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The Stolen Child
Inspired by the W.B. Yeats poem that tempts a child from home to the waters and the wild, The Stolen Child is a modern fairy tale narrated by the child Henry Day and his double.
On a summer night, Henry Day runs away from home and hides in a hollow tree. There he is taken by the changelings—an unaging tribe of wild children who live in darkness and in secret. They spirit him away, name him Aniday, and make him one of their own. Stuck forever as a child, Aniday grows in spirit, struggling to remember the life and family he left behind. He also seeks to understand and fit in this shadow land, as modern life encroaches upon both myth and nature.
In his place, the changelings leave a double, a boy who steals Henry’s life in the world. This new Henry Day must adjust to a modern culture while hiding his true identity from the Day family. But he can’t hide his extraordinary talent for the piano (a skill the true Henry never displayed), and his dazzling performances prompt his father to suspect that the son he has raised is an imposter. As he ages the new Henry Day becomes haunted by vague but persistent memories of life in another time and place, of a German piano teacher and his prodigy. Of a time when he, too, had been a stolen child. Both Henry and Aniday obsessively search for who they once were before they changed places in the world.
The Stolen Child is a classic tale of leaving childhood and the search for identity. With just the right mix of fantasy and realism, Keith Donohue has created a bedtime story for adults and a literary fable of remarkable depth and strange delights.
On a summer night, Henry Day runs away from home and hides in a hollow tree. There he is taken by the changelings—an unaging tribe of wild children who live in darkness and in secret. They spirit him away, name him Aniday, and make him one of their own. Stuck forever as a child, Aniday grows in spirit, struggling to remember the life and family he left behind. He also seeks to understand and fit in this shadow land, as modern life encroaches upon both myth and nature.
In his place, the changelings leave a double, a boy who steals Henry’s life in the world. This new Henry Day must adjust to a modern culture while hiding his true identity from the Day family. But he can’t hide his extraordinary talent for the piano (a skill the true Henry never displayed), and his dazzling performances prompt his father to suspect that the son he has raised is an imposter. As he ages the new Henry Day becomes haunted by vague but persistent memories of life in another time and place, of a German piano teacher and his prodigy. Of a time when he, too, had been a stolen child. Both Henry and Aniday obsessively search for who they once were before they changed places in the world.
The Stolen Child is a classic tale of leaving childhood and the search for identity. With just the right mix of fantasy and realism, Keith Donohue has created a bedtime story for adults and a literary fable of remarkable depth and strange delights.
327 pages, Hardcover
First published May 9, 2006
About the author
Keith Donohue
17 books350 followersKeith Donohue is an American novelist. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he earned his B.A. and M.A. from Duquesne University and his Ph.D. in English from The Catholic University of America.
Currently he is Director of Communications for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the grant-making arm of the U. S. National Archives in Washington, DC. Until 1998 he worked at the National Endowment for the Arts and wrote speeches for chairmen John Frohnmayer and Jane Alexander, and has written articles for the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and other newspapers.
Currently he is Director of Communications for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the grant-making arm of the U. S. National Archives in Washington, DC. Until 1998 he worked at the National Endowment for the Arts and wrote speeches for chairmen John Frohnmayer and Jane Alexander, and has written articles for the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and other newspapers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,466 reviews
December 28, 2017
Ever read a book which just stays with you and you think about from time to time? This is that sort of book for me. I read this book when it first came out, and was fascinated by the premise. A young boy, Henry Day, runs away from home and is stolen by changelings. The changelings ( i.e. fairies/hobgoblins) were once human children themselves. They were stolen then forced to live in the wild in a family like pack until they can find a human child and switch places with them. The Changelings change Henry's name to Aniday as one of their own takes Henry's place with his human family. Aniday is now forever a child, who grows mentally but struggles to remember his family and what it was like to be human. He makes attempts to fit into his new world.
Henry/Aniday's double is now in the human world and must adjust to living with humans while hiding his identity. He draws suspicion when he exhibits great skill at playing the piano - something the human Henry never showed aptitude for. His "father" begins to suspect something is not quite right with his son. This changeling child as he grows begins to remember when he was a young child and had a piano teacher. A time when he was human before he was stolen and made a changeling. Both Henry and Aniday try to find each other, to find who they once were before they both were changed.
This story has chapters dedicated to both characters in this book describing their struggles, their attempts to assimilate to their current living environment, and their attempts at being/staying human. The writing is haunting and atmospheric. This was a very nicely done debut novel.
This book is fantasy which typically is not my first choice of books, but I found this book strangely compelling. This felt like a blending of fantasy meets myth meets folklore meets Grimm fairy tale. It was oddly interesting, and I can't quite figure out what I liked so much about it except to say that I loved how unique the story was.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
Henry/Aniday's double is now in the human world and must adjust to living with humans while hiding his identity. He draws suspicion when he exhibits great skill at playing the piano - something the human Henry never showed aptitude for. His "father" begins to suspect something is not quite right with his son. This changeling child as he grows begins to remember when he was a young child and had a piano teacher. A time when he was human before he was stolen and made a changeling. Both Henry and Aniday try to find each other, to find who they once were before they both were changed.
This story has chapters dedicated to both characters in this book describing their struggles, their attempts to assimilate to their current living environment, and their attempts at being/staying human. The writing is haunting and atmospheric. This was a very nicely done debut novel.
This book is fantasy which typically is not my first choice of books, but I found this book strangely compelling. This felt like a blending of fantasy meets myth meets folklore meets Grimm fairy tale. It was oddly interesting, and I can't quite figure out what I liked so much about it except to say that I loved how unique the story was.
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
January 10, 2008
I don’t disguise that I’m a big geek, especially when science fiction is concerned. My Star Wars and Lord of the Rings (and Spiderman and X-Men and Batman and . . .) movie obsessions attest to my geekiness. So it is no surprise to anyone that I spent two or three years as a teenager reading only fantasy fiction. I literally read every fantasy fiction book our local library had on its shelves. It happens to be why the Harry Potter series drives me to the brink of rage: people think those awful excuses for fantasy fiction stand up to the classics of Tolkien, Le Guin, Eddings, Donaldson, and all the others I spent countless hours devouring. It has been years since a book made me feel like a child again. The Stolen Child is such a book – and not because its fantasy setting brought back feelings of nostalgia, but because for the first time in I don’t know how long, I had a book in my hand I didn’t want to put down, and whose plot drew me in so completely, finishing the book was both the first and last thing I wanted to do. The book’s basic storyline is based on the mythology of the changeling, a breed of fairies that steal children and replace them with a changeling that looks exactly like the child and that grows up in its place. The stolen child (hence the title) becomes a changeling himself, and waits his time to return to the real world in the form of another child. This unique premise sets up a narrative that swaps back-and-forth between a changeling (Henry Day), and the stolen child whose identity he stole and who now must grow up as a changeling (Aniday). The switching narratives allow the author to present different perspectives on the same event as Henry’s and Aniday’s lives crisscross each other in ways that will surprise you. The simple prose is beautiful and spare in ways that break your heart, and that keeps you reading until you finish it a day later. There is an underlying melancholy throughout the book as you feel the struggle that Henry the changeling has in living a life not his own, and that Aniday has in living a new life while struggling to remember the one he lost. There are many themes at play here – the fleeting nature of memory, nature vs nurture, growing up and leaving childhood, the truth of identity – and the author’s prose and story drive the themes into your subconscious without taking any time to expound on them, leaving the story to linger with you days after you complete it. In fact, I read this book twice in three days, and still keep thumbing through it to reread my favorites scenes. Do not let the fantasy plot prevent you from picking this one up. Other than the changeling mythology, the rest of the book is completely rooted in reality; the fantasy plot is no less approachable a storyline than the mystical powers of the characters in Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. This book is one of my favorites of the last few years – an elegant and touching fairy tale for adults. I think it’s simply lovely.
