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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive and engaging, but could be much better., September 28, 2005
This review is from: I, Coriander (Hardcover)
The first thing to note about I, CORIANDER is that the prose stands head and shoulders above most books in its category. Sally Gardner is certainly a gifted writer and the narrator's voice never falters.
The second thing to note is that Coriander is an interesting and sympathetic character, and the story is an engaging one. Readers will find plenty to worry over and cheer about once they get far enough into the book.
Unfortunately, it takes too long to get to the main story, and there are several twists along the way that strain credibility. For example, the father, in the middle of grieving over his dead wife, is talked into taking another wife. Even if we accept the political reasons why this is necessary, the wife he takes is so repulsive that no reader can imagine anyone--let alone Coriander's father--allowing her in the house.
Then, to make matters worse, the father runs away (again, for political reasons) and leaves his beloved daughter in the hands of this awful woman. This would be hard to fathom even if Ms. Gardner had not painted the father as a caring, devoted parent. But since he is caring and devoted and Coriander is the only family left to him, no one can possibly believe that he would leave her behind.
The other twist comes later in the book and I won't give it away. But let us just say that having 3 years pass instead of 3 days or, at most, 3 weeks, strips the magical events of all credibility. It's just too much time. Yes, magic explains how it happened. But it doesn't explain why all the people involved allowed that much time to pass before investigating--especially when Ms. Gardner has made it clear how many people care about Coriander.
Then, of course, there is the overly accelerated ending, where everything is wrapped up so quickly that it leaves the reader bewildered and dissatisfied. This kind of editorial amputation is common these days--a symptom of the publishing industry's greater concern with length and cost than narrative integrity--but given the tenor and style of this book, one would have thought Ms. Gardner would have been allowed a little more room to wrap things up properly.
In any case, this IS a good book and well worth reading. But if it had been better edited, it could have been a phenomenal book.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Tale of High Adventure, August 23, 2005
This review is from: I, Coriander (Hardcover)
Coriander Hobie, born to a wealthy mother and father in 1643, has never longed for anything. Except, of course, a pair of gorgeous, weightless silver shoes that were annonymously sent to her one summer, and promptly hidden away, in a place forbidden for her prying hands. However, Coriander, being a smart child, finds a way to release the shoes from their captivity in her father's office, and places them on her feet, only to be transported to a strange land. Now, after the death of her mother, her father's sudden departure, and being kept under lock and key by a large woman and a supposed-Preacher, Coriander has decided to tell her story. A story that she has written by the light of seven separate candles, in which she will describe each part of her story the best way she knows how. A story of the city streets of London, of a strange land where fairies are found by the bushel, of a frightening alligator, and a lovely ebony box. And, last, but not least, a pair of silver shoes.
I will be the first to admit that the one thing about Sally Gardner's book I, CORIANDER that instantly caught my eye was the gorgeous cover. In all of my years of reading, I can't say that I have ever seen a cover illustration so glamorous as the one found on Gardner's novel. However, the story kept within its pages is quite remarkable on its own, and the cover illustration only enhances the beauty of the story within. Coriander is a wonderful character whom will win the hearts of all readers - especially female - as she is a determined, brave, brash young character who shows no fear, and longs to help everyone around her. Her descriptions of life with her mother and father, as well as the hardtimes she falls upon after her father flees are engrossing, and will leave readers itching for more. A marvelous book for fans of historical fiction, fantasy, and a smidgen of romance.
Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In a Cinderella fashion, November 19, 2005
This review is from: I, Coriander (Hardcover)
"I have lit the first of seven candles to write my story by. On the table next to me is the silk purse that holds my mother's pearls and beside it is the ebony box whose treasure I am only now beginning to understand. Next to that, shining nearly as bright as the moon, stands a pair of silver shoes.
I have a great many things to tell, of how I came by the silver
shoes and more. And this being my story and a fairy tale besides, I will start once upon a time . . . ."
Young Teens will sympathize with Sally Gardener's I, Coriander. In a Cinderella fashion, after the death of her mother Coriander's hasty remarries brings an ugly stepmother and then flees from political enemies. Coriander like Cinderella faces the consequences of her father's marriage alone. Magic shoes also make an appearance in this novel. The fairy tale quality of Coriander's narrative will delight young teens while the darker themes will appeal to their angst. Coriander's stepmother and her Puritan minister boyfriend attempt to break Coriander's spirit and even attempt to exhaust her life. Teens will relate to these themes of domination and lack of control, seen prominently in the stripping away of Coriander's name and previous identity. And like Cinderella, Coriander finds herself amidst the terror and abuse and not only rescues herself but her prince as
well. Younger teens will especially delight in this story fraught with fairy tale imagery and modern self reliance.
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