Reckless

The internationally bestselling author Cornelia Funke (author of the Inkheart trilogy) has brought us a whole new twist on the fairy tales of lore in the form of her book Reckless, first published in 2010.

It tells the tale of one brother’s desperate quest to rid his younger brother of the stone that grows in his skin, the stone that will make him a beast, no longer human and no longer remembering his human life. As Jacob Reckless races against the stone he will confront his own fears and really realise where his loyalties lie.

This is a fast paced book full of drama, enchantment and twists to all that we know about the classic fairy tales we grew up hearing.  And despite it being over 300 pages long it is a very easy read, not just because of the smoothness of the beautifully crafted plot development, but because most of the chapters are short and keep you wanting just a little bit more. Oh, and Funke has herself done the beautifully illustrations that accompany the book.

Throughout this fairy tale of a novel are some rather enjoyable scenes, including when Jacob faces off against the Tailor, a monster that is describe similarly to Freddie Krueger, with scissors and knifes for fingers and with the horrible pastime of tailoring his clothes from human skin (ouch and eww); the castle covered in thorns, as in the Sleeping Beauty tale…except Sleeping Beauty never woke up and instead slept herself to death (told you these fairy tales have been twisted); the Loreli in the river, which are basically Sirens…in a river; and finally the attempted assassination of the King of the Goyl in the cathedral…which was where he was meant to get married. Funke really twisted that up by stating how the blood went all over the bride’s train and other such unholy ideas.

And my favourite quotes from the novel are:

• ‘…as if the groans of their wounded and the white moon above their dead had summoned her.’
• ‘The jade ran through his human skin like a promise.’
• ‘…you couldn’t argue with Dwarves about tradition any more than you could argue with priests about religion.’
• ‘Human women dressed like flowers, layers of petals around a mortal, rotting core.’
• ‘Neither lived long enough to understand that yesterday was born of tomorrow, just as tomorrow was born of yesterday.’
• ‘Untouched by time and the decay it wrought.’
• ‘Honour? I’m surprised that word doesn’t make your lips blister.’
• ‘…it lies so deep underground that you’ll wish you could unlearn how to breathe.’
• ‘He looked nearly as hideous as the Trolls in the north, who were constantly being frightened by their own reflections.’
• ‘Hatred. Like ice meeting fire.’
• ‘How am I supposed to find a hidden entrance when it’s darker here than up a Giant’s backside.’ (I don’t want to know how you know that)
• ‘A princess who had said “I do” among the dead.’ (That whole morbid wedding thing I mentioned)
• ‘Silent spies. Winged death.’

Lots of good quotes apparently. But a wonderful novel overall and a rather enjoyable read.

7.1 out of 10.

 

What should I review next? Let me know in the comments below!