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79 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spectacular New Series, September 14, 2010
Being one of the few people left in the world who has not yet read anything by Cornelia Funke, I'm going to have to start this review by simply saying "Wow! - and wow again!" I can only imagine what I've been missing. From beginning to end, Reckless is an absolutely wonderful read and I am feeling kind of giddy at the prospect of reading, not only the future books in this series, but everything else this talented storyteller has written.
Reckless is the story of Jacob Reckless, his brother Will and a fairy tale land that exists beyond a mirror in their missing father's study. Having discovered the world when he was quite young, Jacob has been traveling there for years, losing himself in the dangers and adventures to be had there. Always careful to hide the truth about his double life, he's now cursing himself for a moment of recklessness that enabled Will to follow him into the Mirrorworld. There, Will is clawed and cursed and is now slowly turning to stone. Unless Jacob can find a way to break the curse - and soon - Will will become a gargoyle (Goyl). Complicating matters is that fact that Will is turning, not to some ordinary stone, but to jade. And there is - wouldn't you know it? - a legend about a Jade Goyl and the power such a being will wield. This makes Will a person of interest, so to speak, to some unsavory characters.
In Reckless, Cornelia Funke has created a complex world woven from myths and legends, many of which will be familiar to lovers of fairy tales and to those who have read the collected stories of the Brothers Grimm. The arcing story, however, is her own. She has populated her well-imagined world with interesting characters and has given them an engrossing plot. There is danger and suspense, mystery, love and hate, jealousy, bravery, sacrifice and revenge. Funke never once talks down to her readers and doesn't make the mistake of over-describing the Mirrorworld or the many beings found there. I appreciate that she provides me with enough material to point me in the right direction and then allows my own imagination to fill in the details. In addition, her pacing is excellent and the story builds beautifully. I simply could not set the book aside until I'd finished it. And now I want to read it all again, taking my time to savor all the delicious little things Funke gave us that make the world so real and the characters so believable.
One of my favorite aspects of Reckless was the slow reveal of Jacob's past in the Mirrorworld. I find myself very intrigued by Jacob and am confident that, in future books (Funke is planning 2 or 3 more), we will learn a lot more about him, his past and his relationships with other characters. He has some nicely murky bits, some shades of grey - characteristics I tend to appreciate in protagonists. I'm also really looking forward to learning more about Fox, whose past is so entwined with his.
Reckless is a dark story with blood, death and some disturbing images. (For example, Sleeping Beauty, never awoken by her prince, still lies in her tower, faded and, according to Jacob, dead. The thorns have grown thick around the tower and in them hang the corpses of those who were either trying to rescue her or to cash in on the value of her bed.) I mention this only because I know that a lot of young children are big fans of Funke's earlier books. Since I haven't read those books, I don't know how the violence level compares, but parents might want to read Reckless before giving it to children under the suggested age of 10. (If your child made it all the way through the Harry Potter series, I don't think Reckless will prove too disturbing for them.)
I wouldn't want to live in the Mirrorworld, nor would it be a safe place to linger for too long. But I am definitely looking forward to visiting it again in the books to come.
Very highly recommended.
Heads up to Kindle readers: I part read/part listened to this book on Kindle. The first page of each chapter contains artwork along with text. That text is TINY on the Kindle (and I mean TINY) and doesn't change when you adjust the font size. In addition, when you switch to text-to-speech, Kindle apparently 'reads' those same pages as pictures because the reader skips right over them. Because there are a lot of chapters in this book, this quickly became pretty annoying. After seeing the hardcover edition of the book, I felt the black and white illustrations added a very nice element. For that reason, and to address the Kindle problem, I ordered a hardcover for my re-read and to place in my collection.
ETA: Currently, Reckless doesn't seem to be available on Kindle (I pre-ordered mine some time ago and received it in the wee hours of the morning on release day just as expected). Perhaps Amazon is aware of the problem and has temporarily pulled the Kindle version while they address it?