May 29, 2011
The Stolen Child is a wonderful first novel told from the perspective of Henry Day, who was kidnapped by changelings as a child, and from the changeling who kidnapped Henry. The ancient changeling legend is woven into this very modern story and as the book progresses, the lives of Henry Day and the changeling who assumed his life gradually become intertwined. More than a fairy tale, this is a story about loss, loneliness, love, and finally acceptance. Highly recommended.
May 29, 2018
If you must give me a name, call me hobgoblin. Or better yet, I am a changeling- a word that describes within its own name what we are bound and intended to do. We kidnap a human child and replace him or her with one of our own." pg 7, ebook.
The Stolen Child is the story of a changeling and the boy whose place he took, Henry Day.
The chapters alternate between the real Henry Day and the false Henry Day. It is a captivating story about magic, family and belonging.
"This is my confession, too long delayed, which I have been afraid to make, and only now reveal because of the passing dangers to my own son. We change. I have changed."
It also addresses the issues of the modern world and how technology and humanity has driven nature into corners.
The changelings are basically immortal children (but they can die through accidents) who live in the woods until their turn comes to rejoin the human world. Years before, they were all ripped from their families and made a part of the same group their replacement just deserted.
Their world is brutal, cold and always on the verge of collapse. One of their only rules is they don't discuss a new changeling's prior life during his new one.
The adjustment period from human to changeling is difficult enough without keeping the memories alive through the long years of their unchanging childhood.
But things aren't much easier on the changelings who take the child's place. If they are discovered, in the past, the changelings have been killed or their family members have gone mad from the strain.
They must carry a secret with them for the rest of their lives. It is as a lonely an existence as the changeling group separated from humanity in the forest.
I enjoyed this story. Keith Donohue has a way with making the fantastical seem real and the miraculous into the mundane.
But that ending. It didn't complete the excellent characters and storyline Donohue had constructed, in my mind.
Recommended for those who like to read modern fairy tales. Just don't expect a life-changing finale.
The Stolen Child is the story of a changeling and the boy whose place he took, Henry Day.
The chapters alternate between the real Henry Day and the false Henry Day. It is a captivating story about magic, family and belonging.
"This is my confession, too long delayed, which I have been afraid to make, and only now reveal because of the passing dangers to my own son. We change. I have changed."
It also addresses the issues of the modern world and how technology and humanity has driven nature into corners.
The changelings are basically immortal children (but they can die through accidents) who live in the woods until their turn comes to rejoin the human world. Years before, they were all ripped from their families and made a part of the same group their replacement just deserted.
Their world is brutal, cold and always on the verge of collapse. One of their only rules is they don't discuss a new changeling's prior life during his new one.
The adjustment period from human to changeling is difficult enough without keeping the memories alive through the long years of their unchanging childhood.
But things aren't much easier on the changelings who take the child's place. If they are discovered, in the past, the changelings have been killed or their family members have gone mad from the strain.
They must carry a secret with them for the rest of their lives. It is as a lonely an existence as the changeling group separated from humanity in the forest.
I enjoyed this story. Keith Donohue has a way with making the fantastical seem real and the miraculous into the mundane.
But that ending. It didn't complete the excellent characters and storyline Donohue had constructed, in my mind.
Recommended for those who like to read modern fairy tales. Just don't expect a life-changing finale.
August 29, 2013
Feeling ignored and tired of his infant twin sisters getting all of the attention, young Henry Day decided to run away one day in the 1940's. Henry never returned home; in fact, he ceased to exist, but no one noticed. Why? Henry was abducted by the hobgoblins who lived in the nearby forest and a changeling was left in his place--a changeling who had been studying everything about Henry and knew how to mimic him so perfectly that no one could tell the difference. The Stolen Child follows the boy and the changeling for the next 30 to 40 years and tells their story in alternating first person narratives that, in the beginning, are a little confusing, but rightly so as both children are confused about their identities as they each adapt to their new world. Their lives run parallel to one another and occasionally intersect to disastrous results.
A friend of mine described this book as "melancholy," and I think that's the perfect adjective to sum up my feelings after reading this book. For one, the changelings are not villains. They are all children who had their lives stolen from them and are now biding their time until they can reclaim what was forcefully and brutally taken from them. As a result, I feel sorry for both Aniday (the name given to Henry after he becomes one of the changelings) and Gustav (the changeling who takes Henry's place). Often in a fantasy, you get the joy of hating the evil-doer or the monster lurking in the dark, but here the evil is something nebulous and never clearly defined. I think this is partially due to the allegorical nature of the plot. In a sense, life is the monster in that it's a force of nature that can't be stopped or reasoned with. For each of us, our childhood must eventually end and, as children, we often can't wait to grow up and find out who and what we'll be. To do so, we have to cut ourselves away from the child we were so that we can embrace the adult we'll become. We leave a "changeling"--a collection of memories, childish desires, and emotions that revisit us throughout our lives, but the child version of ourselves is like a stranger we once knew.
Also, as we get older, many of us look back on the innocence of childhood with a sense of nostalgia and think, if only upon occasion, "if only I could go back" or "wouldn't it be great to be a child forever?" The answer provided by Donohue is no; that the romantic view of childhood is just that--the tinge of rose-colored glasses. The changelings are not The Wild Boys; sure they are given to fun, frivolity, and mischief, but theirs is not a life to be envied. It is a constant struggle for survival against the harsh elements and the encroachment of man as civilization and suburbia threaten the wilderness where they are able to secret themselves away. They long to grow up and are trapped in tiny bodies while their emotional and mental maturity continues, unimpeded. They wait and they yearn and they think about all they will never have and all they will never be.
In presenting the changeling myth for modern times, Donohue has given us a haunting and beautiful examination of childhood and the search for identity. And he has done so in humanity’s most enduring medium: that of myth.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder and at Shelf Inflicted
A friend of mine described this book as "melancholy," and I think that's the perfect adjective to sum up my feelings after reading this book. For one, the changelings are not villains. They are all children who had their lives stolen from them and are now biding their time until they can reclaim what was forcefully and brutally taken from them. As a result, I feel sorry for both Aniday (the name given to Henry after he becomes one of the changelings) and Gustav (the changeling who takes Henry's place). Often in a fantasy, you get the joy of hating the evil-doer or the monster lurking in the dark, but here the evil is something nebulous and never clearly defined. I think this is partially due to the allegorical nature of the plot. In a sense, life is the monster in that it's a force of nature that can't be stopped or reasoned with. For each of us, our childhood must eventually end and, as children, we often can't wait to grow up and find out who and what we'll be. To do so, we have to cut ourselves away from the child we were so that we can embrace the adult we'll become. We leave a "changeling"--a collection of memories, childish desires, and emotions that revisit us throughout our lives, but the child version of ourselves is like a stranger we once knew.
Also, as we get older, many of us look back on the innocence of childhood with a sense of nostalgia and think, if only upon occasion, "if only I could go back" or "wouldn't it be great to be a child forever?" The answer provided by Donohue is no; that the romantic view of childhood is just that--the tinge of rose-colored glasses. The changelings are not The Wild Boys; sure they are given to fun, frivolity, and mischief, but theirs is not a life to be envied. It is a constant struggle for survival against the harsh elements and the encroachment of man as civilization and suburbia threaten the wilderness where they are able to secret themselves away. They long to grow up and are trapped in tiny bodies while their emotional and mental maturity continues, unimpeded. They wait and they yearn and they think about all they will never have and all they will never be.
In presenting the changeling myth for modern times, Donohue has given us a haunting and beautiful examination of childhood and the search for identity. And he has done so in humanity’s most enduring medium: that of myth.
Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder and at Shelf Inflicted
March 21, 2009
I am a big fan of literature that retell or reconfigure old myths and fairy tales especially if the author can bring it into a modern setting and so I really liked the concept of The Stolen Child, a modern adaptation of the changling myth in which the fairies steal away a human child and replace it with one of their own. With all this to its credit, I should have enjoyed this book more than I did.
