Verdigris Deep by Frances Hardinge
Apr. 17th, 2010 01:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
”He could not fight the feeling that there was something seeping slowly from the well and hanging in the air above it.”
When Ryan and his friends are caught stranded and penniless late one evening, they steal some coins from a well for their bus fare home. Soon after, strange things begin to happen. Peculiar marks tingle on Ryan’s knuckles, light bulbs mysteriously explode and a terrified Chelle starts speaking words that aren’t her own.
Then the well witch appears, with her fountains for eyes and gargled demands. From now on, the friends must serve her – and the wishes that lie rotting at the bottom of her well.
Ryan, Josh and Chelle are friends who slip off into a nearby town for an illict picnic. But when they stay for an extra milkshake they miss their return bus and don’t have enough money to get home. Josh comes up with the idea of taking coins from an abandoned wishing well to cover the fare. Although they get home okay, weird things start to happen. Ryan develops a series of bumps on his knuckles that look like eyeballs and he sees things that no one else can see. Chelle is compelled to recite the words going through the mind of other people. Light bulbs begin to explode around Josh.
Then the well witch appears – a strange and powerful creature determined to punish the children who stole from her. She demands that they work for her by granting the wishes of the people who threw in the coins. This is no straightforward task though because the wishes have been rotting in the well for a long time and the friends discover that they’re part of the well witch’s twisted world – a world that is threatening to claim the children for itself.
This is a weird, gripping and macabre story with plenty of depth and twists and turns to keep the pages turning.
The story is told through Ryan’s eyes and while he’s likeable character he’s also flawed – specifically he realises that his intelligence makes him a target and relies on Josh to protect him from school bullies, which makes him slow to wake up to Josh’s faults. In fact the relationship between all three children is very believable – the boys are closer to each other than to Chelle and she is aware of her status but grateful to have people to hang out with.
Josh is an interesting counterpoint and while his adoptive status and resulting insecurity seems a little cliché, the motivation for his subsequent actions is credible and his manipulation of the people around him really creepy. The resolution of his storyline is bittersweet but entirely fitting.
There are some marvellous set pieces within the book – particularly the appearances of the well witch which are spectacular pieces of writing. There’s also a dark undercurrent to this with a lot of sadness and some unexpected turns.
Hardinge is a wonderful writer and I’ll definitely be seeking out other examples of her work.
The Verdict:
This is a wonderful, weird, gripping and macabre story with interesting characters, wonderful set pieces and a dark underbelly. Definitely worth a look.
When Ryan and his friends are caught stranded and penniless late one evening, they steal some coins from a well for their bus fare home. Soon after, strange things begin to happen. Peculiar marks tingle on Ryan’s knuckles, light bulbs mysteriously explode and a terrified Chelle starts speaking words that aren’t her own.
Then the well witch appears, with her fountains for eyes and gargled demands. From now on, the friends must serve her – and the wishes that lie rotting at the bottom of her well.
Ryan, Josh and Chelle are friends who slip off into a nearby town for an illict picnic. But when they stay for an extra milkshake they miss their return bus and don’t have enough money to get home. Josh comes up with the idea of taking coins from an abandoned wishing well to cover the fare. Although they get home okay, weird things start to happen. Ryan develops a series of bumps on his knuckles that look like eyeballs and he sees things that no one else can see. Chelle is compelled to recite the words going through the mind of other people. Light bulbs begin to explode around Josh.
Then the well witch appears – a strange and powerful creature determined to punish the children who stole from her. She demands that they work for her by granting the wishes of the people who threw in the coins. This is no straightforward task though because the wishes have been rotting in the well for a long time and the friends discover that they’re part of the well witch’s twisted world – a world that is threatening to claim the children for itself.
This is a weird, gripping and macabre story with plenty of depth and twists and turns to keep the pages turning.
The story is told through Ryan’s eyes and while he’s likeable character he’s also flawed – specifically he realises that his intelligence makes him a target and relies on Josh to protect him from school bullies, which makes him slow to wake up to Josh’s faults. In fact the relationship between all three children is very believable – the boys are closer to each other than to Chelle and she is aware of her status but grateful to have people to hang out with.
Josh is an interesting counterpoint and while his adoptive status and resulting insecurity seems a little cliché, the motivation for his subsequent actions is credible and his manipulation of the people around him really creepy. The resolution of his storyline is bittersweet but entirely fitting.
There are some marvellous set pieces within the book – particularly the appearances of the well witch which are spectacular pieces of writing. There’s also a dark undercurrent to this with a lot of sadness and some unexpected turns.
Hardinge is a wonderful writer and I’ll definitely be seeking out other examples of her work.
The Verdict:
This is a wonderful, weird, gripping and macabre story with interesting characters, wonderful set pieces and a dark underbelly. Definitely worth a look.