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yearning To Read Review, October 13, 2010
Jacob Reckless hasn't felt at home in our world for twelve years. His haven in found beyond the mirror in his father's study; where people live in little villages and cottages, monsters are common talk amongst the town-folk, stone men rule and push for power, fairies are dark and deceptive, and the Empress of Austry is a treasure-hunter. Jacob himself is a treasure-hunter, often working for Her Majesty to find her desires - a wishing table, a glass slipper, a golden ball. Jacob lives here most of the time, lying to his brother that he is going on vacation, a business trip, a trip to see a friend in need. He loves his brother, but too much pain lies outside of the mirror, where both of his parents are dead and his life is falling apart. And all is well on this side of the mirror. It is dangerous, yes, but Jacob has nothing to lose... Or so he thinks. Because of a simple mistake, Jacob's brother Will has followed him over. And what's worse is Will has been clawed by a stone man, a Goyl, and now Will's skin is slowly turning to stone. Jacob must do everything he can before his kind and gentle brother turns completely into a stone man, heart and all.
I've loved Cornelia Funke's books ever since I read Inkheart "that fateful day" a few years ago. Since then, I've read everything of hers I can get my hands on. Almost every book has been absolutely incredible; only one has been a disappointment (Dragon Rider). I preordered Reckless six months ago, hoping it would be another classic like the Inkbooks...
In a way it was wonderful, and in a way it was not. I'll list the bad first.
First thing: I didn't love the translation. I wish wish wish Anthea Bell had translated this one (she translated the Inkbooks), but it was Oliver Latsch. I like his stuff, but sometimes his wording is funny and doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Second thing: Cornelia's books may be labled as "children's books", but don't believe it. I can't imagine letting my child read this book. I think a good age to start at is 15. For one this is a very dark story (much of it is derived from the Grimm's fairytales); it also has some sensual scenes invovling men and the fairies they have fallen in love with. The fairies, as stated before, are dark and deceptive, but also very seductive. Jacob and the king of the Goyl love two different fairies, both of whom aren't always faithful.
And then comes the good...
Cornelia is a master at weaving a great story, from start to finish. She draws power from folklore and her favorite stories, but she is also incredibly original. Reckless was just so. While it could have been a terrible retelling of Grimm's fairytales (what it was built on and after), it was a wonderful example of taking from the classics without copying them. Another very good aspect of Reckless is that Cornelia is not afraid to give her characters pain. It is what real stories are made of, and this author definitely knows how to toy with her reader's emotions for the characters by making them endure hardship. This is much of what kept me into the book the whole time. Sacrifice and hardship make books so much more real.
So, in all, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next one (she plans on writing at least two more books about Jacob Reckless and his world beyond the mirror). And while this is a novel worth reading (although not a classic in my opinion), it is not for everyone, especially not for children.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely Not Her Best, November 28, 2010
When I started this book, I knew absolutely nothing about it, except that it was by Cornelia Funke. Mine is actually a signed copy! Much like with Inkheart, you can since Cornelia's true love of the written world, although here the character escapes into the world populated by fairy tale characters rather than bringing book characters into the real world. Also much like Inkheart, the book is very dark. None of the characters come through as shining examples of humanity; no one is perfect.
The story is interesting, and, I suspect, not over. The ending felt a bit abrupt, so I rather hope there is more to come. If it ends as is, I warn that it is not an entirely happy ending. The fairy tale world is populated with terrifying creatures from fairy tales, more of the original Grimm brothers' sort than Disney's sweet, happy kinds. This book, unlike her others, is not for children or, at least, it has not been written with them in mind. Although I believe it is being marketed to schools anyway, this book seems in a lot of ways best for adults or old teens.
The main weakness of the book for me lay in some of the construction. Funke chose to use an omniscient third person narrative. Although the character most closely followed is Jacob, other characters have chapters from what is essentially their perspective. There are frequent interjections in italics, which represent the thoughts of a certain character. Since she shows the thoughts of many of the characters at various points, she has to clarify which character is meant by including the name of the character in question each time. This means that every couple of pages there will be a thought like this one: "Impatience, Jacob. Say it as it is. After all, it's one of your most prominent character traits." The repetition of the name in the thoughts becomes extremely obnoxious. Yes, one occasionally throws one's name into a self-admonition, but not anywhere near this often. This could have been better constructed.
Still recommended overall despite a few flaws. Cornelia Funke's books are well-worth the time to read them.
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