I absolutely adore Cornelia Funke and everything she's written. That being said, this is the darkest and possibly the worst book that I've ever read by her. The premise was dark and the entire book had not a shred of hope in it, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In a horrible twist of fate (and horrible translating), it also included characters who were never fleshed out. In fact, Funke barely grazed the surface of any of these characters, including Jacob, the main character. I didn't care for ANY of them.
Her world was a fascinating blend of classic fairy tales with a slightly modern twist. However, I entered the world feeling like an outcast, and just felt more and more ostracized the more I got into the book. I usually devour Funke books in a matter of a few days. This one took me WEEKS to actually finish, and I only did so just to say I did. The chapters were stilted and panned to different character's views, all in third person, and it was so confusing. That and the fact that the book started in the middle of a dilemma where you were lost from the start. And instead of cleverly giving us hints on what happened before the book started, Funke ignored that route and went full throttle against the story when readers didn't even fully know what that story was!
It might be partly because this is intended for young adults and not children/teenagers as in her other books. Somehow writing for an older audience = darker. And that's okay, but it does NOT mean that you neglect every other part of the story. Funke was clearly out of her element in this story, and it showed page after page. I am not even sure I want to even set eyes on the sequel to this book, it was that bad. I give it two stars as a sympathy to Funke, who I am sure tried her best.
The illustrations in this book, however, get four to five stars. All done originally by her, they added an element to the book. I did not, however, appreciate how every chapter started on the right facing page, no matter if the previous chapter didn't end on the opposite page, leaving a blank side opposite the beginning of the next chapter and its illustration. I found that was in very bad taste for the publisher to do. It just made the book look cheap.
Even if you are a die hard fan of Funke, I wouldn't pick up this book. It would just make you irritated at her for executing her talent for story telling so poorly. I recommend this book to no one.
Her world was a fascinating blend of classic fairy tales with a slightly modern twist. However, I entered the world feeling like an outcast, and just felt more and more ostracized the more I got into the book. I usually devour Funke books in a matter of a few days. This one took me WEEKS to actually finish, and I only did so just to say I did. The chapters were stilted and panned to different character's views, all in third person, and it was so confusing. That and the fact that the book started in the middle of a dilemma where you were lost from the start. And instead of cleverly giving us hints on what happened before the book started, Funke ignored that route and went full throttle against the story when readers didn't even fully know what that story was!
It might be partly because this is intended for young adults and not children/teenagers as in her other books. Somehow writing for an older audience = darker. And that's okay, but it does NOT mean that you neglect every other part of the story. Funke was clearly out of her element in this story, and it showed page after page. I am not even sure I want to even set eyes on the sequel to this book, it was that bad. I give it two stars as a sympathy to Funke, who I am sure tried her best.
The illustrations in this book, however, get four to five stars. All done originally by her, they added an element to the book. I did not, however, appreciate how every chapter started on the right facing page, no matter if the previous chapter didn't end on the opposite page, leaving a blank side opposite the beginning of the next chapter and its illustration. I found that was in very bad taste for the publisher to do. It just made the book look cheap.
Even if you are a die hard fan of Funke, I wouldn't pick up this book. It would just make you irritated at her for executing her talent for story telling so poorly. I recommend this book to no one.
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