Customer Reviews

The Far-Enough Window: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups of All Ages

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The line on the cover of this book says "A Fairy Tale for Grownups of All Ages" and that could hardly be a better description of this charming, highly imaginative novel. I read it almost in a single sitting and the whole time I was doing so I had this lovely feeling that I was a child again curled up in bed with one of my favorite stories - Lewis Carroll, perhaps, or George MacDonald, or even L. Frank Baum. Lovely illustrations too. Thank you, thank you, thank you, John Grant, for having magically transported me back into that wonderful world! I would recommend this book to anybody, from children to grandparents.

A very good book with a lot of fun. It's a little slow at the start, but once things get moving, it become worth the wait. In fact, this was a book in which its ending justified its beginning. It's a fantasy story which reminds us that all fantasy stories do not have to be about Tolkien and such. Every review I see of this book likens it to Alice, Dorothy, and friends. While this book does touch on that type of fantasy, it also contains a contemporary view which gives it a flavor all its own -- a new old fantasy. Pick it up, read it. You won't soon forget it.

At page 250 of this fantasy/fairy-tale novel by a prestigious British author, the main character, 17-year old Joanna says, "This is getting very confusing." That about sums up this mixed-up, hard-to-follow book about the loss and reclamation of Fairyland. Perhaps, it was more understandable to Brits? I just didn't get it or feel wowed or caused to suspend my disbelief.

When it comes down to fantasy, John Grant is the leading man. As co-author of the "Encyclopedia of Fantasy" he knows what goes on inside the minds of storytellers. And in "The Far-Enough Window", proves he's a great storyteller himself by letting recognizable characters alert the reader about the fantasy world being in grave danger of disappearing. It's a wonderful attempt to rescue that world from extinction, by giving the reader a new tale to loose his heart to. And in my view, it's more than an attempt: it's a success.

A young girl discovers a gateway to another world, a fantasy world with all kinds of creatures that usually only inhabit fairy tales. She goes on a quest to discover her own identity in a story filled with humour, adventure and the secrets of friendship.

Grant knows how to create a believable world where nothing is what it seems. He interrupts the straight story with visions and hallucinations so vivid the reader almost experiences them himself.

Joanna, the main character, is more than a heroine. She is the child in all of us, discovering that her small life can hold so much more, if only she dares to cross the boundaries that is her safe home. Indeed, she shows us how to see far enough, how to envision all the wonders that are waiting for us.