The Stolen Child is based on the poem by Yeats where the fairies lure a human child away from the care-filled world of the humans to live in the idyllic world of the fairies. But in the book, there is no lure. It is simple abduction and the life of the hobgoblin tribe is feral, hard and misreable, which each member trying desperatly to get back to the human world. But their efforts to do so are constrained by arbitrary rules that are never explained or put into context. These rules start out being followed and enforced as if they were of life and death importance but later get abandoned or ignored with little fanfare or consequences. The tone of the book was more like an alien abduction story than something ancient and fairy tale-ish. It may be a matter of taste but I think that if you are going to draw on Old World mythology, there should be some Old World flavor and foundations to your story.
The mirrored quests by both the changling and the abducted boy to recall and reconcile their identities had its interesting points but overall, I would have preferred a little more attention to the mythology of the world and a little less angst.
The mirrored quests by both the changling and the abducted boy to recall and reconcile their identities had its interesting points but overall, I would have preferred a little more attention to the mythology of the world and a little less angst.
The Stolen Child is based on the poem by Yeats where the fairies lure a human child away from the care-filled world of the humans to live in the idyllic world of the fairies. But in the book, there is no lure. It is simple abduction and the life of the hobgoblin tribe is feral, hard and misreable, which each member trying desperatly to get back to the human world. But their efforts to do so are constrained by arbitrary rules that are never explained or put into context. These rules start out being followed and enforced as if they were of life and death importance but later get abandoned or ignored with little fanfare or consequences. The tone of the book was more like an alien abduction story than something ancient and fairy tale-ish. It may be a matter of taste but I think that if you are going to draw on Old World mythology, there should be some Old World flavor and foundations to your story.
The mirrored quests by both the changling and the abducted boy to recall and reconcile their identities had its interesting points but overall, I would have preferred a little more attention to the mythology of the world and a little less angst.
The mirrored quests by both the changling and the abducted boy to recall and reconcile their identities had its interesting points but overall, I would have preferred a little more attention to the mythology of the world and a little less angst.
June 12, 2007
The Stolen Child, which takes its name and inspiration from the Yeats poem, tells the story of two characters: Aniday is a human child who is stolen by changelings and lives in their world, and Henry Day is the changeling who takes his place and grows up in the real world. Both spend the next few decades struggling with their identities, as neither is at peace with the change.
The format is interesting; every other chapter flips between the two narrators. Both speak in the first person, but it is easy to grasp whose story is being told at the moment. In case there is any confusion, Aniday's side always has a small graphic of a forest at the beginning of the chapter.
Although I finished reading this about a month ago, it took me a long time to decide how I felt about it. Amazon.com promoted the hell out of it (supposedly on its merits, rather than monetary incentives from the publisher) and professional reviews were hailing it as one of the best books of the year, but it left me a little cold. This is probably because most of the characters spend the majority of the story being so unhappy and conflicted. The resolution helps them find some peace, but it's definitely not the Feel-Good Story of the Year.
As I was browsing through Amazon.com reviews after finishing it, I noticed that one of the bigger complaints was that it doesn't explain more about how the changelings turned into humans, why they exist, where the first changelings came from, etc. I thought the level of explanation in the book was satisfactory, since it's essentially a fairy tale. No one ever demands to know how a kiss woke Sleeping Beauty up.
One thing I did think needed more explanation was Aniday's obsession with who had taken his place in the real world. None of the other changelings seemed to have similar issues, and they all encouraged him to forget his past. They had other issues, such as longing to re-enter the real world, but no hang-ups about their histories. Nothing seems to explain why Aniday kept obsessing while the others were able to forget.
The Stolen Child is very well-written and approaches the changeling tale from an interesting angle, but it never made me care for the characters too much. I will definitely look into Keith Donohue's next novel, if he writes one; I think he would do well with a story that's a little less depressing.
The format is interesting; every other chapter flips between the two narrators. Both speak in the first person, but it is easy to grasp whose story is being told at the moment. In case there is any confusion, Aniday's side always has a small graphic of a forest at the beginning of the chapter.
Although I finished reading this about a month ago, it took me a long time to decide how I felt about it. Amazon.com promoted the hell out of it (supposedly on its merits, rather than monetary incentives from the publisher) and professional reviews were hailing it as one of the best books of the year, but it left me a little cold. This is probably because most of the characters spend the majority of the story being so unhappy and conflicted. The resolution helps them find some peace, but it's definitely not the Feel-Good Story of the Year.
As I was browsing through Amazon.com reviews after finishing it, I noticed that one of the bigger complaints was that it doesn't explain more about how the changelings turned into humans, why they exist, where the first changelings came from, etc. I thought the level of explanation in the book was satisfactory, since it's essentially a fairy tale. No one ever demands to know how a kiss woke Sleeping Beauty up.
One thing I did think needed more explanation was Aniday's obsession with who had taken his place in the real world. None of the other changelings seemed to have similar issues, and they all encouraged him to forget his past. They had other issues, such as longing to re-enter the real world, but no hang-ups about their histories. Nothing seems to explain why Aniday kept obsessing while the others were able to forget.
The Stolen Child is very well-written and approaches the changeling tale from an interesting angle, but it never made me care for the characters too much. I will definitely look into Keith Donohue's next novel, if he writes one; I think he would do well with a story that's a little less depressing.
December 11, 2008
This is a strange, sad and beautiful novel inspired by W.B. Yeats poem "The Stolen Child" (1889) about chageling faeries. I vaguely remember reading about the Irish myths when I was younger. Interestingly, the novel touches on rational explanations for changelings: "failure to thrive," physical deformities, or mental illness in children. But Donohue's novel is about loneliness, the search for identity and belonging.
There are two narrators telling two intertwined stories - one adult trying to remember his "stolen" childhood and one child trapped in time at age seven - interlocking like a Celtic knot. Both fantasy and emotion are understated - yet powerfully delivered. Charming, rare and engrossing
There are two narrators telling two intertwined stories - one adult trying to remember his "stolen" childhood and one child trapped in time at age seven - interlocking like a Celtic knot. Both fantasy and emotion are understated - yet powerfully delivered. Charming, rare and engrossing
May 1, 2016
I really liked the premise; fairies steal forlorn, lonely children and replace them with themselves. The stolen children don't die, they become fairies who then have to wait hundreds of years to repeat the process. Every other chapter is told by the stolen child and then his replacement over many years of their lives. All-in-all I enjoyed this but it was a bit of a slow mover, took me a couple of weeks to finish. This is the author's debut so I would be willing to read more of his work as he hones his skill.
August 18, 2009
Remember that film Prelude to a Kiss? Meg Ryan gets kissed by an old man, and they swap bodies. She's stuck in his decrepit aging body and he's in her young lithe one. This book is Meg Ryan after the switcheroo.
The book looks like a pretty, fluffy urban fantasy: It is after all a story of a fairy changeling who switches places with a young boy. The changeling becomes Henry Day and grows up in his place; the young boy loses his name and becomes Aniday. But that's only its Meg Ryan surface. Inside, it's a grumpy old man contemporary fiction book called The Stolen Childhood.
The thing is, once the switcheroo takes place, magic plays little or no part at all. Other than the fact of Aniday being a changeling, he and his band of LostBoys Children could well be any bunch of grubby kids growing up wild in the forest or on the streets. As for the changeling that took his place, once an ordinary boy, he loses his changeling powers and grows to become an ordinary man.
In this, it shares another similarity with Prelude to a Kiss: the magic that allows the changelings to change form and never age, the whole idea of changelings itself, is never explored: it's just the vehicle that Donohue uses to explore the very human question of having to come to terms with your past to create a future. Unfortunately, he drops this clanking clue of his intent right in the middle of the story when he has a professor of myths tell us how the myth of the changeling was actually a way for medieval parents to get rid of a child too weak, deformed or puny by demonizing it as not their own but an "other".
