Akatsuki Hakuna Hakuna itibaren Texas
I waited forever to get my hands on this book. Written in the form of a beautiful fairy tale which enchants and thrills you at the same time "Near Witch" is one of those rare gems that makes you feel like you are a part of their captivating world. The book from the beginning itself flows in the form of a melodies siren song which pulls you in and refuses to let you go no matter how hard you try. When I said it was written in the form of a beautiful fairy tale I didn't mean that it resembled any of the known fairy tales nor am I contesting that the idea was not original. The idea was fresh and original but there was something about this story that struck a cord which made it exceedingly familiar. Al through the book I felt like I was reading a long forgotten story which had all the makings of classic fairy tale. The story takes place in the fictional town of Near to whose inhabitants the whole world ends and begins with Near and the moor surrounding it. The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. There are no strangers at Near. But when a stranger arrives at Near things start to take a turn for the worst. The children of Near starts disappearing one by one in the dead of the night and the villagers blame the stranger for these strange tidings. But Lexi has other plans and something about this reticent stranger makes her trust him. But as the search intensifies that there is more to the story of Near Witch that might be more than a bedtime story. The magic in this story comes from the pure and simple way of the telling it. With its beautiful storytelling way this books takes you back to that time of your life where you were in love with such tales. In fact it gives you a long forgotten part of your childhood back. The characters are all perfect for such type of a tale. The main female lead Lexi is like a breath of fresh air. She is innocent and vulnerable ,at the same time she is strong and independent. She is the kind of YA heroines we should see more of. I loved the characters of Otto, Wren , Cole and the witches Magda and Dreska with their infinite wisdom and cryptic messages. The description of Near is so detailed that you feel the mist that surrounds the village and the wind that howls its secret in your ear. I would recommend this book to all the YA readers out there. Fantastically crafted this book is a rare gem that should not be missed.
The book stands as a testament to Didion's devotion to her craft- perhaps her hopes of solidifying a level of humanity in those fortunate enough to read her work. Didion has a unique "stream of conscious" style, like Updike. But,unlike Updike, each sentence has an underlying level of craft that I sense is drawn from years of seemingly objective narration. To study such a raw yet universal fact of life with such scientific obeservation, with underlying emotion and identifiable sense grief exposed in fluid prose, Didion paits herself unwittingly as the most empathetic and scattered voice of any narration I have read since Elie Wiesel and "Night".
Enjoyed this immensely! Going to start Hunger as soon as my 15 year old gives me back my nook, cause he is devouring this book too :-)