Title: The King of Elfland's Daughter
Author: Lord Dunsany
Pages: 240
Finished: DNF December 16, 2019
First Sentence: In their ruddy jackets of leather that reached to their knees the men of Erl appeared before their lord, the stately white-haired man in his long red room.
Summary: The Parliament of Erl decide they wish to be ruled by a fairy ruler rather than a human one. So the King sends his son to steal the daughter of the Elf King and wed her so a human son will be Otherworldly.
Thoughts: I'm returning this book unfinished. Mainly, I'm finding myself watching more TV than reading, which, as I've learned this past year, means I'm not interested in the book I'm reading. Instead of forcing my way through it, I'm going to keep going.
I wanted to like this book. Humans marrying members of Faerie are some of my favorite stories. I was thrilled. And then Neil Gaiman wrote a lovely introduction that had me even more excited about the book.
It came down to language, I think. I was interested in the story, but found parsing out the sentences wearying. Often I'd find myself two pages in with no idea what had happened, then having to go back to read again, closer. It took a long time to make it to page 73, and I just wasn't interested in continuing the slog.
The other thing I find interesting is how the story has moved along so far. In 73 pages, the prince in the land has stolen the Elf Princess away and married her, had a kid with her, and then got mad at her for not following his religion, so she's gone back to Elfland. I'm not quite sure what else is going to happen in the other 160 pages. Likely a hunt for her. But again, I'm not interested in finding out. The book reads like a history book with more flowy language.
In short, I'm disappointed. Perhaps this is a result of being pregnant and I'll do better if I try again in two years. Or perhaps this just isn't the book for me.
Read for Back to the Classics 20th Century but not finished.
I wanted to like this book. Humans marrying members of Faerie are some of my favorite stories. I was thrilled. And then Neil Gaiman wrote a lovely introduction that had me even more excited about the book.
It came down to language, I think. I was interested in the story, but found parsing out the sentences wearying. Often I'd find myself two pages in with no idea what had happened, then having to go back to read again, closer. It took a long time to make it to page 73, and I just wasn't interested in continuing the slog.
The other thing I find interesting is how the story has moved along so far. In 73 pages, the prince in the land has stolen the Elf Princess away and married her, had a kid with her, and then got mad at her for not following his religion, so she's gone back to Elfland. I'm not quite sure what else is going to happen in the other 160 pages. Likely a hunt for her. But again, I'm not interested in finding out. The book reads like a history book with more flowy language.
In short, I'm disappointed. Perhaps this is a result of being pregnant and I'll do better if I try again in two years. Or perhaps this just isn't the book for me.
Read for Back to the Classics 20th Century but not finished.
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