So, what we get is a tale about how each copes with having lost his original childhood, and how each tries to recover the past. Aniday's tale could well be the tale of a child that runs away from home and survives on his own; Henry Day bis's is as much the story of a man struggling to deal with childhood issues of abandonment and abuse. For what it is, it is enjoyable enough and the intertwined stories of the two are movingly explored.
Would I recommend it? Yes, but if you're expecting Meg Ryan, you're gonna be plenty shocked when grumpy old man shows up instead.
The book looks like a pretty, fluffy urban fantasy: It is after all a story of a fairy changeling who switches places with a young boy. The changeling becomes Henry Day and grows up in his place; the young boy loses his name and becomes Aniday. But that's only its Meg Ryan surface. Inside, it's a grumpy old man contemporary fiction book called The Stolen Childhood.
The thing is, once the switcheroo takes place, magic plays little or no part at all. Other than the fact of Aniday being a changeling, he and his band of Lost
In this, it shares another similarity with Prelude to a Kiss: the magic that allows the changelings to change form and never age, the whole idea of changelings itself, is never explored: it's just the vehicle that Donohue uses to explore the very human question of having to come to terms with your past to create a future. Unfortunately, he drops this clanking clue of his intent right in the middle of the story when he has a professor of myths tell us how the myth of the changeling was actually a way for medieval parents to get rid of a child too weak, deformed or puny by demonizing it as not their own but an "other".
So, what we get is a tale about how each copes with having lost his original childhood, and how each tries to recover the past. Aniday's tale could well be the tale of a child that runs away from home and survives on his own; Henry Day bis's is as much the story of a man struggling to deal with childhood issues of abandonment and abuse. For what it is, it is enjoyable enough and the intertwined stories of the two are movingly explored.
Would I recommend it? Yes, but if you're expecting Meg Ryan, you're gonna be plenty shocked when grumpy old man shows up instead.
July 25, 2020
4,5, praticamente perfeito em todos os sentidos.
uma história linda, dolorida, sobre um menino e um changeling - um tipo de goblin que troca de lugar com uma criança e rouba a vida dela. Os changelings, ou hobgoblins, são comumente retratados como vilões no folclore irlandês. esse livro traz a perspectiva deliciosa e triste de um changeling como protagonista e tudo que ele viveu como criatura mágica, ao mesmo tempo que vemos Henry Day, um menino americano comum, se tornando lentamente uma criatura mágica. infância, crescimento, tristeza, inseguranças... tá tudo aí e é muito real.
possivelmente, um livro sobre o qual vou pensar bastante ainda. obrigada pela indicação excelente, Rob Fideli! :)
uma história linda, dolorida, sobre um menino e um changeling - um tipo de goblin que troca de lugar com uma criança e rouba a vida dela. Os changelings, ou hobgoblins, são comumente retratados como vilões no folclore irlandês. esse livro traz a perspectiva deliciosa e triste de um changeling como protagonista e tudo que ele viveu como criatura mágica, ao mesmo tempo que vemos Henry Day, um menino americano comum, se tornando lentamente uma criatura mágica. infância, crescimento, tristeza, inseguranças... tá tudo aí e é muito real.
possivelmente, um livro sobre o qual vou pensar bastante ainda. obrigada pela indicação excelente, Rob Fideli! :)
July 31, 2008
What a FABULOUS book - great narrative, beautifully written, utterly captivating, a highly intelligent novel. After reading that abysmal Ken Follett book (Pillars of the Earth), I really felt like I needed something to cleanse me of that dross. Since every review I read about this book pointed towards the positive, I gave it a shot. And what a surprise - I was so completely drawn to it that I finished it in 2 days. I couldn't put it down. In fact, I didn't want it to end. I kept going back to certain passages in the text, trying to prolong the story, all the while reinforcing my understanding of these characters and their experiences.
Donoghue is one of those gifted writers - for his first effort as a novelist, this work was just absolutely wondrous. He wrote simply but effectively; he didn't have to resort to outlandish drama or hyperbole. No elaborate plot twists, no florid writing. Just simple storytelling, honest, sometimes raw, drawing on emotions both primitive and complex. He didn't have a need to spell everything out or to tie everything neatly into one square package (he may actually be one of those writers who truly believes that not every particular in a story has to be explained - that mysteries serve a purpose, and that some mysteries are better left undiscovered). Most importantly, he made no assumptions of the reader (I really hate it when writers dumb things down to appeal to all readers, or are so disdainful of "regular" readers that they ostracize them with their condescending tones and know-it-all attitudes) - he just wrote.
It was highly literary - no more so than when two of the changelings discover the library and the wonders within - but it was also accessible. There was enough explanatory material that you didn't feel like you were hobbled by what you didn't know. The corollary to that is also true: that if you did know a good amount about any of the topics in the story, that there was still something you could learn. The entire narrative was a study in dichotomies: the weaving of the two stories, the two different points of views, mortal vs. immortal, young vs. old, wild vs. civilized. The narrative was the epitome of the yin-yang. After all, these two stolen children made up one person, one complementing the other, each one incomplete until their stories and lives commingled at the end. By that point, each one was ready to move on, having accepted their natures and the roles they played in each other's lives.
Donoghue is one of those gifted writers - for his first effort as a novelist, this work was just absolutely wondrous. He wrote simply but effectively; he didn't have to resort to outlandish drama or hyperbole. No elaborate plot twists, no florid writing. Just simple storytelling, honest, sometimes raw, drawing on emotions both primitive and complex. He didn't have a need to spell everything out or to tie everything neatly into one square package (he may actually be one of those writers who truly believes that not every particular in a story has to be explained - that mysteries serve a purpose, and that some mysteries are better left undiscovered). Most importantly, he made no assumptions of the reader (I really hate it when writers dumb things down to appeal to all readers, or are so disdainful of "regular" readers that they ostracize them with their condescending tones and know-it-all attitudes) - he just wrote.
It was highly literary - no more so than when two of the changelings discover the library and the wonders within - but it was also accessible. There was enough explanatory material that you didn't feel like you were hobbled by what you didn't know. The corollary to that is also true: that if you did know a good amount about any of the topics in the story, that there was still something you could learn. The entire narrative was a study in dichotomies: the weaving of the two stories, the two different points of views, mortal vs. immortal, young vs. old, wild vs. civilized. The narrative was the epitome of the yin-yang. After all, these two stolen children made up one person, one complementing the other, each one incomplete until their stories and lives commingled at the end. By that point, each one was ready to move on, having accepted their natures and the roles they played in each other's lives.
July 12, 2007
I really enjoy books that are "different" and tell the story well. The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue is one of those books. It's the changeling story, a tale that is not new or different at all. Henry Day, a 7 year old boy, runs away from home one day and goes into the woods. He falls asleep and awakens to find himself being kidnapped by a troup of faeries that call him "Aniday". Meanwhile, another child--one who used to be a faery and has now molded his features to match Henry's exactly--goes "home" to take Henry's place.
Here is what I meant by the book being "different":
The new Henry and Aniday narrate the story in alternating chapters. Henry is angry, resentful and fearful of his old troup, calling them "hobgoblin" and "monsters". He is trying to learn how to be the boy who once lived in the house but there are differences that threaten to give him away and raise suspicions amongst family members. He is plagued with flashes of memory to the time he himself was taken by the faeries.
Through Aniday, we learn that there is a structure and a method to the madness of these faeries. There's a hierarchy about who leads and who gets to be the changeling next. They don't just choose any child. The child they decide upon has to be observed for a year and there are rituals to follow. At first Aniday misses his family but as he realizes he can never go back he becomes resigned and learns the ways of his troup. He makes good friends with one of them, Speck, and begins a rudimentary written account of his life with the faeries. Like the new Henry, he has flashes of memory and sometimes resentment against he who took his place.
