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Book #54: Furthermore, by Tahera Mafi
Jul. 4th, 2016 08:07 pmThis book was really good.
On one hand, it's a quirky MG adventure story, Alice-in-Wonderlandish, but with an Alice that starts off in an already magical world. I really enjoyed it as a straight up romp--clever word play and excellently bizarre world building--but there was another layer underneath that I liked even more.
Mafi wrote a Reckless Girl, which is one of my favourite kinds of characters, but nowhere in the book is Alice (that's actually the MC's name, though this isn't supposed to be a re-working of Wonderland at all. If it's anything, it's an homage, and it's a good one) punished or berated for this. The narrator (Mafi herself, in the style of Lewis and Tolkien), points out Alice's short comings, but doesn't harp on them. Instead, she guides the reader to understand WHY Alice is like that, and also how she might get better.
This style is EVEN MORE IMPORTANT when it comes to The Boy: Oliver. Manipulator, Liar, Cheat, General Jerk Face. He is awful to Alice, both before the story begins and during it, and never once is Alice (or I!) expected to be nice to him or to forgive him, just because he's done one noble thing. It is really, really deftly done, and I appreciated it a lot.
So basically: clever story, INCREDIBLY earned character arcs, brilliant concept, and excellent writing. And, as I said on Twitter, just enough casual cannibalism to keep it extra interesting.
On one hand, it's a quirky MG adventure story, Alice-in-Wonderlandish, but with an Alice that starts off in an already magical world. I really enjoyed it as a straight up romp--clever word play and excellently bizarre world building--but there was another layer underneath that I liked even more.
Mafi wrote a Reckless Girl, which is one of my favourite kinds of characters, but nowhere in the book is Alice (that's actually the MC's name, though this isn't supposed to be a re-working of Wonderland at all. If it's anything, it's an homage, and it's a good one) punished or berated for this. The narrator (Mafi herself, in the style of Lewis and Tolkien), points out Alice's short comings, but doesn't harp on them. Instead, she guides the reader to understand WHY Alice is like that, and also how she might get better.
This style is EVEN MORE IMPORTANT when it comes to The Boy: Oliver. Manipulator, Liar, Cheat, General Jerk Face. He is awful to Alice, both before the story begins and during it, and never once is Alice (or I!) expected to be nice to him or to forgive him, just because he's done one noble thing. It is really, really deftly done, and I appreciated it a lot.
So basically: clever story, INCREDIBLY earned character arcs, brilliant concept, and excellent writing. And, as I said on Twitter, just enough casual cannibalism to keep it extra interesting.
