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110 of 117 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Through the Cupboards . . ., December 26, 2007
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.
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Baby Pool Fantasy, April 2, 2008
I may have plunked down the money for "100 Cupboards," but my brother won the first-dibs tug of war. I had to work. In my absence, he devoured Nate Wilson's newest contribution to the literary world, and could barely refrain from inundating me with spoilers the moment I got home. However, I finished my review first. Ha.
So many fantasy books are like baby pools--they get your feet wet, but that's about all. "Cupboards" promises depth, dives below the surface, and delivers.
Twelve-year-old Henry York enters a world of tumbleweed, baseball and caffeine when his parents are kidnapped and he is sent to stay with relatives in Kansas. There, he meets Uncle Frank, Aunt Dotty, his three cousins, Penelope, Henrietta and Anastasia, and discovers something mysterious about the wall behind his bed: it contains portals to other worlds.
Random example of why I keep reading Wilson: "There were only two people alive who would recognize the wood in that door. One was a man living in a run-down apartment in a bad part of Orlando. He would have recognized it and then tried to find something strong to drink, because he wanted very much to believe that his childhood had not actually happened."
Life in Kansas is ordinary, and some readers might feel that Wilson takes too long introducing elements of fantasy. They forget--we all do--just how magical ordinary life really is when you come to think of it. We've trained ourselves to believe that excitement = haunted ballrooms, evil queens, bloody daggers, and missing damsels. While the story eventually delivers all the above, "100 Cupboards" spends quite a bit of time unfurling its petals, reminding readers that every moment of life is miraculous, not just full bloom.
And there's plenty to keep looking forward to. Unlike Shakespeare's Women, who "die, even when they to perfection grow," "100 Cupboards" is the first of a projected trilogy. 2008 will bring the next installment, "Dandelion Fire," and with it, N.D. Wilson promises to dive even deeper.
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80 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting premise, February 24, 2009
100 Cupboards is an interesting, generally well-written fantasy novel for younger readers. The cover of the book states that the targeted audience is 8-12 year olds, but I question the suitability of the book for this age group.
I really enjoyed the book and found it a gripping read, but reluctantly give it three stars rather than four because of some concerns I have about aspects of the enterprise.
To start with my positive impressions, I liked the creative premise of author N.D. Wilson's story. Twelve year old Henry is sent to live with his uncle, aunt and three girl cousins in a small town in Kansas. He discovers behind the plaster in his attic bedroom ninety nine cupboards (augmented later by cupboard number 100 in another room) that turn out to be connections or doorways to other worlds. He finds himself in a terrifying and exciting adventure that finally draws in the entire household.
Part of a projected series, the book ends on an open note with chapter one of the next volume included to whet one's appetite for more. It is always difficult to write good fantasy (and science fiction), in that it takes unusual talent combined with hard work to create an imaginary world or setting that is compelling, sweeping and convincing. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald are the masters in my opinion, for various and many reasons. But all shared a depth of historical, literary and religious knowledge that is difficult to replicate in our times, no matter how serious one's intentions and aspirations. I would hope that Mr. Wilson would pay heed to their example, at least in the relationship between erudition and imagination. At this point, the jury is still out for me as to whether Wilson's world in the subsequent volumes will be of interest or not. I will pay him the guarded compliment that there is a chance, although I will elaborate on some criticisms below that argue the other way.
Wilson is a talented writer who employs some good literary allusions and does a particularly notable job of painting the unusual (for most of us) Kansas setting. The story is engaging and promising in its direction in future volumes. At times he captures the thought processes of children of various ages and familiar predicaments such as plugged toilets and nervousness about one's prowess at sports. These serve as good contrasts to the fantasy story.
I have various reservations about the book as well. Although I like the premise of the fantasy (the 100 cupboards) and hope Wilson can deepen and develop the story, I think other aspects of his plot are on the thin side. So far, what one learns of the different fantasy worlds is not of great interest or originality--there is an evil witch, reminiscent of many evil witches, other worlds that we do not learn much about, and some half-hearted play with names, words and language. Some of the names of the other places and people are too arbitrary and derivative. While it is too much to ask that a fantasy writer conjure up names and languages from scratch, what he does employ cannot be arbitrary or obvious (Byzanthium, Faeren, etc). Unless Wilson plans to relate these names back to something historical and structural, it is plain irritating and smacks of word theft.
I also find the book too gory and creepy for the intended age group. I am fully aware that the cultural norm is far worse but I am not operating by the cultural norm. I do not want my eight-year old daughter reading a book that includes severed limbs and a witch who talks at great length about consuming human blood. Fantasy writers of an earlier generation wrote of great evils and terrible conflict without such explicit detail.
Wilson also has traces of the vulgar coarseness of the age--not much, but traces nonetheless. I imagine that this is for comic effect, a certain realism about family and children, and to fit in with prevalent cultural standards. It may even help many readers identify with his writing (ditto with the paragraph above). But for me it detracts from his writing and brings everything down a notch.
Finally, I did not have much of a sense of any grand moral vision in the book. The characters have well-drawn faults and virtues, but the larger plot moves more like a well-done Hollywood action-adventure rather than a profound fairy tale.
I will follow Wilson's writings with interest and hope that he develops the considerable talent that he is blessed with.
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