The years go by. The new Henry grows up and the world changes. The environment is not especially friendly toward the faery troup anymore and they meet with several tragedies. Henry traces the memories of his first life back to Europe and actually finds his identity.
Inevitably, Henry and Aniday meet again. Henry now has a 7 year old son. He is tormented by his past life, his life in the woods and what he's done to Aniday. Does that make the son vulnerable to being kidnapped by what's left of the troup? Does Aniday have vengeance on his mind?
Read to find out! I was hooked right from the first page!
Here is what I meant by the book being "different":
The new Henry and Aniday narrate the story in alternating chapters. Henry is angry, resentful and fearful of his old troup, calling them "hobgoblin" and "monsters". He is trying to learn how to be the boy who once lived in the house but there are differences that threaten to give him away and raise suspicions amongst family members. He is plagued with flashes of memory to the time he himself was taken by the faeries.
Through Aniday, we learn that there is a structure and a method to the madness of these faeries. There's a hierarchy about who leads and who gets to be the changeling next. They don't just choose any child. The child they decide upon has to be observed for a year and there are rituals to follow. At first Aniday misses his family but as he realizes he can never go back he becomes resigned and learns the ways of his troup. He makes good friends with one of them, Speck, and begins a rudimentary written account of his life with the faeries. Like the new Henry, he has flashes of memory and sometimes resentment against he who took his place.
The years go by. The new Henry grows up and the world changes. The environment is not especially friendly toward the faery troup anymore and they meet with several tragedies. Henry traces the memories of his first life back to Europe and actually finds his identity.
Inevitably, Henry and Aniday meet again. Henry now has a 7 year old son. He is tormented by his past life, his life in the woods and what he's done to Aniday. Does that make the son vulnerable to being kidnapped by what's left of the troup? Does Aniday have vengeance on his mind?
Read to find out! I was hooked right from the first page!
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
May 9, 2012It's probably not really the book's fault -- the writing wasn't bad, even if it didn't do a good job of grabbing me -- but I just couldn't get into this one. I kept it on my shelf at work for months, but always found something else to read instead. Now that I'm really into the book I'm currently reading on my lunch breaks and have another queued up, I figured it was time to throw in the towel on this one.
I feel a little guilty about it, and am not sure I gave it a really fair chance. If anyone else read it and really liked it, give me a prod to go back and try it again.
I feel a little guilty about it, and am not sure I gave it a really fair chance. If anyone else read it and really liked it, give me a prod to go back and try it again.
June 6, 2008
I don't exactly know what I was expecting from this book - perhaps something more along the tropes of fantasy that I am used to... certainly not this psycho-drama with a thin veneer of fantasy...
I don't really understand how this book relates to the poem from whence its name comes aside from the obvious - yes, the boy is a changeling. But the poem has such promise for the faery world, at least I always thought it did - afterall, the faeries are taking the child away from a world full of weeping. It always implied to me that they were taking him to a place that was better and beautiful. Oh, of course the fae world has its sinister dark side, as all the faeries stories will tell you - but it also has revelries and magic... fun things, adventurous things - things which this book is severely lacking...
In this book a changeling switches places with a miserable child so that the child can be a miserable changeling and the changeling can be a miserable person. How wonderful...
Perhaps I wouldn't have been so disappointed in the exploration of the themes presented in the book if I hadn't have been expecting something so utterly different from what I got... perhaps if I went into this book knowing it was more psychodrama and less fantasy story I wouldn't have hated it so much...
On the other hand, maybe I still would have had trouble really caring about any of the characters and maybe I still would have found the whole thing so deadfully boring. I suppose I'll never know, because I certainly won't ever be reading it again - it was a chore getting through it the first time. Ugh!
I don't really understand how this book relates to the poem from whence its name comes aside from the obvious - yes, the boy is a changeling. But the poem has such promise for the faery world, at least I always thought it did - afterall, the faeries are taking the child away from a world full of weeping. It always implied to me that they were taking him to a place that was better and beautiful. Oh, of course the fae world has its sinister dark side, as all the faeries stories will tell you - but it also has revelries and magic... fun things, adventurous things - things which this book is severely lacking...
In this book a changeling switches places with a miserable child so that the child can be a miserable changeling and the changeling can be a miserable person. How wonderful...
Perhaps I wouldn't have been so disappointed in the exploration of the themes presented in the book if I hadn't have been expecting something so utterly different from what I got... perhaps if I went into this book knowing it was more psychodrama and less fantasy story I wouldn't have hated it so much...
On the other hand, maybe I still would have had trouble really caring about any of the characters and maybe I still would have found the whole thing so deadfully boring. I suppose I'll never know, because I certainly won't ever be reading it again - it was a chore getting through it the first time. Ugh!
March 23, 2016
7 year old Henry Day runs away from home, hides in a hollow tree and is taken by changelings. He becomes Aniday and the changeling who takes his place becomes Henry. The book follows both their stories, skillfully interwoven, over the years. The new Henry has memories of his first human life, of playing the piano, and insists on taking lessons, showing tremendous talent from the beginning. Aniday quickly forgets his life as Henry, and struggles to learn who he was before he was taken. A wonderful, at times heart-breaking, book.
November 18, 2018
I've heard the myth of the changeling before-- some version of fairy that snatch away unwary children and replace them with their own fey kind. This is different, in that in alternating chapters, the child that is taken and the fae that replaces him tell their story. It's a sort of hauntingly beautiful piece with themes that include identity, belonging, love, and life's passion. In a bit sure to appeal to almost all readers, one of the favored hiding places by some of the magical creatures is a crawlspace under a public library. Who hasn't at least daydreamed about being able to spend hours alone in a place like that? I'm betting it's not just me.
The human family with their changeling undergo all sorts of trials as they grow, and the fae child grows, struggles to fit in, and find a purpose for his stolen life. The human child among the fae must learn how this strange hidden world works, and what his place is in it. Both try and find love, with varying degrees of success. Their worlds and lives intersect more and more often as events come a head.
I don't think I've ever even heard of a story that moves back and forth between both sides of these worlds, let alone so effortlessly and interestingly. I really enjoyed this story.
The human family with their changeling undergo all sorts of trials as they grow, and the fae child grows, struggles to fit in, and find a purpose for his stolen life. The human child among the fae must learn how this strange hidden world works, and what his place is in it. Both try and find love, with varying degrees of success. Their worlds and lives intersect more and more often as events come a head.
I don't think I've ever even heard of a story that moves back and forth between both sides of these worlds, let alone so effortlessly and interestingly. I really enjoyed this story.
October 25, 2012
When I told friends that I was reading a fantastic novel about hobgoblins who steal children and replace the kidnapped kids with members of their own tribe, I got what you might expect -- that's creepy. Or, really?
But it's true. This book, which I had snagged based on good reviews and only picked up recently, is a marvel. Set in the Pittsburgh area, it tells the story of Henry Day, a grade school boy who is none too sure he likes having younger twin sisters on the day he decides to "run away." Unbeknownst to him, a band of changelings who live in the forest around his small outlying town have been keeping track of him. It is their tradition to allow the oldest in their band, who may have spent a century as a fairy, to reshape himself or herself into the likeness of a human child and then replace that child.
That is what happens to Henry, who becomes part of the changeling band, and to the oldest changeling, who enters Henry's family, which accepts him as their own, despite certain noticeable strangenesses, including his sudden precocious musical ability. There is a reason for that ability, having to do with the new Henry's former life as a human child.
The book alternates between chapters of the old Henry and the new one, and each culture and narrative are so utterly believable that I no longer thought of this as a bizarre fantasy, but a real possibility.
More than that, the novel explores deeply what it means to be human, and what it means to love and have relationships. The changelings may live almost as wild animals, never age, and steal from the humans, but their desire for intimacy and a future of hope is no less intense than among the humans.
And to add tension to the book, the new Henry eventually marries and has a child of his own -- and the changelings know about it.
