Gingerbread by Robert Dinsdale
Mar. 22nd, 2014 11:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
”I think we’ll stay,” he says, letting his arm fall about the boy’s shoulder. “Just for a little while … until the stories are done.”
The boy watches as Grandfather’s face shifts. His eyes seem suddenly far away. “Papa,” he ventures, “I thought you hated the forest. I thought you said you’d never come back. We can go now, Papa. I don’t mind.” He thinks to say it again, as if to make sure Grandfather understands. “I don’t mind at all.”
“Oh,” grins Grandfather. “But neither do I. I think … the trees might not be so wicked after all.”
Combining history with fairy tale, civilisation with wilderness, Gingerbread is the spellbinding tale of a little boy’s search to find a place he can call home.
When the boy’s mother brings him to his grandfather in a run down tenement in a nameless city in Belarus, the boy knows that the cancer is winning and she doesn’t have long to live. The boy knows nothing about his papa – the last time he saw him, he was only a baby. At first the boy isn’t sure about him, with his polished jackboots and gruff manner, but Papa tells stories about the conflict between the Winter King and the King of the West and together, they nurse the boy’s mother until the end.
When Papa decides to fulfil his daughter’s last wish, he takes the boy and her ashes to the little house in the woods where she grew up. The boy thinks that it will be a short trip, but the woods exercise a powerful hold over his grandfather and the boy soon discovers that some stories have their roots in the truth …
Robert Dinsdale’s novel is a sweet and moving blend of fairy tale and history that has strong themes of family and the pull of the wild. Well written and deftly characterised, I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between the boy and his grandfather, both the way it develops and the way it disintegrates and the friendship that develops between the boy and stubborn, bossy Elenya. The best scenes are those in which the grandfather recounts his stories where the mix of mythology and history really gives you an insight into the grandfather’s character and his decline. I was less convinced by the last quarter, mainly because the schlocky element to it undermined much of Dinsdale’s good work but there remains the underlying sense of sadness and regret that makes this such an absorbing read. All in all, I would definitely check out Dinsdale’s other work based on this novel.
The boy remains unnamed for much of the book but is the emotional focal point for much of what happens. Although never physically described in detail, he remains a fully realised character and I totally believed in all of his reactions. I particularly enjoyed the way he finds himself pulled between Papa and Elenya and the way it represented the split between the wild and civilisation.
All in all I thought this sweet and moving read that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end and I will definitely check out Dinsdale’s other work.
The Verdict:
Robert Dinsdale’s novel is a sweet and moving blend of fairy tale and history that has strong themes of family and the pull of the wild. Well written and deftly characterised, I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between the boy and his grandfather, both the way it develops and the way it disintegrates and the friendship that develops between the boy and stubborn, bossy Elenya. The best scenes are those in which the grandfather recounts his stories where the mix of mythology and history really gives you an insight into the grandfather’s character and his decline. I was less convinced by the last quarter, mainly because the schlocky element to it undermined much of Dinsdale’s good work but there remains the underlying sense of sadness and regret that makes this such an absorbing read. All in all, I would definitely check out Dinsdale’s other work based on this novel.
GINGERBREAD was released in the United Kingdom on 13th February 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
The boy watches as Grandfather’s face shifts. His eyes seem suddenly far away. “Papa,” he ventures, “I thought you hated the forest. I thought you said you’d never come back. We can go now, Papa. I don’t mind.” He thinks to say it again, as if to make sure Grandfather understands. “I don’t mind at all.”
“Oh,” grins Grandfather. “But neither do I. I think … the trees might not be so wicked after all.”
Combining history with fairy tale, civilisation with wilderness, Gingerbread is the spellbinding tale of a little boy’s search to find a place he can call home.
When the boy’s mother brings him to his grandfather in a run down tenement in a nameless city in Belarus, the boy knows that the cancer is winning and she doesn’t have long to live. The boy knows nothing about his papa – the last time he saw him, he was only a baby. At first the boy isn’t sure about him, with his polished jackboots and gruff manner, but Papa tells stories about the conflict between the Winter King and the King of the West and together, they nurse the boy’s mother until the end.
When Papa decides to fulfil his daughter’s last wish, he takes the boy and her ashes to the little house in the woods where she grew up. The boy thinks that it will be a short trip, but the woods exercise a powerful hold over his grandfather and the boy soon discovers that some stories have their roots in the truth …
Robert Dinsdale’s novel is a sweet and moving blend of fairy tale and history that has strong themes of family and the pull of the wild. Well written and deftly characterised, I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between the boy and his grandfather, both the way it develops and the way it disintegrates and the friendship that develops between the boy and stubborn, bossy Elenya. The best scenes are those in which the grandfather recounts his stories where the mix of mythology and history really gives you an insight into the grandfather’s character and his decline. I was less convinced by the last quarter, mainly because the schlocky element to it undermined much of Dinsdale’s good work but there remains the underlying sense of sadness and regret that makes this such an absorbing read. All in all, I would definitely check out Dinsdale’s other work based on this novel.
The boy remains unnamed for much of the book but is the emotional focal point for much of what happens. Although never physically described in detail, he remains a fully realised character and I totally believed in all of his reactions. I particularly enjoyed the way he finds himself pulled between Papa and Elenya and the way it represented the split between the wild and civilisation.
All in all I thought this sweet and moving read that kept me turning the pages from beginning to end and I will definitely check out Dinsdale’s other work.
The Verdict:
Robert Dinsdale’s novel is a sweet and moving blend of fairy tale and history that has strong themes of family and the pull of the wild. Well written and deftly characterised, I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between the boy and his grandfather, both the way it develops and the way it disintegrates and the friendship that develops between the boy and stubborn, bossy Elenya. The best scenes are those in which the grandfather recounts his stories where the mix of mythology and history really gives you an insight into the grandfather’s character and his decline. I was less convinced by the last quarter, mainly because the schlocky element to it undermined much of Dinsdale’s good work but there remains the underlying sense of sadness and regret that makes this such an absorbing read. All in all, I would definitely check out Dinsdale’s other work based on this novel.
GINGERBREAD was released in the United Kingdom on 13th February 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
