A classic work of rural magic realism from one of Britain's greatest children's novelists Four interconnected fables of a way of living in rural England that is now disappeared. Craftsmen pass on, or withhold, secrets of their relationship with the natural world, which gives them the material from which they create useful and beautiful things. Smiths and chandlers, steeplejacks and quarrymen, all live and work hand in hand with the seasons, the elements and the land. There is a mutual respect and a knowledge of the magical here that somehow, somewhere was lost to us. These fables beautifully recapture and restore it to us. And a very particular landscape, on the outskirts of industrial Manchester, is brought vividly to life.
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About the Author
Alan Garner is one of Britain's greatest living writers for children, the author of such classics as Elidor and The Owl Service. He has done much to explore the disappearing beliefs & traditions of agricultural England. In 1996 he published an acclaimed and unsettling novel for adults, Strandloper (Harvill).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic quartet, masterfully written with quiet & subtle delights,
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This review is from: Stone Book Quartet (Flamingo Modern Classics) (Paperback)
These books are better appreciated by young adults in the 16 years+ (and even more so by not-so-young adults!)They are wonderfully subtle and young people may not appreciate the beauty of the writing or the quiet character development. They are small jewels of rare beauty--but glowing rather than sparkling. I learned only later that these are stories based on Alan Garner's own family history---they stretch back at least 100 years or more into the past. My favorite of the four stories is the first in chronological order: the Stone Book. It beautifully weaves the past and present telling the tale of a stone-cutter and his daughter who wants, more than any other gift, to own a real book at a time when the price of a book was beyond the family's financial means. The father crafts a stone book, perfect-in-every-detail, for the girl to carry to church (a gift which at first disappoints her in the way that handmade clothes disappoint children who want "story-bought" fashions). As I read on to the underground scene (where the father reveals how his family got their distinctive carved "stone mark" signature),I could feel the hair raising at the back of my neck...it is very powerfully written and one of my favorite "reading" memories.
Please read the reviews on the Amazon.co.uk site--Alan Garner is better known in Britain---they are excellent and say better than I can what the books are all about. BUT PLEASE READ THESE BOOKS--THEY ARE SO WONDERFUL!!! I highly recommend them. I have never forgotten these books and bought a set for each of my four children....I love them!
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