This is a flat out marvelous first novel, so unusual and yet so pitch-perfect.
December 10, 2008
Here as a ring.
Very strange book... not quite sure why I didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. While I was reading it I was intrigued by the fairy tale for adults aspect, but that isn't what would bother me - if anything I felt it didn't go far enough. The switching between the two characters chapter after chapter was effective, but perhaps due to the amnesia they suffered from, everything seemed to stay very superficial and hazy. Even the dramatic events and discoveries (the abduction, the encounter with Brian, learning about the idiot child, just to name a few) seem remote, as though observed through the wrong end of a set of binoculars. All that is not said between the characters (Aniday and Speck, Harry and Tess) ends up having a very numbing effect, so that by the end the reader (or at least I) felt wrapped in cobweb, ready to be submerged as Harry Day was in the beginning.
Very strange book... not quite sure why I didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. While I was reading it I was intrigued by the fairy tale for adults aspect, but that isn't what would bother me - if anything I felt it didn't go far enough. The switching between the two characters chapter after chapter was effective, but perhaps due to the amnesia they suffered from, everything seemed to stay very superficial and hazy. Even the dramatic events and discoveries (the abduction, the encounter with Brian, learning about the idiot child, just to name a few) seem remote, as though observed through the wrong end of a set of binoculars. All that is not said between the characters (Aniday and Speck, Harry and Tess) ends up having a very numbing effect, so that by the end the reader (or at least I) felt wrapped in cobweb, ready to be submerged as Harry Day was in the beginning.
March 19, 2017
Follows the lives of a changeling and the child whose place the changeling took, in alternating chapters.
I enjoyed this one a good deal, although I don't think it will stay with me for long. The stories were well constructed, and nicely tied together, but it seemed to drag along in a few places.
I enjoyed this one a good deal, although I don't think it will stay with me for long. The stories were well constructed, and nicely tied together, but it seemed to drag along in a few places.
February 25, 2008
An alternate coming-of-age novel, The Stolen Child is a fairy tale for adults. Henry Day runs away at a young age and finds himself abducted by hobgoblins in the woods near his home. In his place returns a changeling, one of the hobgoblins who has waited his turn for centuries in order to live as a real child, to grow up. Henry Day, in the meantime, is brought into the hobgoblins' world and becomes one of them. The stories of the real Henry-Day-turned-hobgoblin (renamed Aniday) and hobgoblin-turned-Henry-Day are intertwined as the two search for their true identities in their new lives. As time passes and each discover friendship and love, they grow closer to finding out their true natures and risk destroying what each of them have come to know as reality.
Possibly one of the best books I have read recently. For a debut novel I am highly impressed. It seems Donohue had this story rattling around upstairs for quite some time and spent considerablt time working the fine details. His characters are well-rounded and easily accessible. By nature it is hard to imagine a group of hobgoblins as being interesting or sympathetic characters, but Donohue manages this beautifully. Aniday is unable to lose the empathy of a human child, and his friendship with little Speck is truly adorable. Mirrored in the humans, the grown-up Henry Day falls in love with Tess and their relationship is equally endearing. As their relationship grows and they bring a child of their own into the world, Henry Day is overcome with memories of his background, prior to becoming a hobgoblin himself, and his life is consumed with fear of his former friends coming after his new-born son.
The story brings to light the passage of time, how perspectives change from childhood to adulthood, how mystery and magic can still live around every corner if one just keeps one's eyes fixed, and (on a personal level) how awesome it would be to hide beneath a library and read all of the books unbeknownst to the regular patrons.
Of note: The author lived his early years in Pittsburgh before moving to Maryland - there are local references throughout the book, and even a jaunt to what was still considered Czechoslovakia. All in all a completely perfect read for me.
Possibly one of the best books I have read recently. For a debut novel I am highly impressed. It seems Donohue had this story rattling around upstairs for quite some time and spent considerablt time working the fine details. His characters are well-rounded and easily accessible. By nature it is hard to imagine a group of hobgoblins as being interesting or sympathetic characters, but Donohue manages this beautifully. Aniday is unable to lose the empathy of a human child, and his friendship with little Speck is truly adorable. Mirrored in the humans, the grown-up Henry Day falls in love with Tess and their relationship is equally endearing. As their relationship grows and they bring a child of their own into the world, Henry Day is overcome with memories of his background, prior to becoming a hobgoblin himself, and his life is consumed with fear of his former friends coming after his new-born son.
The story brings to light the passage of time, how perspectives change from childhood to adulthood, how mystery and magic can still live around every corner if one just keeps one's eyes fixed, and (on a personal level) how awesome it would be to hide beneath a library and read all of the books unbeknownst to the regular patrons.
Of note: The author lived his early years in Pittsburgh before moving to Maryland - there are local references throughout the book, and even a jaunt to what was still considered Czechoslovakia. All in all a completely perfect read for me.
November 7, 2015
**SPOILER FREE REVIEW**
What an unexpected read. I can't even remember what i was expecting when i was first intrigued by it on amazon's urging that i would love it based on another book i bought a while ago. But what i found inside its pages was not that. And at first i was disappointed because i just could not get into it, breaking into the first 50 pages was a back and forth struggle between excitement and boredom, but now that i have finished it and go back to look through it again i cannot fathom why.
The juxtaposition of Aniday's story against "Henry Day's" was most compelling of all about this book. Especially since Keith Donohue did not parallel their time or experiences. Two days could have gone by for Aniday while we could be three years into Henry Day's story in the next chapter. Yet there would still exist that thread of connection between the two characters, that goes far beyond being the same person in two very different lives. It was expertly done without confusing the reader. I love the story as well, at first i hated the impostor Henry, but in time understanding and even sympathy replaced that feeling. Both their inner-struggles to remember who they once were was tremendously sad.
This is a wonderful tale, i don't know if i would call it a "fairytale for adults" like most people have described it, but it was hard for me to wrap my head around the concept without asking what if this could truly happen in our world today, (like little kids must wonder when reading fairytales)that would be a scary world. This is not the fairytale where dreams come true or the princess gets swept off her feet but prince charming. I promise the fairies in this tale are more human that myth.
What an unexpected read. I can't even remember what i was expecting when i was first intrigued by it on amazon's urging that i would love it based on another book i bought a while ago. But what i found inside its pages was not that. And at first i was disappointed because i just could not get into it, breaking into the first 50 pages was a back and forth struggle between excitement and boredom, but now that i have finished it and go back to look through it again i cannot fathom why.
The juxtaposition of Aniday's story against "Henry Day's" was most compelling of all about this book. Especially since Keith Donohue did not parallel their time or experiences. Two days could have gone by for Aniday while we could be three years into Henry Day's story in the next chapter. Yet there would still exist that thread of connection between the two characters, that goes far beyond being the same person in two very different lives. It was expertly done without confusing the reader. I love the story as well, at first i hated the impostor Henry, but in time understanding and even sympathy replaced that feeling. Both their inner-struggles to remember who they once were was tremendously sad.
This is a wonderful tale, i don't know if i would call it a "fairytale for adults" like most people have described it, but it was hard for me to wrap my head around the concept without asking what if this could truly happen in our world today, (like little kids must wonder when reading fairytales)that would be a scary world. This is not the fairytale where dreams come true or the princess gets swept off her feet but prince charming. I promise the fairies in this tale are more human that myth.
October 21, 2009
Keith Donohue’s debut novel The Stolen Child has generated a lot of praise and interest in the publishing community. After hearing the near unanimous praise for the novel, I was intrigued enough to pick it up and give it a try myself.
And was pleasantly surprised by the story.
The Stolen Child is a fairy tale for adults about two boys, both kidnapped by hobgoblins. The hobgoblins will target and kidnap a child, taking him or her into their community (think the Lost Boys from Peter Pan) who live in the woods, never again but awaiting their chance to be re-introduced to our world. When Henry Day is taken, another hobgoblin morphs himself to look like Henry and takes his place. The story then unfolds from the first-person perspective of both Henry Days as they struggle to find their way back into their respective societies and families.
