Little Encyclopedia of Fairies by Ojo Opanike

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

While setting up our cryptid display, I was a bit sidetracked looking at other creatures in folklore.  This small volume with a charming cover is subtitled “An A to Z Guide to Fae Magic” and includes creatures from cultures all over the world.  Unlike the Disney versions, many of these creatures aren’t cute or fond of humans, except perhaps as a snack.  Many are small, some can shape-shift, and they mostly are connected with nature.  Some are helpful to humans; others are indifferent or malevolent; some can be all three, according to their mood.

For many fairies, giving them a place to stay or offerings of food will encourage them to help or bring luck to humans, or at the very least to not create mischief.  Some appear as small humans, while others like the Alpine Aguane are beautiful but who have hooves.  The Abatwa of South Africa are so small that they ride on the backs of ants but they can bring down large game with their poisoned arrows. You can curry favor with them by saying they appear large.

While many were new to me, some readily recognizable ones are also included, such as Brownies or Boggarts. One feature I particularly liked in this book is that the author will often mention a literary appearance although the Boggarts of Harry Potter are different than the traditional forms. Traditionally, a mistreated Brownie becomes a malicious Boggart.

While I’ve read other books on fairies, most have concentrated on European folklore.  This one has global coverage, including entities from Native American tribes.  The entries are mostly brief and there are a few illustrations.

This is by no means a comprehensive look, but it is a fun browser’s book.   

Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Reviewed by Jeanne

Nine year old Tiffany is the granddaughter of a shepherd who may or may not have been a witch.  She sees the world in unusual ways, and when a creature tries to trespass, she takes it out quickly. Okay, she may have used her baby brother as bait, but needs must, right?

The creature in the river isn’t the only oddity around; Tiffany has caught glimpses of some six inch high blue men who have flaming red hair and seem to be wearing kilts—well, the ones who are wearing anything at all. These are the Nac Mac Feegle, the Wee Free Men, also known as pictsies (definitely not pixies).  They are immensely strong, and born for drinking, fighting, stealing, and fleeing in terror at lawyers.  They’re also leery of Tiffany who they call a“wee bigjob hag” and (horrors!) she can write things down.  While not her first choice of allies, they become indispensable when she has to find her missing brother.

Soon Tiffany will find herself facing a fearsome Queen, a horde of nightmares, and the prospect of matrimony. How will she ever prevail?

I have enjoyed several of Pratchett’s Discworld novels, but I have to say I find the Tiffany Aching tales to be particularly enchanting.  They have Pratchett’s trademark humor—lines that beg to be read aloud to someone, even if you have to chase them down to do it.  One of my favorite exchanges is when Tiffany approaches a traveling teacher and says she has a question about zoology:

 “Zoology, eh?  That’s a big word, isn’t it.”

“No, actually, it isn’t,” said Tiffany. “Patronizing is a big word.  Zoology is really quite short.”

In another passage, he comments that people were glad to see the teachers because they would tell a child enough to stop him asking questions, but they wanted the teachers gone by sundown for fear they’d steal chickens. I will spare you other favorite sections—oh, how I want to tell you about the teachers under the stars! —but this will give you a bit of the flavor.

However, the books aren’t just fluff and fun.  There’s a thread about figuring out who people really are.  Tiffany’s beloved grandmother was a rough, taciturn old woman who took care of sheep.  She was respected in the community for her abilities, with folks leaving her favorite Jolly Sailor tobacco as payment, but Tiffany begins to wonder if there was more to Granny than she thought.  More to the point, is there more to Tiffany than she knows?

There are also some shrewd and pointed observations about society and human behavior along the way, and the books have uncommon heart. Tiffany finds there were consequences for her previous actions, but she is brave, resourceful, and takes responsibility.  She will set things right because she caused the problem, even if she didn’t mean to.

I think if I could live up to Pratchett’s ideals I would be a better person and the world would a better place.

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

Reviewed by Kristin

Tara Martin believed that she had been lost in the Outwoods, some kind of enchanted forest in central England, for six months.  Imagine her surprise when she found that twenty years had passed in the “real world”.  Her parents are shocked when she shows up on their doorstep on Christmas Day.  Tara’s parents are older, silver haired, and traumatized by the loss of their teenage daughter.  Tara, however, looks like the 16-year-old who disappeared twenty years before.

When Tara disappeared, her boyfriend Richie was under suspicion, but eventually cleared.  Richie and Peter, Tara’s brother, were good friends but grew apart after Tara’s disappearance.  Richie has continued to play guitar but has become bitter and isolated.  Upon her confusing return, Tara turns to Richie for comfort outside of her family.

Peter is shocked and relieved by Tara’s reappearance.  Now a 40-year-old father, he becomes Tara’s confidante, even though she says no one will ever believe her story.  Peter’s wife Genevieve and their three children are confused, yet interested in this “new” member of their family.

Tara claims to have been lost in the bluebells and taken off by a fairy to a different world.  Hiero, as Tara called him, took Tara by horseback to a magical land where the inhabitants lived with different laws of nature.  The people (they did not care to be called “fairies”) interacted with each other and with the natural world in an entirely different way than that which Tara was accustomed.

Tara is perfectly willing to have her identify verified and to see a psychiatrist to try to figure out what has happened to her.  As the psychiatrist makes his reports in an attempt to explain why Tara is telling such a fantastical story, other narratives are interspersed suggesting that perhaps the story of a fairy world is true.

The book flips back and forth between the present and the past mystery world where Tara believes she has been.  Other minor storylines run throughout the book and are drawn together expertly by the author.  Also, a few surprise twists are thrown in near the end.  This is a quick and enjoyable book.


Note:  After Kristin submitted her review, we had another patron come to the reference desk to recommend the book.  In fact, this person (who reads a variety of genres) went back and checked out several other books by Joyce.If you have any interest in fantasy, this is an author you may want to try. Who knows? You may find a new author!