100 Cupboards is the second novel by N.D. Wilson (his first being Leepike Ridge) and I must say that it is many, many things: deliciously dark, insightful, suspensful, and filled with magic.
Henry York's parents have been kidnapped biking in South America, and so he is sent off to live with his aunt, uncle, and three girl cousins on their farm in Kansas. Henry is not a farm child; he's never had soda, thrown a baseball (or owned a ballglove), and he's never used a knife, not even a pocket one.
All the characters are delightfully odd, as any good Wilson character should be, from his Aunt Dotty (overprotective, the opposite of classy, and frugal) to his Uncle Frank, who I was never sure we were supposed to fully like. On the one hand, Frank is described as being "thin, and not just physically. They meant thin everywhere and in every way," and sells tumbleweeds for 700 dollars a pop on the internet, and on the other, he shows Henry a better way to live, to love soda, baseball, and knives. The three cousins, Anastasia, Henrietta, and Pennylope, reminded me very strongly of the interactions between the girls in Little Women, which was a very fun connection to make. I think an exploration of the three Henrys in the book would be interesting as well; Henry the town, Henry the main character, and Henrietta the cousin.
100 Cupboards I think is much, much better than Leepike Ridge, and I am an unabashed *fan* of Leepike. Leepike is a very good book, but I think 100 Cupboards surpasses it on a number of levels. There is an added complexity to the world of 100 Cupboards, a sense of Lewisian profundity here. 100 Cupboards too, I think, is more subtle than Leepike. The humor in the book, while still providing laugh-out-loud moments, is not nearly as pronounced is specific scenes. Rather, in 100 Cupboards, it seems the whole novel is written with a sly smirk (in a good way). Also, while both Leepike and 100 Cupboards begin with the narrator speaking to the reader, this tack feels much more British, with an almost C.S. Lewis-esque mastery behind it.
The novel takes its time setting up the situation and slowly but surely revealing the mystery of the cupboards, all of which is charmingly fun. The mystery builds for close to a hundred pages before Henry really starts working with the cupboards, but there is never a boring moment. The writing takes you by the scruff of your neck and makes you read on. The suspense is really quite good as well, which will provide younger readers with a bit of a bedtime chill.
Needless to say, 100 Cupboards has earned its place on my "Favorite books" shelf. A well-done indeed to Nathan, and as an aspiring writer, I think if I get myself to a place of being half as good as Mr. Wilson, I will be well-pleased indeed.