As their stories unfold, the lives of the two Henry Days slowly begin to intersect.
One of the fascinating things about the novel is the back and forth structure of the narrative. Each chapter is told by one of the two Henry Days, relating the events of his life to that point. Even without the visual clue of the hobgoblin taken Henry’s chapters having an image of the forest before each chapter begins, Donahue distinguishes each character by his voice.
The novel is a good one, along the lines of the Time Traveller’s Wife where a sci-fi or fantasy element is used more as a spring-board for the greater human-element to the story than actually exploring the fantasy implications. Donahue’s story is one that will hit home and tug on the heart strings at times, all while having you on the edge of your seat at others. It’s an entertaining, worthwhile, complex and fascinating fantasy story that I highly recommend.
And was pleasantly surprised by the story.
The Stolen Child is a fairy tale for adults about two boys, both kidnapped by hobgoblins. The hobgoblins will target and kidnap a child, taking him or her into their community (think the Lost Boys from Peter Pan) who live in the woods, never again but awaiting their chance to be re-introduced to our world. When Henry Day is taken, another hobgoblin morphs himself to look like Henry and takes his place. The story then unfolds from the first-person perspective of both Henry Days as they struggle to find their way back into their respective societies and families.
As their stories unfold, the lives of the two Henry Days slowly begin to intersect.
One of the fascinating things about the novel is the back and forth structure of the narrative. Each chapter is told by one of the two Henry Days, relating the events of his life to that point. Even without the visual clue of the hobgoblin taken Henry’s chapters having an image of the forest before each chapter begins, Donahue distinguishes each character by his voice.
The novel is a good one, along the lines of the Time Traveller’s Wife where a sci-fi or fantasy element is used more as a spring-board for the greater human-element to the story than actually exploring the fantasy implications. Donahue’s story is one that will hit home and tug on the heart strings at times, all while having you on the edge of your seat at others. It’s an entertaining, worthwhile, complex and fascinating fantasy story that I highly recommend.
June 23, 2007
I hope that Donohue writes more novels after this one because if they are as unique and well-written as The Stolen Child I will be first in line to read them. With The Stolen Child being his first novel Donohue definitely does not burst quietly on to the scene. The only problem he may encounter for any future novels is that he now has set the bar pretty high for himself now. A problem not uncommon in the writing world.
What drew me to this book was the unique storyline and I was not disappointed. Plot, characters, writing, you name it, were all fully developed and interesting. You find yourself drawn to both Henry's and liking them both equally, which was another thing I liked about the book, it didn't force you to choose one over the other.
At times the book did drag a bit, parts seemingly forced in to create a bridge between plot points or something. At least those bits weren't that long and I still wanted to continue reading.
The most remarkable thing about the novel were the changelings themselves. Trapped in the unaging bodies of children, they often act like kids, mischeivous, playful, but they also spoke and acted like adults, conversing sometimes like a group of people you would expect to find in wheelchairs at a nearby rest home. The combination was perfect, never seemed forced and always believable. Had it not been that way, I think the novel would have been awful.
But it wasn't, so yay! It was a good read. If you like folk lore and Lord of the Flies you'll more than likely like this book. Even if you don't like either I'd still suggest checking this book out, you may surprise yourself.
What drew me to this book was the unique storyline and I was not disappointed. Plot, characters, writing, you name it, were all fully developed and interesting. You find yourself drawn to both Henry's and liking them both equally, which was another thing I liked about the book, it didn't force you to choose one over the other.
At times the book did drag a bit, parts seemingly forced in to create a bridge between plot points or something. At least those bits weren't that long and I still wanted to continue reading.
The most remarkable thing about the novel were the changelings themselves. Trapped in the unaging bodies of children, they often act like kids, mischeivous, playful, but they also spoke and acted like adults, conversing sometimes like a group of people you would expect to find in wheelchairs at a nearby rest home. The combination was perfect, never seemed forced and always believable. Had it not been that way, I think the novel would have been awful.
But it wasn't, so yay! It was a good read. If you like folk lore and Lord of the Flies you'll more than likely like this book. Even if you don't like either I'd still suggest checking this book out, you may surprise yourself.
February 15, 2008
I read this book all in pretty much one day, which is a feat considering work and regular day-to-day life. It's been a while since I had done that, and I have yet to have been so engrossed in a book as I was with The Stolen Child.
I had found out about the novel on NPR, and it intrigued me, so I borrowed it from the library and pretty much devoured it on sight.
Since we have two viewpoints and two stories to tell, although they both are intertwined, I couldn't help but develop a favourite between Henry Day's character, and the "stolen child" Aniday, although both characters are and were stolen at one time or another. As Henry Day grew older, and was looking more into his past before he was taken, I grew less interested in his story, and more interested in Aniday's hobgoblin world and his eventual rejection and independence from the cycle, spurred by his affection for a fellow stolen child.
I waffled between a three-star and four-star rating with this one. I adored the book, but at the same time, I felt like Henry Day's story could have been a little different; it seemed a little too easy to get into his past. Aniday seemed the more interesting character after about the midpoint of the book, but perhaps if I read the book again, maybe I wouldn't feel the same after a second or third read.
In any case, if you're interested in magical realism or reinterpreted fairytales and lore, this book may be worth a shot. At the very least, it certainly read quickly in my case.
I had found out about the novel on NPR, and it intrigued me, so I borrowed it from the library and pretty much devoured it on sight.
Since we have two viewpoints and two stories to tell, although they both are intertwined, I couldn't help but develop a favourite between Henry Day's character, and the "stolen child" Aniday, although both characters are and were stolen at one time or another. As Henry Day grew older, and was looking more into his past before he was taken, I grew less interested in his story, and more interested in Aniday's hobgoblin world and his eventual rejection and independence from the cycle, spurred by his affection for a fellow stolen child.
I waffled between a three-star and four-star rating with this one. I adored the book, but at the same time, I felt like Henry Day's story could have been a little different; it seemed a little too easy to get into his past. Aniday seemed the more interesting character after about the midpoint of the book, but perhaps if I read the book again, maybe I wouldn't feel the same after a second or third read.
In any case, if you're interested in magical realism or reinterpreted fairytales and lore, this book may be worth a shot. At the very least, it certainly read quickly in my case.
May 15, 2015
Spoilers as always
I enjoyed how intertwined the storys were, like with Anaday winding up with McInes compositon book and Henry meeting McInes as an adult. All the characters are very flat, they just live thier lifes with no reasons for anything. If Igel did not want to switch, why did he not just say so and let the next changling go? I despised Beka, and then all of a sudden he stops being a womanizer. Yes, two of the four girls disapeared but he just stuck with Onions. No reasons. No part of the magic was explained or how the changlings started or why or how they chose the next child. Just they had to be unhappy. Overall it was not horrid just kinda flat and meh.
I enjoyed how intertwined the storys were, like with Anaday winding up with McInes compositon book and Henry meeting McInes as an adult. All the characters are very flat, they just live thier lifes with no reasons for anything. If Igel did not want to switch, why did he not just say so and let the next changling go? I despised Beka, and then all of a sudden he stops being a womanizer. Yes, two of the four girls disapeared but he just stuck with Onions. No reasons. No part of the magic was explained or how the changlings started or why or how they chose the next child. Just they had to be unhappy. Overall it was not horrid just kinda flat and meh.
October 10, 2014
Complex, and worth reading twice. Waffling between 4 and 5 stars because normally I don't go for the mood and feelings elicited by this book. He magically recreates some of the terror, rage, grief and despair of childhood but cocooned in fantasy and with such an absorbing plot and characters that you can wolf it down without self-analysis. It's unsettling and it would easily lead to insight. Five stars I'll give if a book changed my life or world view. I'm still mulling this one over, and it may be a life changer. Brilliant writing.
