come to right a terrible wrong and though she may be “small, and still, and watchful”, with one leg bearing permanent testament to a bout of polio she caught when she was five, we soon learn she is nothing if not determined.
Rundell is an author you can trust: despite any number of setbacks and apparently insurmountable difficulties you know Vita will triumph. It is in the telling of how she does so that the magic happens and the adventure takes off. In the company of three, at first unlikely looking, companions, all on the edge of respectable society in their own ways, a plan to thwart the (properly villainous) criminal who has wronged her family are drawn up. Loyalties are put to the test and prove steadfast, friendships are forged and always great courage is displayed, not simply physical courage, though there is that, but also the courage to go against convention when the situation demands.
The descriptive writing is a joy, conjuring up never-to-be-forgotten images - coffee looking like “angry mud”. There is humour, the usual wit and, as we have come to expect from this author, the occasional acerbic though always understated observation which appears to signal the moral compass by which Rundell`s characters are guided.
Clothes and costumes, disguises – especially disguises – colour, music, performance, tenacity, vagabonds and rapscallions all fizz throughout the story and in the end triumph over snobbery, selfishness and doubt. Heart-stopping and heart-lifting in equal measure this is also a book which for once doesn`t cast a “Susan” in a sensible role (see Swallows and Amazons). For that I send a personal thanks to Katherine Rundell.

"To live is to be wild and various."

According to Mark Carnall, curator of the 500,000 specimens held in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, “many entomologists are now genitalia obsessed, examining specimens under the microscope and assessing whether the arrangement of penile bumps and hairs is a distinctive characteristic of a new species or not.”

Categorizing, classifying, ranking, apparently we can`t help ourselves. Make no mistake though, categories and classifications are never objective.

It can be a fun way to pass a wet Sunday afternoon (Wikipedia lists 28 genres of heavy metal music, all but 8 with numerous sub-genres), or simply a vanity project to get ones name on a new discovery. However,when we do it with books, the law of unintended consequences comes into force.

Which brings us to Into The Jungle, the latest foray into storytelling by Katherine Rundell. Richly illustrated by Kristjana Williams, it looks like a picture book and will probably be found in the children`s section of your local library or bookshop. Yet that is to put it in a straitjacket of genre which would do it a disservice and mean it could be easily overlooked by folk who would not normally stray into the children`s department.

The book is to be savoured even before it is opened, a gloriously produced, properly bound tome with a ribbon bookmark, the dustjacket resplendent with William`s illustrations and the legend “Stories for Mowgli” inscribed in clear, slightly raised white lettering which instantly demand to be caressed.
There are brief profiles of Rundell and Williams inside the cover but no big puff pieces, no extravagant reviews or prefaces or forewords. We are taken straight to the bold text, five origin stories for characters from the original Jungle Book written by Rudyard Kipling and published in 1894.

Nor, thankfully, are there pages of “comprehension” questions in the back. Increasingly, this has become an irritating feature of many children`s books as if without it readers can`t be trusted to have truly appreciated what they`ve read. Worse, it is creeping into stories intended for adults, often apparently aimed at book clubs, clearly unable to come up with their own discussion points.
No such patronising intrusion would have made it into Kipling`s original volumes and anyone who grew up in the company of Bagheera and Baloo, Kaa and Mowgli need have no fear of reading Rundell`s interpretation of their back stories. No Disneyfication here, only tales that swing along with joy and wit at the same time probing issues of belonging and identity. They also remind us of the old adage of nature being red in tooth and claw: there are few concessions to modern sensibilities.

The common thread that draws the stories together is Mowgli, seen first as an innocent and mischievous little boy who picks his nose and has to be reminded of his manners but is also fiercely loyal and brave and believes, as Bagheera has taught him, that “To live is to be wild and various”.

This is a theme Rundell returns to time and again in her writing. From Sophie in Rooftoppers to the wonderful Feodora in the magical Wolf Wilder, her characters take risks, spurn the mundane and the conventional, negotiating life in as energetic and honest a way as possible. Leavened always with humour and irreverence Rundell`s writing brings a breath of fresh air to our worried and safety obsessed world.

Best of all Into The Jungle could have been created to read aloud, surely the hallmark of excellent writing. Who would not want to take on the characters of Raksha the wolf and Shere Khan as they stare at each other, “eye to eye, teeth bared”, or Kaa, “a snake of unusual strength and beauty..with a ferociously unruly temper.” Coupled with the quite exquisite full page colour illustrations this is a book to become immersed in and to return to time and time again. And if it encourages someone to discover, or rediscover, Kipling`s stories, that can only be to the good.
In the end Into The Jungle is what a good book should be: entertaining and thrilling in equal measure, with a quiet insistence that the best happens when we behave in a brave, honourable and compassionate way.
It is not a child`s book, or a teen book, or an adult book. Nor is it a book of short stories or a book of animal stories. It is all of the above and more, the kind of thing everyone should be reading, regardless of age, gender, race or any other classification we can come up with.
Buy it for yourself. Buy it as a gift. It will stand the test of time. And when no-one is looking take it out of the children`s section and display it for all to see.