November 19, 2009
My first book.
November 9, 2021
Γενικώς δεν τα πάω καλά με τους μύθους και τις παραδόσεις.
Αλλά οφείλω να ομολογήσω ότι ενώ ξεκίνησα το βιβλίο με χαμηλές προσδοκίες, σύντομα αναθεώρησα.
Σίγουρα δεν ανήκει στα βιβλία που θα αγόραζα, το δέλεαρ του e-book όμως με έκανε να του δώσω μια ευκαιρία.
Ο συγγραφέας εμπνέεται από έναν μύθο σύμφωνα με τον οποίο ξωτικά ζουν στα δάση, αιώνια παιδιά, τα οποία κάποια στιγμή της αιωνιότητας κλάπηκαν και αντικαταστάθηκαν. Οι προσπάθειες τους έχουν να κάνουν πρώτα από όλα με την επιβίωση τους μακριά από τους ανθρώπους και μετά, με το να βρουν ένα τρόπο ώστε να αντικαταστήσουν ένα παιδί, κλέβοντας το και παίρνοντας τη θέση του.
Οδυνηρό, ήταν το πρώτο συναίσθημα που μου δημιουργήθηκε. Οδυνηρό και εφιαλτικό.
Παρακολουθούμε την ιστορία ενός κλεμμένου μικρούλη που περιπλανιέται πένης, πεινασμένος, εκδιωγμένος, αθώος, στα δάση και τις όχθες ποταμιών, αυτός και οι φίλοι του. Ενηλικιώνεται χωρίς να ενηλικιωθεί ποτέ, καταδικασμένος να ζει σε σώμα παιδιού και βιώνει στην πορεία το ζοφερό συναίσθημα της απώλειας των φίλων του. Είναι ένα ξωτικό.
Παράλληλα παρακολουθούμε τη ζωή ενός αντικαταστάτη, στον πραγματικό κόσμο. Τις ικανότητες που αναπτύσσει : της μίμησης, της ενηλικίωσης, του έρωτα, του προβληματισμού για το παρελθόν και το μέλλον του, των αποτυχιών του, τις αναζητήσεις του ...
Το τέλος εμπεριέχει την ελπίδα αλλά και το μαρτύριο της αιωνιότητας ...
Μου άρεσε το βιβλίο ... Το βρήκα ατμοσφαιρικό και αρκετά σκληρό ...
Κάπου φαινόταν μπερδεμένο, κάπου πλατείαζε, κάπου δημιουργούσε αγωνία ...
Αλλά ήταν ενδιαφέρον στην πλοκή και καλογραμμένο.
Σίγουρα ήταν ένα βιβλίο που με ακολούθησε αρκετές μέρες μετά και η ατμόσφαιρα του έκανε καιρό να υποχωρήσει από την καθημερινότητα μου.
3.5 αστεράκια
Αλλά οφείλω να ομολογήσω ότι ενώ ξεκίνησα το βιβλίο με χαμηλές προσδοκίες, σύντομα αναθεώρησα.
Σίγουρα δεν ανήκει στα βιβλία που θα αγόραζα, το δέλεαρ του e-book όμως με έκανε να του δώσω μια ευκαιρία.
Ο συγγραφέας εμπνέεται από έναν μύθο σύμφωνα με τον οποίο ξωτικά ζουν στα δάση, αιώνια παιδιά, τα οποία κάποια στιγμή της αιωνιότητας κλάπηκαν και αντικαταστάθηκαν. Οι προσπάθειες τους έχουν να κάνουν πρώτα από όλα με την επιβίωση τους μακριά από τους ανθρώπους και μετά, με το να βρουν ένα τρόπο ώστε να αντικαταστήσουν ένα παιδί, κλέβοντας το και παίρνοντας τη θέση του.
Οδυνηρό, ήταν το πρώτο συναίσθημα που μου δημιουργήθηκε. Οδυνηρό και εφιαλτικό.
Παρακολουθούμε την ιστορία ενός κλεμμένου μικρούλη που περιπλανιέται πένης, πεινασμένος, εκδιωγμένος, αθώος, στα δάση και τις όχθες ποταμιών, αυτός και οι φίλοι του. Ενηλικιώνεται χωρίς να ενηλικιωθεί ποτέ, καταδικασμένος να ζει σε σώμα παιδιού και βιώνει στην πορεία το ζοφερό συναίσθημα της απώλειας των φίλων του. Είναι ένα ξωτικό.
Παράλληλα παρακολουθούμε τη ζωή ενός αντικαταστάτη, στον πραγματικό κόσμο. Τις ικανότητες που αναπτύσσει : της μίμησης, της ενηλικίωσης, του έρωτα, του προβληματισμού για το παρελθόν και το μέλλον του, των αποτυχιών του, τις αναζητήσεις του ...
Το τέλος εμπεριέχει την ελπίδα αλλά και το μαρτύριο της αιωνιότητας ...
Μου άρεσε το βιβλίο ... Το βρήκα ατμοσφαιρικό και αρκετά σκληρό ...
Κάπου φαινόταν μπερδεμένο, κάπου πλατείαζε, κάπου δημιουργούσε αγωνία ...
Αλλά ήταν ενδιαφέρον στην πλοκή και καλογραμμένο.
Σίγουρα ήταν ένα βιβλίο που με ακολούθησε αρκετές μέρες μετά και η ατμόσφαιρα του έκανε καιρό να υποχωρήσει από την καθημερινότητα μου.
3.5 αστεράκια
March 7, 2019
4.5 stars
There seem to be a lot of different types of fantasy within the genre and not everything works for me. This one, based on a poem by Yeats and the changeling myth, certainly did.
This book was hauntingly beautiful. That’s the first thing I want to say about it. The writing flowed poetically with some deeply moving passages.
The story moved slowly and initially felt a bit sluggish. Although the pacing never increased, the rhythm felt appropriate as I continued on.
I was impressed with the subtle shocks the author threw into this book. I didn’t see anything coming and I may have even gasped a time or two. At one point, I had to stop and tell my husband about what had just happened because I was so surprised by it.
My only disappointments were the lack of development of Henry’s dad’s character, which I felt could have provided more power to the story, the indistinct voices of the two narrators, although the chapter separations made the storyteller clear, and the fact that it never really explained the purpose for the changeling. On that final count, I thought perhaps it was symbolic of a person’s inability to truly escape his discontent. But that wasn’t clear in the story. It may be better explained in the actual changeling myth. It’s something I’ll need to look into.
I loved this book even more that I’d expected to. It’s an unforgettable tale of love, loss, regret, and remorse, seen through two very different perspectives who cannot understand each other, though, in some way, they are the same.
There seem to be a lot of different types of fantasy within the genre and not everything works for me. This one, based on a poem by Yeats and the changeling myth, certainly did.
This book was hauntingly beautiful. That’s the first thing I want to say about it. The writing flowed poetically with some deeply moving passages.
The story moved slowly and initially felt a bit sluggish. Although the pacing never increased, the rhythm felt appropriate as I continued on.
I was impressed with the subtle shocks the author threw into this book. I didn’t see anything coming and I may have even gasped a time or two. At one point, I had to stop and tell my husband about what had just happened because I was so surprised by it.
My only disappointments were the lack of development of Henry’s dad’s character, which I felt could have provided more power to the story, the indistinct voices of the two narrators, although the chapter separations made the storyteller clear, and the fact that it never really explained the purpose for the changeling. On that final count, I thought perhaps it was symbolic of a person’s inability to truly escape his discontent. But that wasn’t clear in the story. It may be better explained in the actual changeling myth. It’s something I’ll need to look into.
I loved this book even more that I’d expected to. It’s an unforgettable tale of love, loss, regret, and remorse, seen through two very different perspectives who cannot understand each other, though, in some way, they are the same.
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